Not Your Mama's Camp Trunk

Southern women love to monogram and personalize everything. My husband has said that if it will sit still, I will monogram it. I cannot confirm or deny this. One of my favorite projects to work on are camp trunks. Camp is a big deal here in Texas. I don't know who loves it more: the kiddos or the parents. One camp essential is the camp trunk. You have to pack your camper with all the things they will need for one week and for some, four weeks. No fear, the trunk can take it!

I have ordered our trunks from Everything Summer Camp. I am not getting paid to advertise for them. I just love their products and recommend them to all my friends! At many camps, the trunk sits at the foot of the camper's bed and is their way to personalize their little chunk of space. So, personalization is a must! Here are a few of the trunks that I have painted through the years. For some reason, I have not photographed the trunks for boys. They are more "tame" than the girls. My boys like to put stickers on theirs. I have also used sports team pennants, camo, hunting and extreme sports for themes. 

The inside lid of the trunk is a great place to tape a family photo and a sweet note to your camper. I also put a packing list there, so that we hopefully we will return home with most of our things, and I include my number one rule of camp (after having the greatest time ever) "No wet things in your trunk!" Large ziplock bags are a camper mom's best friend. I pack theme night clothing and special outfits in them and label them accordingly.

A well-packed trunk makes me feel as though I can still take care of my babies when they are away from me. I envision them opening their trunks each day and feeling my love through the sweet note and the easy to find, well-labeled clothing. I know that the labels that I ironed on their undies will make their camp experience even better. This is what I tell myself, so that when we pick Sport up and get him home from two weeks of camp heaven and I open his trunk and find pretty much everything still clean and in the bags that I packed them in I won't go crazy. Yes, that has happened. When asked why only two pairs of socks seem to be the only ones worn for two weeks - "I didn't want to ruin them all." was the reply. When asked why only one set of sheets was dirty, "We didn't have time to change them. They feel kind of sandy though." Uugghh! In his defense, underwear was changed, showers were taken and more than one shirt was worn. Not sure about the toothbrush and I don't want to know. Sweet Pea usually does use everything. She would want me to say that. 

Happy camping!

Krissy