If you want to go on a camping trip without the hassle, camping in your own backyard is a fun and easy alternative. It’s an excellent way to experience the outdoors and indulge in fun camping activities without needing to travel. You also can sleep in your own bed and cook meals in your own kitchen if you prefer. While backyard camping is safe in that it’s travel-free, there are ways to make it safer and more healthy for everybody involved.
Here are some tips for how to keep your backyard camping trip safe for everybody’s health:
Avoid Sharing Tents
Getting cozy with friends or family members in a tent is a classic camping experience. However, it also puts you at risk of sharing germs. The small, enclosed space and lack of airflow make safe social distancing virtually impossible even in an enormous family-sized tent. For a healthier option, opt for individual pop-up tents. If the weather permits, you can even sleep under the stars. One of the many benefits of backyard camping is that you can go sleep inside, which may be safer for the health of the group.
Pre-Portion Your S’mores
Sharing food around the campfire is not ideal for avoiding the spread of germs. The good news is that many campfire treats are easy to pre-portion, so each individual person can enjoy the experience—and the food—without risk. S’mores are a perfect example of a fun camping treat you can separate into “kits” for each person. Simply fill a plastic sealable bag with some graham crackers, chocolate and a few marshmallows for roasting. This way everybody can still make their own s’mores together without passing around a box of crackers or a pack of chocolate.
Sanitize Regularly
Good personal hygiene habits are essential to staying healthy. This includes lots of hand washing and use of antibacterial sanitizers. Make sure everybody on your camping “trip” has a pack of essentials, including a pocket-sized hand sanitizer. You can even make a craft project out of decorative holders or straps to keep them convenient. Encourage children to practice good habits while backyard camping by creating a game of it—you might find it helps the adults remember, too.
While gathering safely requires more careful planning, it’s more than worth the effort to keep yourself and others healthy. Try these tips for your next backyard camping trip to have fun without extra risk.
About the Author
Kimberly Hering
Kimberly Hering's devotion to helping people achieve their real estate goals stems from her genuine enjoyment of the process. Whatever the task, Kimberly makes it her mission to get it done, however she can, without compromising her client's needs. Often, that means thinking outside the box. After working with Kimberly, clients describe her as being Trustworthy, Creative, Patient, Highly Skilled, Attentive to the Process and having a lot of Integrity.
After spending more than 15 successful years working on Wall Street, Kimberly transitioned into Real Estate, joining Alain Pinel Realtors, then moving to Zephyr, now Corcoran Global Living, in 2018. During her career on Wall Street, Kimberly was a Vice President working as an Institutional Equity Salesperson for Montgomery Securities for 10 years. She covered the top money managers throughout the US and Canada. She joined Jefferies & Co as a Senior Vice President managing the Western Region Institutional Sales group, while continuing to cover the top money managers.
Kimberly leverages her extensive experience selling equities to top money managers throughout the US and Canada, to successfully negotiating any Real Estate transaction seamlessly for her clients. Kimberly is well versed in Marin's neighborhoods, towns, cities, and education system.
Living in the Bay Area for 35 years, 25 years in Marin and having 2 sons in local Marin schools, Kimberly spends a lot of time volunteering in the community and serving on various local Boards. Kimberly has a collection of resources ranging from the best local breakfast spots to vetted contractors. With her reliable list of valuable resources, Real Estate experience and unsurpassed knowledge of Marin's many communities, Kimberly can guide her clients through every aspect of a Real Estate transaction seamlessly.
Relocating to Marin, downsizing, upsizing, first time home buying, final home purchase or sale, or a lot to build a dream home, no matter the undertaking, Kimberly works seamlessly until the job at hand is completed with 100% satisfaction.