Independence Day and Packing for the Cabin
This is a week when so many of us are heading out of town for some quality time with friends and family, celebrating our nation’s independence while boating, barbecuing, and enjoying some sun.
If your family is anything like ours, this means loading up the car with suitcases full of clothes, coolers filled with food, beach toys, recreation items, DVDs for the kids…basically everything except the kitchen sink. I have often thought there would not be room for the people in the car by the time we loaded up all of the “must have” items for the weekend away.
As I was packing this weekend, I started thinking about the Norwex items that are “must haves” on my cabin packing list. I want to share a few of my favorites with you.
Towels: We always need so many towels at our cabin, and it often seems that they stay damp all weekend because of showers, beach time, and the humidity not really allowing them to try. By using the Norwex Hand Towel (antibac) and Norwex Bath Towels (antibac), we are able to keep towels that are dry and fresh smelling all weekend. My favorite cabin towel, however, is the Norwex Sport Towel! It is so compact in it’s own little carrying case, and it dries quickly. A few years ago, my husband and I had a bit of a competition about whose bath towel was better. He had a cotton bath towel from a department store, and I had my Norwex Sport Towel. When it came to our second morning at the cabin, his cotton towel was still damp from the previous morning’s shower, while my Sport Towel was dry and fresh. Of course, the Body Pack cloth is great to have along as well for removing makeup and cleaning the skin!
Odor Eliminator: Cabins are usually more compact and cozy than our homes, and ours is no exception. We have one small bathroom for the four of us. With two young boys, there were often times when I felt that the bathroom smells were permeating the entire cabin! The Norwex Odor Eliminator has been wonderful!! We keep a little bottle of it in the cabin so that the boys can spray a couple of sprays in the air after using the bathroom. By the time they open the door, we are left with our normal fresh air “Real Clean” smell again! Cabins should smell like lakes, trees, and other outdoor smells; they should not smell like a chemical based “air freshener” that really only adds another stink to the air. It’s also really nice to spray a bit in the air when we first open the cabin up to get rid of that musty, closed up smell.
Enviro Cloth: This is a must have for every day of our lives, so I wouldn’t dream of heading to the cabin without one. It’s great for cleaning up spills, wiping off hands in the car, quickly wiping down the bathroom fixtures, and taking little marks off the furniture and walls.
There are so many other great cabin must have’s:
Spirinettes: For doing dishes, scrubbing the sink, or cleaning off the grill.
Mattress Cleaner: We always use this when we first open the cabin in the spring.
Dish Liquid: It feels so good to be using a natural, phosphate free dish liquid, especially at a cabin with a septic system and well. We know that we are not putting harmful chemicals back into the ground water.
Face and Neck Gel: We always pack this if there is a chance we may be getting too much sun. The aloe in the Face and Neck Gel make it a wonderful coolant for skin that has been over-exposed to the sun after a day on the water.
Shea Butter: Wonderful for dry, cracked heels to get sandal-perfect feet!
Oven and Grill Cleaner: We grill almost daily at the cabin, so it’s nice to have a clean grill to work with.
What are your “must haves” for a weekend at the cabin or campground?
The Antibac Body Pack is a Must Have For Everyone
A fun testimonial from one of my favorite customers:
Not only do I use these for my face every night and morning (sometimes even during the day to dab off the oily spots on my face), but my family takes them camping with us during the summer too! We go “dry” camping, meaning we are those tough campers that LOVE to camp where there are no showers, no running water or flushing toilets. We seek out the outhouses and the lakes to take our baths in! Each night we use the Norwex Antibac Body Pack cloths to clean ourselves off from the day of fun playing. Normal baby wipes do not even come close to how good these clean you (and the normal baby wipes are filled with such yucky chemicals!!)!
Do you have brushes you use for putting on your make up? Want to get them clean each time you use them? Rinse them with water when you are done, wipe them with the body pack cloths and let dry for the next day, they stay cleaner and healthier for your face than just washing them weekly with soap and water!
Leave No Trace by Camping Green
LEAVE NO TRACE BY CAMPING GREEN!!
The concept “Leave No Trace” originated with the U.S.D.A. Forest Service in the 1960’s. In the 1970′s and 1980′s, the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the National Park Service started to teach their visitors how to have a minimal impact on the land. Also in the 1970′s, groups such as the Sierra Club were advocating minimum impact camping techniques.
Eventually the nonprofit organization Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics was created in 1994. It is a national and international program designed to assist outdoor enthusiasts with their decisions about how to reduce their impacts when they hike, camp, picnic, snowshoe, run, bike, hunt, paddle, ride horses, fish, ski or climb. The program offers seven principles that can offset our impact and make responsible recreation a part of our outdoor experience:
1) Plan Ahead and Prepare; 2) Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces; 3) Dispose of Waste Properly; 4) Leave What You Find; 5) Minimize Campfire Impacts; 6) Respect Wildlife; and 7) Be Considerate of Other Visitors.
Today we can follow these same principles when camping green plus bring our favorite Norwex products because they are environmentally friendly and contain no toxic chemicals! Here are 10 WAYS TO MINIMIZE IMPACT WHEN CAMPING GREEN IN THE OUTDOORS:
1. Whenever possible, use existing campsites. Camp on durable surfaces and place tents on a non-vegetated area. Hike on established trails to prevent damaging the soil and plants.
2. Camp at least 200 feet from water, trails, and other campsites. Improper toilet procedures can contaminate a lake or river with giardia or coilform bacteria.
3. Pack it in, pack it out. Carry a trash bag and pick up litter left by others. Properly dispose of what you can’t pack out. Keep paper products to a minimum.
Antibacterial Microfiber Cloths do an excellent job of cleaning, are light & dry quickly!
Antibac Envirotowels can be used to wipe dishes, dry hair, wipe the damp seats in the canoe or boat!
4. Repackage snacks and food in baggies. This reduces weight and the amount of trash to carry out.
Fresh Wash is a safe way to wash your fruits & vegetables!
5. For cooking, consider using a camp stove or grill which leave less of an impact on the land.
Spirenetts & Spirisponges are great for cleaning your cooking pans!
Norwex Oven & Grill Cleaner dissolves burned-on residue completely & is non-caustic! Simply spray on a slightly warm grill, let sit for 10 minutes, and rinse off. You will have a CLEAN GRILL with no residue from the previous camper!
6. Observe all fire restrictions. Use existing fire rings & only fallen timber or dead wood found on the ground for campfires. Do not cut standing trees.
7. Allow the wood to burn down to a fine ash. Pour water on the fire and drown all embers until the hissing sound stops. Put out campfires completely before scattering cool ashes. If you don’t have water, use dirt.
8. Detergents, toothpaste and soap harm fish and other aquatic life. Wash 200 feet away from streams and lakes. Use biodegradable soaps. Scatter gray water so it filters through the soil.
Norwex Dishwashing Liquid is highly concentrated, biodegradable, & phosphate free!
Silver Care Toothbrushes are amazing!
Crystal Deodorant is hypoallergenic & can even be used on insect bites!
9. Respect wildlife and leave what you find for others to enjoy.
10. Following a trip, wash your gear and support vehicle to reduce the spread of invasive species.
Actually ALL of the NORWEX products can be used while camping or anywhere you go on vacation!! They truly save you time & money, improve health as they contain no harmful chemicals, and are better for the environment. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or want more information about these wonderful products or further suggestions on how to use them!
(1)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leave_No_Trace#Origins
(2)Leave No Trace :: Programs :: Principles
(3)http://www.treadlightly.org/page.php/responsible-camping/Recreation-Tips.html?gclid=CMvH9v7btqECFZ9K5wod9XWRAg
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