VanLifeFamily - Campervan travel & tips from the UK and Europe

Whether you are new to vanlife or an experienced campervan family, the learning (whether you realise it or not) doesn’t stop. I am sure you are familiar with the conversations with your significant other like, ‘Next time we will….’ or ‘Next time we won’t ...’ . On each and every trip, I am sure you are figuring out how to make vanlife easier, more efficient with less stress and more chill time. However, I realise that this all takes times to figure out.

So from our years of vanlife experience, I am now sharing my top tips for how to pack quickly for a weekend away:

1: Clean and replenish stock on the return of a trip

I’m not sure why, but this one took me a few years to figure out. Instead of cleaning the campervan before a weekend away, I now clean it as soon as we return. This way the van is always clean and ready for adventure - spontaneous or planned. On the back of a trip, I am also very aware of what we are running low on in the campervan - tea bags, coffee, toilet roll etc, so instead of waiting until we go away again, I always restock supplies on our return. This way I can feel confident leaving for another weekend away knowing that our supplies are full. For more storage solutions click here.

2: Duplicate your essentials so you have a ‘van set’

Obviously if you only use your campervan for a few months of the year then this tip won’t be appropriate for you - nor would it be cost effective. However, we have gradually been able to build up a set of everything that we need for our home-on-wheels and everything stays in the van all the time. Unless we aren’t travelling for an extended period over the winter, then even our bedding stays in the campervan. Toiletries, phone chargers etc are therefore always in the campervan, so I don’t need to pack them, or worry about forgetting them.

3: Packing doesn’t need to be an all day affair

Thursday evening rolls round and you know you have the overwhelming task of packing for a weekend away tomorrow; your mind is frantic with everything you need to remember and don’t want to forget - we have all been there! But it doesn’t need to be that way. You can find more specific tips on packing here but lately I have much preferred to pack in chunks and literally spend 10 minutes a day in the days leading up to the trip, rather than trying to cram it all in before we go. Typically, if we are going away straight after school on a Friday, then I will pack clothes on a Wednesday evening and depending on what type of trip we are going on, I adjust the contents of the van. If we are wild camping, then it’s unlikely that we will need four chairs, the pop-up tent and outdoor table. Find out more about packing for Wild Camping here.

Click here for more Storage Essentials and here for my Amazon recommendations.

4. Make a meal plan

It takes a few minutes to think about a what you and the family would like to eat over the weekend, in fact you can download your FREE Weekend Meal Planner here and find more campsite meal inspiration here. I make a quick plan a few days before, arrange a ‘click and collect’ and unload the food shopping straight into the campervan the day before we are due to leave. The solar panels enable me to keep the fridge on, so I usually do this 24hrs before we are due to leave.

While I appreciate packing to go away takes time and effort, it can be done without stress. I find that just adding a couple of things that we are going to need to the van each day works really well.

We pride ourselves no fuss approach to vanlife, helping you make vanlife with kids easier and identify what is and isn't necessary when it comes to kitting out your campervan. For our Amazon recommendations click here.