Places to get camping supplies on the cheap

Now that you have a list of the items you need for a successful and enjoyable camping experience, I'll discuss places you can purchase cheap camping supplies, and what you can get where.

For tents, air mattresses, sleeping bags, cooler, and screen house/canopies:

Craigslist.org: Go to this website and find the city closest to you. If you're looking for free stuff, look under the free listings. If you're willing to spend a few bucks, look under the Sporting Goods listing. You could also post under the Wanted listing.

Freecycle.org - Find your local chapter at the web site. It's free to join and once you do, you can place a post seeking camping supplies. There's no guarantee you will get them, but it never hurts to try.

Classified ads - Check the classfied in your local newspaper. You will want to search for the $100.00 or less" and/or the "Sporting Goods" headings.

Clearance sales - Towards the end of summer, stores will sometimes clear out their camping supplies to put in back to school or fall merchandise. In the spring, new models of tents will come out, so last year's models will be put on clearance.

Words of warning: If you buy or receive used tents and/or screen houses/canopies, be sure you receive the assembly instructions! A cheap tent or screen house isn't any good if you don't know how to put it together.

For food preparation supplies:

Discount stores such as Dollar General or Family Dollar - A good place to find cheap pots and pans and cooking utensils.

Yard sales or garage sales - A good sourch of used pots and pans and cooking utensils. You don't need brand new stuff if you're going camping. You're not trying to impress anyone - you just need stuff that will work.

For the large plastic storage totes, try Garden Ridge or Old Time Pottery. If you have neither one of those stores near you, go to Wal-Mart or Kmart. You may also be able to find them and the yard/garage sales mentioned above.

Miscellaneous supplies:

Dollar stores - A great place to buy aluminum foil, paper plates, matches, etc. Take a little time and explore at the dollar store - you can find some great stuff there.

Super cheap ways to get camping supplies:

Borrow supplies from friends. If they aren't going camping when you are, that means that they're not using their equipment. If you tell them that you're trying camping for the first time and you want to see what it's like, they may let you borrow their equipment.

You can also bring things from home, i.e., substitute blankets for sleeping bags, and your own pots and pans and cooking utensils.

Next week at this time, my family will be camping! I can't wait! If you're going camping next weekend, leave a comment and tell us where you'll be camping. Next time, I'll discuss food preparation and planning. Until then -

Happy camping!

Diane