15 Signs You’re Not Going Camping Enough

If you are fuzzy about exactly when you last packed up and headed out for a camping trip, read on. When it comes to camping, if you feel like you’re having FOMO, you should! Camping is one of the best ways to relax and fully enjoy the outdoors. More Americans now own RVs, and the RV rental industry has skyrocketed in recent years.

This translates to hundreds of millions of campers every year. But whatever your preferred method of camping, these are some signs you need to get out and do it more often.

1. You can (sort of) remember how to get to your favorite campground.
2. When you do finally take a camping trip after a spell, you forget what all you need and either overpack or don’t pack enough.
3. Your air mattress has deep creases from being in storage for too long.
4. Your laundry room at home no longer smells like a campfire.
5. Your wood matches have expired. (Pro tip: when stored properly in a cool dry space, strike matches should last for well over 10 years.)
6. Your favorite campsite is now shaded by trees that were only yay high the last time you were there.
7. Instead of a bag of 50 fresh marshmallows, you have a big bag of stale stickiness. (If this sounds familiar, don’t throw them away just yet. Here is a fun article with tips on how you might give them a second life.)
8. Speaking of s’mores ingredients, if you have Hershey’s chocolate bars that have taken on a grey, chalky color, they probably won’t pass the taste test. But if they haven’t expired, you can still use them for baking.
9. You can’t remember the last time you checked someone for ticks.
10. You think the longest amount of time you can reasonably go without a hot shower is 24 hours.
11. Your neighbors have gently inquired about the RV parked in your driveway, and asked if they could buy it from you, since it has not moved in quite a long time.
12. Your credit card company contacted you to notify you that they noticed a charge at a campground because they don’t recognize it as ‘normal spending behavior.’
13. You’re still working on the same can of OFF! you bought last summer.
14. The last time you took a family photo around the campfire, you had to take the film to a camera store to get the pictures developed.
15. The last time you filled up the motorhome with gas, it cost less than $20. And you paid with a personal check. (Yes, we know that gas prices have gone through the roof, but here is a helpful article for finding RV-friendly gas stations nationwide.)

Before you know it, the camping season will be back in full force. Why wait? Now’s the time to start planning your epic camping adventures this year. With more people camping now than ever before, the time to make those reservations is NOW.