Forced Unplugging

Day 3 of the longest (in distance & length of time) camping trip I have ever been on – and certainly the longest period of time we have ever been ‘away’ from our business location. But it is only day 3, no time to worry about that yet.

The Sapphire coast (as I have discovered it is called) is a place that I have travelled through and also spent some time when I was younger. I have fond memories of spending time with my family here and also our friends. It is lovely to be back in this part of Australia, another un-commercialised and remote part that is so easy to get to.

We are camping at Gillard’s Beach, a few people around but not too many. The pit toilet has been flooded and it is unhygienic! It is one of the debates that we have not been able to settle – the best method of toileting.

Our neighbours here are kangaroos, wallabies and those gorgeous little wrens that seem to be everywhere you go. As seems to be the practice with camp ground kangaroos they just go about their grazing around you, most inconvenienced by the fact you have pitched your campsite where they would normally eat and rest. The wallabies are super friendly venturing close (very close) to us, seemingly in search of a sausage. Miss S has even been telling one of them all about Frozen (Mum the Wallaby knows all about Frozen!).

The best part of this campsite is no internet,  no phone, no distractions from the outside world. This is unplugging at its best. Where you do not need to have any level of strength to not just check Facebook or your e-mails or answer that call-you can’t there is no coverage. You can-not be reached.

Not having reception used to really annoy me, how was I to survive without my hourly dose of Facebook. What if I missed an e-mail that was really important or a client wanting something done. 

What if I missed a phonecall that I really needed to take. What if....well guess what I am not a super hero and by becoming unplugged for a couple of days will not cause the world to stop turning. Accepting that realisation has been difficult.

I am not looking forward to arriving ‘back in reception’ tomorrow and having to go through 2 days of emails and phonecalls-but an hour or so while in the car driving and I am positive it will all be sorted. 

It is really a small price to pay for a piece of paradise, a pristine beach and time out with my family and for myself.

Even when you take your business with you on the road it is still important to have ‘rest’ days.

An Organised Camper Trailer

I am over the top organised, and that makes my life better.

I have hunted Pinterest and blogs looking for the best way to organise our Camper Trailer, taking small spaces and ensuring that we have everything we need. I have a dream that we can decide to go camping, throw clothes in a bag and leave - no stress. To do that I needed organisation and systems!

None of what I have come up with is original, I have taken bits from here and there and created something that works for me, maybe some of it will work for you.

FIRST I created lists - cause I am a list sort of person. These are saved in an excel document on my computer, I also print them and put them in a ziplock bag on the inside of the corresponding box. The real benefit of this comes into play when you are re-stocking.

SECOND I found out how much space I had, including the size of boxes. A tip here is to invest in good quality, strong boxes, with lids. We are using cheap ones at the moment (left over from a project we were working on) and breaking/smashing at least one a trip!

THIRD Pack everything. Stick to the list and the size of boxes and you will have no issues!

FOURTH Have last minute lists and a last minute box to just throw things into in the last day or so - this will save you unpacking and repacking the camper trailer. This graph includes a list I use on my last night camping before returning home, this helps to get ready for the next trip with little pain.

I hope you find some tips in here to help you with lowering the stress of your travels! Maybe you could share some of your packing hints and tips below?