Daily Dose 55: Better Campsites

A tried and true Boy Scout rule was to leave the campsite better than you found it. Was the campfire smoking when you arrived? Make sure your campfire is out well before you leave—and gather a nice stack of kindling and wood to leave for the next camper.

Were leaves and dust on the cabin floor? Sweep the floor clean before leaving. Is a frayed wire showing on the light bulb hanging from the picnic shelter? Wrap the cord in electrical tape and alert the rangers (Naturally, Boy Scouts have electrical tape on camping trips. Their motto is Be Prepared.) 

Sad to say, leaving things better than they were found is not the way most people operate, a fact attested to by little signs hanging all over church and work place kitchens across the country: Please, wash and put away the cups and dishes you use. DO NOT LEAVE DIRTY DISHES IN THE SINK!!!!!!!!

Attending to Public Spaces is Learned in the Home

No, the default thinking is that others have more time to clean up my mess. We don’t really own the responsibility of tidying up public spaces. Home is the place for both men and women to practice campsite improvements. The many work and living spaces in a home provide ample opportunities to leave a better campsite.

Putting Better Campsites into Practice

Straighten a picture as you walk through the room, carry waiting items whenever you go upstairs, wipe the sink every time you use it, hang up the coat left on the chair. So much can be done in passing to improve and maintain living and work areas.

Better Campsite thinking is an excellent candidate to add to a cycle of ways you think about your living area, though, of course, you needn’t stop there. The office, car, school room, and store shelves could also benefit from such treatment. During EO, schedule a Better Campsite week, and start looking for ways to leave things better than you found them. The week can be a solo mission or a family project. Thinking this way is great for children (and students), perhaps trying a two or three day cycle rather than a week for younger children.

Would you like to spice up the search? The pennies, quarters, M & Ms, and goldfish from bit and bite cycles can return for Better Campsites cycles as well, waiting in a bowl for you (or helpers) to take one whenever they improve the campsite. How fast will the jar empty? Can you save the coins until lunch and see who has the most? During another Campsite Week, don’t use a jar of coins or treats, but fill out a list together at meals, everyone remembering what they did since the last meal. Can your family get to 50 campsite improvements in a day?

 Those who live alone or in a dorm situation need not feel excluded. In fact, playing such games with yourself, builds your advice supply for others and helps you truly build a genuine solo home life, rather than subsistence solo living. With roommates, it provides an objective and (possibly) enjoyable means to pleasant co-habitation. At least such ideas are neutral grounds for positive discussion. A week of Better Campsite-ing has been known to do wonders on untidy living spaces without really doing any cleaning!

For all of us, Better Campsite jotted on the calendar for the day or week, can be a signal to turn on the problem ownership eyes to make living and working spaces even better.