[maui]

Thanks to everybody that gave me great camping tips. We had an amazing time. Now I have questions after coming back.
1. Do you wash sleeping bags and tent before putting away???
2. Where and how do you store all the camping gear??
3. Do you you put it all away as soon as you come back?

[teacherpippi]

1. If the tent did not dry or air out, I would set it back up to air out. I do not wash our tent at all. I smell the sleeping bags after a few days at home. If they smell like campfire, I wash them. If they aren't dirty, I just put them away.
2. Rubbermaids in the garage or basement.
3. Yes, putting it away right away is much easier! Otherwise it's winter and we can do indoor s'mores because it would all still be out there!

[lisa53]

1. We always opened up the tent to make sure it is absolutely dry and swept. Washing with soap might damage the waterproofing, so I wouldn't do that. We usually open up the sleeping bags and air out on the line in the sun. I wouldn't bother to wash unless very dirty. It's quite a process to wash a sleeping bag because they are so bulky.

2. We store all camp gear in the garage or a dry basement on shelves.

3. I inspect everything to be sure it's clean and in good repair, run dishes and pans through the dishwasher, air out the tent and sleeping bags, and put everything away ASAP. Otherwise it will end up in a heap somewhere, get mildewed, or things will go missing.

[Penguin82]

Air out your tent and sleeping bags until they are all dry. You don't need to wash these.

We have Rubbermaid containers that have all camping stuff ready to go. So when we get home I replenish then put things away. I make sure to wash any dishes, pots, or cups/mugs.

*lamps, flashlights, and headlamps all get checked for battery life. Blankets we use while camping get washed. Paper plates, cups, and plastic silverwear get replenished, tarps get aired out, s'mores sticks get cleaned.... Etc etc

I put everything away when we get back home. Otherwise it's just laying around and things go "missing"

[anna]

I stored all camping related things in the same colored containers. Like previous posters said,dry out and clean up everything so you are ready to go on the next trip

[teacherman]

Don't wash the tent, but you should air it out if not dry.

Sleeping bags should be aired out. You don't need to wash them, though, unless they are soiled or stinky.

We store our supplies on shelves in the basement.

Glad you had fun!

[Gr8Profession]

We do the same as the lisa53. We always hang our sleeping bags up (unzipped) after we get home if we aren't washing them.