How to: Make a Camping/Moving Box

One of the greatest (if not THE greatest) wedding gifts my husband and I got was a camping/moving box.  It was from his grandparents, and they explained that they were planning to give each grandkid one of these for their wedding.  Since we just completed the first real move of our married life, we were able to use it for the first time (moving, anyway - we have used it camping) and it was a lifesaver.


So what's a camping/moving box?  It's a big tupperware box full of anything you would need while camping, and in the middle of the move.  When I'm packing, I like to take it room by room and pack up EVERYTHING.  There's nothing worse than only being able to pack up half of a room because you still need half the things in that room.  This is especially true in the kitchen - you can't pack up everything because you still need some stuff.  But you don't need all the utensils, so you end up packing half of them, and then when you get to your new house everything is split up into different boxes and it's insane.


Am I right?


Anyway, the camping/moving box saved us from all that hassle.  We were able to pack up everything in our kitchen ahead of time, because any immediate needs were filled by the box.  So, what's in the box?

First, and probably most importantly, there was a laminate list of all the contents of the box, which was great because we knew exactly what we had at our disposal.  Here's the full list:


Dish towels (4)
Dish cloths (2)
Dish pan
Dish soap
Scouring pad
Matches
Hot pads (2) and hot mitt
Tablecloth
Ziploc bags
aluminum foil
paper towels
paper plates and cups
garbage bags
rope
clothes pins
bath towels and wash cloths
body wash or soap
shampoo conditioner
toilet paper
salt and pepper
cutting board
large knife
small knife
meat fork
can opener
potato peeler
cheese grater
cereal bowls
glasses or mugs
silverware
2 large serving spoons
rubber spatula
pancake turner
2 qt pitcher
ladle
sm., med., and lg. mixing bowls
measuring cups and spoons
whisk
frying pan
lg. and sm. cooking pot
plastic pan


Another great thing about this box is that it's perfect for emergency situations.  If we had to leave our house in a jiffy, and we were able to get in our car and leave (as opposed to leaving on foot), we'd throw this box in the trunk along with our 72-hour kits and it would be a great supplement to those kits.


Isn't that a great box??  It has everything we would imagine needing for camping, and it would be a dream to have in an emergency.  And the greatest part is, most (if not all) of these things can be found at places like Goodwill, Big Lots, and other discount stores.  Nothing inside our box is fancy or top-of-the-line. It's very basic and perfect for emergency use. 


A camping/moving/emergency box is a great gift idea and if you start collecting things now, you could definitely have one (or more) put together by Christmastime.


Is there anything else you suggest adding to the box?  I mean, it's pretty full as it is but I'd love to hear your thoughts!