K is for Kitchen Tote

I like being organized, and, going camping, that's especially important.  It's so easy for stuff to get left out and misplaced or, worse, never even make it on the camping trip because your gear is scattered out in many different places.  Checklists help tremendously, but it's nice having everything all in one place so it's grab-and-go.

We used to keep our camp kitchen gear in a large Rubbermaid tub, but as our family and gear grew, many essentials were getting shoved out.  As I was shopping the sales one day, I came across a tote from REI that is slightly larger than a Rubbermaid tub, but like Hermione's beaded bag, it seems there is always room for more stuff, and there are dividers and organizers to keep the gear more organized inside.

Inside the main compartment, we keep tableware and glasses for 8, two cook pots, the collapsible water jug, two backpacking stoves, two skillets, a bunch of propane bottles, all of our cooking utensils, potholders, cutting boards, paper towels, and a few other various-miscellaneous.  It has a large pocket on each side that hold napkins, foil, plastic wrap, trash bags, dish soap, sponge, and a dish towel.  And most of those pockets aren't even close to full. 

While we rarely use it, this particular model also comes with a small table that can hold a few things since it seems like there is never enough flat work space at a campsite.

All together, this tote holds pretty much all of our camp kitchen gear with the exception of the camp stove and grill, cast iron skillet, dutch oven, and, of course, food.  Speaking of food, since we do travel almost everywhere with our own food, we also recently found another organizer at Sierra Trading Post to hold all of our non-perishable food.  We haven't actually tried it out yet, but I'm excited about the possibilities.

It's basically three large rectangular bags that can be used either separately or inside a "pen" of sorts to keep them all contained.  Granted this won't always work, but square containers tend to fit nicely in our SUV trunk, while providing ample opportunity to stuff additional smaller or odd-shaped items in the crevices, so it makes packing much easier.

The REI tote unfortunately isn't still available.  But, for similar items or organizers that may fit your needs better, REI, Sierra Trading Post, The Container Store, Coleman and even Target are great places to shop for camp kitchen organization, especially if you're willing to be a little creative!