Sept. 15, 2025

Ep 29 -Goldilocks Goes Glamping: When "Just in Case" Packing Goes Wild

Goldilocks Goes Glamping: When "Just in Case" Packing Goes Wild

Originally aired on The JJ's Declutter Podcast - Episode 29

This isn't your average story of porridge temperature crimes and furniture testing. Oh no. This time, Goldilocks is headed into the wild, where she learns the hard way that camping without decluttering is a one-way ticket to chaos. Expect hammocks, hoarding, and some serious side-eye for overpacked coolers and mystery Tupperware.

Welcome to the tale of how our beloved fairy tale troublemaker discovered that glamping isn't about bringing everything—it's about bringing what actually works.

The Great Packing Pile: When "Just in Case" Takes Over

Picture this: Goldilocks decided she needed a break—a glamping getaway to reconnect with nature. But as she packed her car, the pile of "just in case" items grew taller than her tent. Three yoga mats? Check. Five pairs of hiking boots? Definitely. Four gallons of lavender bug spray? A girl's gotta be prepared.

When the wise Squirrel Guide questioned her packing strategy, asking if she was prepping for the apocalypse rather than a weekend camping trip, Goldilocks defensively gestured toward her third mysterious bin. "Granola or glitter? It's a mystery snack craft kit," she explained.

Sound familiar? We've all been there—standing in our garage, convinced we need seventeen throw pillows for outdoor comfort.

The Strategic Packing Revolution

Use a digital packing list (Excel is your friend): Create a customizable spreadsheet based on destination, season, and trip length. Include a "Did I Use This?" column for post-trip evaluation. This simple addition will revolutionize your future packing decisions.

Group items by function: Keep cooking things together, sleeping gear clustered, clothing organized, and emergency supplies consolidated. Like attracts like, and you will thank yourself later when searching for the can opener at dinner time.

Resist the pantry invasion: Don't pack your entire spice collection, especially those expired seasoning packets from 2006. If that's the last time you camped, those packets are definitely past their prime. Nothing ruins a campfire meal like funky-tasting seasonings that might make everything taste like regret.

The Campsite Explosion: Spreading Joy (and Stuff) Across Four Sites

Upon arrival at Bear Hollow Glamp Ground, Goldilocks promptly exploded her gear across four campsites. When the camp host politely mentioned she couldn't block the trail with her marshmallow buffet and seventeen throw pillows, Goldilocks protested, "They spark joy!"

While Marie Kondo might appreciate the sentiment, outdoor spaces require different rules. Even in glamping situations, clutter makes spaces unsafe and overwhelming.

Creating Functional Outdoor Organization

Master vertical storage: Use hanging organizers inside tents, but remember the golden rule—nothing should touch the tent walls. If anything contacts the inner tent wall during moisture or rain, you'll get unwanted water seepage. This includes your sleeping bag.

Embrace clear storage bins: Transparent containers help you see what you packed without three hours of tent diving to find the bug spray. Label everything extensively, because "mystery bin" games aren't fun when mosquitoes are attacking.

Establish designated zones: Even outdoor spaces need organization. Create distinct areas for cooking, sleeping, storage, and relaxation. Chaos might feel adventurous initially, but it becomes exhausting quickly.

The Camp Kitchen Calamity: When Spatulas Go Missing

"Where's the spatula? Oh wait, here it is—stuck in the oatmeal pot under a headlamp next to a moldy banana." If this sounds like your camping kitchen experience, you're not alone. Camp cooking requires even more organization than home cooking because you're working with limited space and resources.

Kitchen Organization That Actually Works

Assign everything a designated home: Use labeled totes for utensils, dry goods, and cleanup supplies. Janis shares her Girl Scout troop strategy of boxing items by meal—breakfast, lunch, and dinner each got their own container, so meal prep teams could grab everything needed in one trip.

Clean as you go religiously: This prevents raccoon rave parties. Trust us—you don't want to discover what happens when woodland creatures find your dirty dishes.

Choose multi-use tools strategically: Skip the electric popcorn popper, but don't go overboard trying to make every tool do seventeen jobs. Sometimes a spatula is just a spatula, and that's perfectly fine.

Maximize vertical space: Hang items from nearby trees or your dining canopy. Julie hangs kitchen essentials from trees near her campsite, keeping frequently used items accessible and off the ground. You can tie a rope around a tree and hang various tools—including a mirror for that classic camping grooming station.

The Sleeping Situation: Three Beds, None Just Right

When bedtime arrived, Goldilocks faced three sleeping options, and none were ideal: an inflatable bed that deflated mid-snore, a cot with three broken hinges, and a hammock full of dog hair and disappointment. "Why did I bring six bedding options and none of them work?" she wondered.

The answer? She didn't follow the fundamental camping rule: test everything at home first.

Sleep System Success

Test all gear at home: Air mattresses, flashlights, hammocks—everything should get a trial run in familiar surroundings. Discovering equipment failures at home is inconvenient. Discovering them in the wilderness is a disaster.

Use compression sacks for space saving: These aren't compression socks (though Julie initially misread it that way). Compression sacks squeeze air out of sleeping bags and pillows, dramatically reducing storage space. They work similarly to vacuum storage bags but don't require electricity.

One reliable sleep solution per camper: Focus on comfort over options. Everyone needs one good way to sleep, not six mediocre alternatives.

Layer for temperature control: The ground and air can make you cold even inside a sleeping bag. Use thin mats under sleeping bags or cots for insulation. Janis learned this during her Girl Scout camping days—adults got cots, but everyone needed ground insulation.

Pack extra blankets strategically: Julie discovered that sleeping bags can feel confining, causing people to unzip them for movement freedom. Having blankets available allows comfort without sacrificing warmth.

Pro Sleep Tips from Experienced Campers

Change into clean socks before bed: Sweaty feet become cold, wet feet. Dry socks are essential for comfortable sleep.

Sleep in a hoodie: You lose significant body heat through your head. Janis started this practice because she simply couldn't sleep with a cold head.

The Car Clutter Catastrophe: When Your Backseat Looks Like a Junk Truck

"I think my sandwich is under the emergency poncho next to the second cooler," Goldilocks mumbled, digging through her mobile disaster zone. When your backseat resembles a "before" photo from a hoarding intervention, it's time for car organization intervention.

Vehicle Organization Solutions

Use backseat organizers and trunk bins: Contain items in designated spaces. This helps you fit more while keeping everything accessible.

Always pack trash bags and cleaning wipes: These aren't optional—they're essential for maintaining sanity and cleanliness.

Complete post-trip purging: After every trip, remove ALL items from your car, including things you didn't use. Only repack what proved necessary for next time. Everything else can find a new home.

The Forest Bathroom Fiasco: Glitter Shampoo and Expired Sunscreen

Goldilocks needed to powder her nose, but her toiletry bag exploded with expired sunscreen and three types of glitter shampoo. "Who needs glitter shampoo AND glitter dry shampoo?" Julie wondered. The answer: literally nobody.

Bathroom Caddy Curation

Create a minimal essentials kit: Biodegradable soap, toothbrush, and deodorant cover the basics. Skip hotel freebies you never use at home.

Consider your water situation: If you're camping with limited water supplies, invest in low-suds, biodegradable products. If you're at a campsite with full facilities connected to sewer systems, standard products work fine.

Plan for wet items: Bring gallon Ziploc bags for damp toiletries to prevent funky forest smells from permeating everything else.

Pack a bucket with a lid: Julie shares a memorable story about being trapped in her tent by a skunk outside, with a dead phone and friends in air-conditioned trailers who couldn't hear her dilemma. Sometimes you need creative solutions for basic needs. A bucket with a lid provides emergency options and peace of mind.

The Wildlife Reality Check: When Nature Fights Back

Depending on your camping location, food security becomes crucial. Raccoons, skunks, bears, and other creatures have zero respect for your meal planning. Use plastic bins with locking side mechanisms rather than simple snap-close containers. Store food properly to avoid unwanted midnight visitors.

Julie's pack horse scare (initially mistaken for charging elk) reminds us that camping involves sharing space with animals who were there first. Respect their territory by keeping your campsite clean and food secure.

Goldilocks's Glamping Epiphany: Less Is Actually More

Finally, Goldilocks achieved her breakthrough moment: "I finally get it! Glamping isn't about bringing everything. It's about bringing what works." Simplicity creates space for serenity, plus fewer things to unpack when you return home. Hashtag win-win.

The Intentional Adventure Philosophy

Think intentional adventure, not rolling storage locker: Every item should earn its space through actual usefulness, not hypothetical scenarios.

Declutter as you repack: Don't bring the mess home. Use packing time as an opportunity to evaluate what proved valuable versus what remained unused.

Prioritize function over fantasy: Seventeen throw pillows might spark joy, but they don't spark practical comfort in outdoor settings.

Test the gear rule: Always test equipment at home first. And maybe don't store trail mix and bug spray in the same pouch—flavor contamination isn't appetizing.

Your Glamping Action Plan

Ready to apply Goldilocks's hard-earned wisdom to your own outdoor adventures?

This week: If you have camping gear, do a quick inventory. What's broken, expired, or untested? Make a "test at home" list for anything you're unsure about.

Before your next trip: Create a digital packing list with "Did I Use This?" columns. Be honest about past camping experiences—what did you actually need versus what felt necessary?

Pack with purpose: Group items functionally, use clear containers, and resist the urge to bring "just in case" items unless you can articulate a specific scenario where you'd need them.

Embrace the 80/20 rule: You'll probably use 20% of what you pack 80% of the time. Focus on getting that essential 20% right rather than covering every possible scenario.

Remember: your campsite can be cozy and clean without resembling a gear explosion. The goal is creating space for adventure, relaxation, and connection with nature—not managing an outdoor storage facility.

Keep it simple, keep it intentional, and as always, keep decluttering—even when you're surrounded by trees instead of walls.

Want to hear Julie's full skunk tent story and Janis's Girl Scout camping wisdom? Listen to Episode 29 of The JJ's Declutter Podcast, where fairy tale adventures meet practical outdoor organization advice.

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