Spring Cleaning: Camper Style

Oh! It’s finally April!  That means spring cleaning.   That also means the camper comes out of winter storage (a machine shed we rent at a farm) and comes home!! WAAAA! (Did you hear the heavens open up?) I’m actually more excited to start camping this year more than any year in the past? Why, I’m not sure, but I’m positive it has something to do with being at a job in which I don’t have to work nights and weekends and have a fraction of the stress! Anywho…after talking camping a few days ago with Jenni of Sincerely Jenni on Twitter, my mind has just been spinning thinking about getting it home, opened up (and aired out), cleaned, and stocked…ready to go for the first time of the season!

Here are some of my tips & tricks for cleaning your camper out in the spring and getting it ready for the camping season!

1. Cleaning – One of the very first things I do when we bring the camper home (after opening up the windows and getting fresh air into the rig) is to wipe all surfaces down.  For this, I use

   

   Norwex’s Blue Diamond 3 in 1 Cleaner and their Enviro cloth!  I do this because it’s easy to use!  Just a drop of cleaner in a bucket of warm water and away I go!  No need to rinse and worry about chemicals being left on our surfaces.  I clean all surfaces in the camper and wipe down the inside our fridge, microwave, etc.  (If you aren’t careful when storing it during the winter it will grow all types of mold..like ours because I wasn’t there to oversee the “putting away”! UGH!)  I also sweep and wet Swiffer the floor as well as vacuum the carpet.

2. Unpacking – at the end of the camping season (in the fall) I wash and dry all our camper towels, sheets, etc and pack away in tubs in the basement.  While I could use those items throughout the year, I find it easier to have specific towels and bedding

   

   specifically for the camper.  (I even have specific camper pillows that get stored away.)  Then, in the spring I pull those tubs and unpack them into the camper and don’t have to worry about forgetting something!  I put all sheets and blankets on the beds right away. I do this for a couple of reasons.  The first being that I can make sure that nothing was forgotten, instead of finding out at a campsite, and the other reason is that this way it is done before we ever leave on our first adventure and I don’t have to worry about it when we arrive.

3. Pack Extras – I put all sheets & blankets on the beds.  Mine & T’s bed gets sheets, 2 blankets, and 4 pillows.  The boys each get sheets, a comforter, pillow, and a tie blanket.  Then, I have a drawer full of extra blankets and sheets.  You just never know

   

   what is going to happen!  Also, when packing towels make sure to pack extras.  It seems that things to not dry in a camper as well as they do at home and you don’t want to be stuck with damp stinky towels!

4. Making Beds – ladies, if you’re like me…making beds in a camper can be a challenge.  Don’t try to put sheets on the mattresses in tight places.  Pull them mattresses off the beds and put the sheets on and then place them back on the beds for the remainder of the process!  No need to scale a bunk bed or wedge yourself in a

   

   small space!

5. Stock Cleaning Supplies  – While food would seem like the next logical thing to stock, I promise that you will never forget the food!  But, you may forget the cleaning supplies!  I stock a small broom and dust pant, Swiffer & wet pads, Norwex Enviro cloth, dish soap, and paper towels.  You just never know what is going to happen and you must be prepared!

Prepping a camper for the first trip of the season can be a lot of work, but with these 5 simple tricks, it can be a lot easier!  I hope they work for you as they have made my years of camping increasingly easier!  I guess it’s all part of Learning As I Go!