Vanlife packing list spring/summer with kids

Packing lists are always in great demand and it feels like they are becoming more and more important to us, because with the children a lot piles up, which is good if you have something to check off in your hand. But it must also be said that we rarely have too much with us - if we did, we could have packed two pairs of pants or T-shirts less - and experience has shown that we mostly pack sparingly, but for an active, curious person Restless family but prepared for every situation .

Clothes certainly take up the biggest part , especially with small children on board. Here we have discovered a few tricks that we will pass on to you: for example, we only travel with clothes that can be easily washed together in order to avoid piling up too much dirty laundry and expensive washing machines. A dark/colored and a light wash, all of which can be washed at 40 degrees, have proven to be practical for our everyday van life. We also only take natural products , for example 100% cotton, that can be worn for several days, so nothing that makes you sweat quickly. Basically we have a mixture of park table, sporty-urban onion principle .

The rest of the van is mostly already put together so that most things have multiple functions to save space. Since we are usually on the road with our camper for several weeks, we also have a few cozy non-camping things on board that just make it a bit homey , like a vase for flowers or a nice plate for serving.

But we also travel sustainably and independently , we can be self-sufficient in our van for several days, thanks to our separation toilet from Kildwick (can be disposed of anywhere), a solar panel on the roof and an additional solar suitcase, our water filter from Albfilter, because that's how we can Drink the water directly from the tap and fill it into our stainless steel bottles. We have an indoor and outdoor shower and only use natural, solid soap and shampoo.

But we also develop from trip to trip, so we have put together our current packing list for you, showing how we went to Portugal this spring:

• Yoga mat
• A large backpack (we love the large Squamish from mero mero because it looks casual, is very comfortable to wear (also has a chest strap for hikes) and, above all, can be folded small and large)
• A travel guide in book form, a road map of the region we are traveling to or through
• Travel diary in book form for special places or discoveries from our range ( My Adventure Stories with stencil or the My Secret Spots )
• A Bluetooth speaker box
• Two headlamps
• A string of lights for indoors
• A flexible lamp that provides cozy light in front of the van in the evening
• Several candles and a citronella against mosquitoes from our range
• Our camping blanket because it is simply the best all-rounder: picnic blanket, awning, shower curtain
• One outdoor chair per person, we have a mix of everything: deep, cozy, upright, small, bean bag
• A height-adjustable table for outdoors
• Inside, the boys sit in their child seats at the table (we have the Joie Traver Seat and are super happy with it)
• A mirror in the bathroom interior door
• A room spray or a fragrance essence because we have a toilet on board; We have a Kildwick separation toilet, which is a real asset and which we wouldn't want to be without
• A cozy blanket, several pillows, a soft cushion for the inside of our couch
• Playing cards and our memo for the evening
• Rags and all-purpose cleaner for cleaning, small vacuum cleaner, broom
• Doormats, carpets for the inside, we always put one in front of the door when we settle down somewhere
• We sewed washable covers for the seats and bench ourselves
• Several hammam towels for drying, warming, and sun protection are also true all-rounders
• Longboard for a quick ride to the supermarket or bakery
• We attached an aluminum box to the rear carrier, which contains tools, spare parts for this and that, clothesline, carabiners, etc
• a shoe organizer in the back doors from Thule, which we really appreciate
• a small ax for firewood and kindling
• a small folding spade
• a hammock
• a small umbrella
• a small, portable laundry bag (we store this under the seat)
• Water filter system from Albfilter
• Solar suitcase

• A warm vest each
• Fleece or virgin wool jacket
• Rain jacket, mud pants
• 3-4 pairs of pants, T-shirts, sweaters, socks, a scarf
• A pair of sandals, a pair of sneakers, a pair of beach shoes
• Diapers and wipes for 1-2 weeks
• A cap, a sun hat
• Sand toys, a collapsible paddling pool, ball, water wings, life jacket
• A basket with toys, books
• Balance bike with helmet
• Stroller with rain cover
• Books to read and watch

• Either a thin down jacket, a warm vest or a fleece sweater
• Raincoat/jacket
• A cap, a cap, a hat
• 3-4 pairs of pants, t-shirts, sweaters, socks, 2-3 dresses
• Sports equipment (sports pants, sports shirt, sports bra, sports socks)
• A few sandals, a few flip flops, a few sneakers, a few sports shoes (possibly hiking shoes for tours)
• sunglasses

• Your dog bed
• A few towels for the wet dog
• Dog bathrobe (it's actually super practical because Lotta is a water rat and so the wetness just stays in the coat)
• A long and a short leash
• A bowl
• Vaccination certificate
• Skalibor collar against ticks, sand flies and more
• Muzzle for any journeys by metro or boat

• a lightweight camping pot set with a large and a small pot and a pan, from Primus
• a standard household coated pan with a high rim, diameter 22cm
• four normal smaller dinner plates, two deep plates and four enamel cereal/pasta bowls soon from our range
• two enamel cups and two insulated camping tumblers from our range, two children's cups made of melamine (we are not fans of bamboo as everything has broken so far)
• double cutlery for everyone
• three sharp knives, some foldable, for a trip, mountain tour or picnic
• Spices from home filled into smaller jars and test tubes
• a grater, blender, splash guard, cooking sieve, wooden spoon, whisk, corkscrew, a large bowl, a serving plate, a small bread basket, a fruit and vegetable net
• Mocha and milk frother, no coffee grinder at the moment
• the Omina oven with silicone mold and baking sieve
• two large stainless steel bottles and a children's drinking bottle from our range
• at least one bread box and the beeswax cloths from our range for trips or for packing
• a long lighter for the gas stove and candles
• a completely natural hand dishwashing liquid, several tea towels, a sponge, a drain strainer for the sink

• We chose one drawer to be the bathroom drawer
• In addition to our personal, daily cosmetics, we have sunscreen, anti-mosquito spray for the skin, Fenistil, a first-aid kit, and disinfectant spray
• we only use natural soap and shower gel  and shampoo because we use the outside shower as often as possible
• The mirror is in our bathroom door and if you open it and the chosen bathroom drawer, then you have a bathroom :-)

• We have a powerful Mac Book with us and a hard drive each (the only valuable thing in our van, which we always carry on our bodies and never leave behind in the van)
• A camera, with a tripod, several batteries and memory cards; a drone with multiple batteries
• A gimbal
• An iPad Pro for drawing
• A notepad with pens

That's it! And if you have forgotten something, you will be happy to receive a souvenir.

Have a nice trip on the next tour, Franzi & Marius