We try to make every have a double or even tripple use ..ie :
Bucket - bin with a bag in it by day ,emergency wee recepticle by night ,also has a third purpose (once fully washed ) as a bucket for washing down the groudsheet if very muddy.
Great minds think alike eh Gemma-lu.
I was thinking the same thing about the towels when I was typing up my 'eternal camping question' post. Towels are a bulky necessity and unless the weather's scorchio they seem to be eternally damp. I remember getting one of those micro fiber towels years ago when they first came out. I used it once and binned it as I found it snagged on everything - my nails, ear studs, ring, the wicker laundry basket in the bathroom and a bit gross, but has to be said, it took a loose scab clean off my ankle 'ouch' Anyway, have things moved on? how do you find them? I would be more than willing to make peace with the little blighters and try again if I thought they had improved.
we have the bigger version fo this one - size of a bath sheet but doesn't come with a bag. (tried to convince the missus that she wouldn't need a bath sheet unless she was planning on streaking across the campsite after her shower - she still insisited on the bath sheet)
no snagging or pulling, as i said it feels like you are drying yourself with a chamois leather (maybe the trick is to pat and not rub - will try and let you know) but it does the trick. much better than they used to be.I would recommend getting a bigger one so you have plenty to dry with. still fit in glove box if they are the biggest size.
The kitchen thing though is only a hanging shower bag that can often be found in pound shops, small bottles can be got from asda for pence and most other things will already be in many camping kits or in the kitchen at home.
It always makes me laugh when I see people loading up their trolleys with the cut-price portable satellite receivers at Lidl/Aldi... what really constitutes a 'life's little extra' in the tent these days?
We maintain a tick-off spreadsheet list which we regularly update on the computer and print off a few days before we set off. Primarily this is to ensure we don't forget to take something but it also acts as a 'conscience' to cross-out the non-essential items.
Ive got a 5 birth caravan and only the wife and i go away. She has wardrobe 8 overhead lockers and my clothes are in a bag in the car and i dont use all off my clothes in 5 days. New clothes she bought on holiday 2 years ago are still in there, not used. want to cut down down on wieght , Don't take a woman with you. HAHA