About that shower...

Okay-I'll admit it.  I'm a little bit of a neat freak and it does extend to camping.  I keep the tent organized and neat.  I cover the picnic table with a plastic cloth that I can scrub with antibacterial wipes. I take a broom to both sweep the tent and the concrete under the table.  I do not however scrub the showers at the park and at times wonder if anyone does.

One of our first long camping trips that my husband and I went on I was basically using a washcloth and soap and cold water from the spigot by camp to get a layer of sweat, dirt, bug spray, and sunscreen off.  It worked-kinda.  I just couldn't bring myself to use the showers at the park.

Then one night, my husband announced, "Well, I'm tired of smelling like a caveman," and took off for the showers.  I sat in camp imagining the mold and mildew and germs he was encountering.  After about 20 minutes he came back and looked so relaxed and comfortable.  And he smelled good!  He told me it wasn't that bad and that he kept his sandals on the whole time he was in there.  I decided to risk it.  Hot water and clean hair was too much of a temptation.

Typical park restroom-nothing fancy, just what you need

I packed up a bag of soap, shampoo, washcloth, change of clothes, toothbrush, toothpaste, towels (one for my body, one for my hair) and my flip flops and headed to the shower.  I threw caution to the wind and stepped into the shower stall.  I tried to ignore anything that looked like it needed scrubbed and pulled closed the curtain.  Once the hot water came on, I didn't even think about the mold or mildew.  I just stood there and enjoyed it.

I got back to camp about 45 minutes later.  Clean and happy and comfortable.  And over my hang-up on what the shower looks like.  Don't get me wrong, I will try to wait until right after I see the cleaning crew leave and will walk out if it is really bad.  But, hot water and clean body is definitely a camp necessity.

I taught my kids that those showers are good.  Rachel actually looks forward to the shower before crawling into her sleeping bag at night.  She has learned the tricks to  using showers in a state park.

1.  Wear flip flops or water proof shoes the whole time.
2.  Carry shower needs (soap, shampoo, towels, deodorant, etc.) in a water proof tote bag. Some showers get really wet,
3.  Take shorts of short pants to change into after the shower.  They are easier to put on without getting them on the floor.
4.  Check out the showers when you get to the camp.  Some don't have curtains up over the changing area.  We pack a couple of the cheap shower liners and duct tape for those emergencies and make our own.

The Inspiration

My son came running back to our campsite from the playground ready for lunch.  I couldn't even see skin; just dirt and mud.  I yelled down, "Wash first-with soap!"

He stopped at the water spigot at the front of our campsite, turned on the water, grabbed the soap, and in seconds was clean enough to eat-from the wrists to the fingers anyway.

Another mom was walking by and stopped to watch.  She asked about my "soap dispenser."  I never even thought of it as clever or unusual-just standard operating procedure.  I drop a bar of soap into an old nylon knee-high or pieces of pantyhose and tie it to the spigot.  It's always there, dries between sue, doesn't fall on the ground, and can't be carried away by animals-or kids.

About 2 hours later, I saw that same mom again.  She had made a trip into a nearby town for some knee highs and soap.  She asked if I had any other secrets to share... 

That made me think, maybe I do have some ideas that can be useful to other campers.