The Organized Camper

Organization exists in order to allow room for the things you love in your life.  It should not be a hinderance to those activities but a foundation or structure to them that allows you to enjoy them to the fullest.  As a mom, with young children, I have found that days that are too structured are absolutely no fun and days that are too unstructured are no fun either.

When I try to apply too much organization to the day, life is missing.  Those joyful moments when we don't worry about the rain or the mud, spending too much time swinging or scrapping our planned dinner for an impromptu picnic.  But on the flip side when there is no organization I can't figure out whether I should work or play, what my priorities are or where the supplies to do the next activity are. We often rush about frustrated in all that we do. 

So in our daily life, as in every other situation it is in finding a balance, focusing on the activity at hand, knowing what the priorities are and being prepared for what comes next.   Over the Easter weekend, our young family ventured out camping. Although the weather had started to warm up, we had chosen to camp in the mountains and our first night the temperature dipped to a chilling 22 degrees Farenheit.  I know others out there camp when it is even colder but we are somewhat novice to camping and we were only kind of prepared.  The children didn't notice much, they seemed to sleep well and we kept them bundled. But my husband and I were up through the night, checking sleeping bags and making sure everyone was safe.  I was out of the tent first to prepare a hot breakfast to warm those little bodies and in doing so freeze my own feet.

In those sub-zero moments, an idea was born, to embark on a certain level of camping organization to ensure that we balanced the fun with the safety and preparedness.  And so, an "Organized Camper" was born.  What does she look like?  Under development for now.  She has lists of supplies but those will need to be tailored a bit for the time of year and activities planned. She has tools for camping but they are not yet, 'Grab and Go,' so that preparation can meet inspiration and set us on an adventure whenever the opportunity arises.  There are other ideas to streamline the food, the supplies and the packing but she must keep in mind that these all need to be just 'good enough,' so that the structure does not impede the joy of the activity.