Going green? Go camping!

In the spirit of my previous ‘green’ articles I wanted to include in this topic one of the most important and enjoyable activities in peoples lives… holidays! The obvious choice would be the camping holiday and with numbers of people camping (and the age dropping) it seems many people have already made this choice.  Apparently the average age of campers has dropped dramatically – averaging previously around 60 and now in the 40s… why? Well partly because more families want to enjoy a ‘green’ holiday and enjoy the benefits of the Countryside right on their doorstep, after all we are known for our Great British Countryside and with so much to enjoy the possibilities are endless for camping destinations in this country!

This growing trend of greener family holidays also has the added benefit of more money being spent in local, rural communities. Check out The Caravan Club website for inspiration and where to go. To kick-start your 2010 adventures check out this article for inspiration of what to take with you to avoid problems with moths, storage and keeping everything clean and tidy!

Moths - they can be a problem when at home, but if you want to avoid them when travelling make sure you protect your clothing with products such as Clothes Moth Traps are designed to be hung in clothing storage areas, are simple to assemble and installed in seconds. Lasting for approximately 6 weeks from activation, they are easy to use and there are no chemicals.

Apart from clothes protection Anti Mosquito Balls provide excellent protection… they generate a one metre protection field which makes them particularly effective in small spaces such as cars, tents, caravans, sleeping bags etc. – also ideal for those barbeques to keep the pests away.

Caravanning4u provides great advice on the problem of moths such as using string bags to place five or six mothballs in four bags and depositing one in each corner of the caravan. Cedar wood is of course the natural moth repellent with a wonderful aromatic fresh fragrance and natural cedarwood balls are ideal for this.

For every new caravan or motorhome owner (and indeed even for the most experienced owner) it can be challenging making the best use of the space available and keeping everything clean. Problems of transporting and storing clothes can all be solved with the right products.

To make the most use of your wardrobe space you should make sure you take a Space Saving Hanger Bar - you can hang six hangers from it either vertically, which is the way it is mostly used for shirts or trousers, or horizontally to hang six pairs of trousers or shirts.

Also really useful are Hotel Security Hangers… often clothes fall off the rail with ordinary hangers but using this type of hanger holds them securely in place – see testimonial from the Caraselle Direct site below for more information:

"Some time ago there was an article in the Club Magazine, about Hotel Type Coat Hangers, which a member had used, and so avoided the problem, so often encounted, where the hangers have bounced off the rail of the wardrobe, and all the clothes are on the bottom of the wardrobe, when you arrive at your destination. I thought this was a brilliant idea, but have had difficulty in tracing this type of hanger. I have now discovered www.caraselledirect.com who sell these hangers, as well as a large number of other items for caravanners. They do wooden or plastic hangers, and metal or plastic hooks. The advantage of the plastic hook is that they can be fitted without removing the hanging rail. Incidentally I have bought a second set of rings, so that the hangers can be taken straight from the House Wardrobe to the caravan."

Keeping a small space clean is essential especially when travelling – roller brushes are ideal for keeping clothing, seats & upholstery clean (fantastic if travelling with pets and to keep your clothes pet hair free!) Mini Pocket Sized Roller Brushes are ideal for travel and can even fit into your handbag – refills are available.

A hand-held carpet cleaner is incredibly effective at removing hairs and dust from rugs or carpets and being so small means you don’t need to worry about losing much space! You should also consider a Mini-Sweeper for sweeping tablecloths and carpets, stylish and effective, this sweeper is long lasting, sweeping crumbs from tablecloths and all surfaces. Ideal because no plugs, no leads, no batteries!

For more useful caravan and motorhome accessories and inspiration visit Caraselle Direct - an online shopping website full of great storage solutions and homecare products. Enjoy your 2010 adventures!

Don’t let storage or moths become a problem on your next caravan or motorhome adventure!

I’ve already mentioned how limited storage space in your wardrobe can be solved with space saving hanger bars and hotel security hangers, but what do you do about items you need to take but don’t use all the time? If you’re lucky enough to be going away for more than a couple of weeks you certainly need to be prepared and that means taking more than you may like! This doesn’t need to be such a problem when you take storage bags – and especially vacuum storage bags – with you. Vacuum bags have the capacity to store jumpers, pillows, blankets, duvets, sheets and/or t-shirts and then by inserting your vacuum cleaner's hose into the valve the air is removed from the bag. Get the bag ready before you go for anything you may need later on your journey. There are many available including: the Large Vacuum Storage Jumper/blanket Volume Reducing Chest and Large Underbed Vacuum Storage Chest.

Travel Vacuum Bags are also available which are great for reducing bulk in your suitcase. These are two bags (Large and Medium) which are re-usable clear sealing bags, and all the air can be squeezed out by rolling the bag up so brilliant for travel. The clothes will retain their original shape and size. If you don’t require the vacuum style of storage you will still need to keep everything easily accessible and for this you can still use storage bags generally. The Oblong Storage Chest is made in a strong see-through Peva material with a nylon zip & two polyester carry cords. Ideal for sweaters & blankets… but if you need a bag which you can squash into whatever space you have available then the Peva Zip Up Storage Bag is ideal. Made of heavy guage clear Peva with a zipper, the bag measures 60 x 40 x 20 cms (23.5.x 15 3/4 x 8") – because it doesn’t have rigid sides you can fill it up a bit more and still squash it into a small space! All these bags are moth resistant which is a must and brings me onto how to keep moths at bay!

For clothing protection Clothes Moth Traps are designed to be hung in clothing storage areas, are simple to assemble and installed in seconds. Lasting for approximately 6 weeks from activation, they are easy to use and there are no chemicals. Apart from clothes protection Anti Mosquito Balls provide excellent protection… they generate a one metre protection field which makes them particularly effective in small spaces such as cars, tents, caravans, sleeping bags etc. – also ideal for those barbeques to keep the pests away. Caravanning4u provides great advice on the problem of moths such as using string bags to place five or six mothballs in four bags and depositing one in each corner of the caravan. Cedar wood is of course the natural moth repellent with a wonderful aromatic fresh fragrance and natural cedarwood balls are ideal for this.

For more useful caravan and motorhome accessories and inspiration visit Caraselle Direct - an online shopping website full of great storage solutions and homecare products.

Don’t let storage or moths become a problem on your next caravan or motorhome adventure!

I’ve already mentioned how limited storage space in your wardrobe can be solved with space saving hanger bars and hotel security hangers, but what do you do about items you need to take but don’t use all the time? If you’re lucky enough to be going away for more than a couple of weeks you certainly need to be prepared and that means taking more than you may like! This doesn’t need to be such a problem when you take storage bags – and especially vacuum storage bags – with you. Vacuum bags have the capacity to store jumpers, pillows, blankets, duvets, sheets and/or t-shirts and then by inserting your vacuum cleaner's hose into the valve the air is removed from the bag. Get the bag ready before you go for anything you may need later on your journey. There are many available including: the Large Vacuum Storage Jumper/blanket Volume Reducing Chest and Large Underbed Vacuum Storage Chest.

Travel Vacuum Bags are also available which are great for reducing bulk in your suitcase. These are two bags (Large and Medium) which are re-usable clear sealing bags, and all the air can be squeezed out by rolling the bag up so brilliant for travel. The clothes will retain their original shape and size. If you don’t require the vacuum style of storage you will still need to keep everything easily accessible and for this you can still use storage bags generally. The Oblong Storage Chest is made in a strong see-through Peva material with a nylon zip & two polyester carry cords. Ideal for sweaters & blankets… but if you need a bag which you can squash into whatever space you have available then the Peva Zip Up Storage Bag is ideal. Made of heavy guage clear Peva with a zipper, the bag measures 60 x 40 x 20 cms (23.5.x 15 3/4 x 8") – because it doesn’t have rigid sides you can fill it up a bit more and still squash it into a small space! All these bags are moth resistant which is a must and brings me onto how to keep moths at bay!

For clothing protection Clothes Moth Traps are designed to be hung in clothing storage areas, are simple to assemble and installed in seconds. Lasting for approximately 6 weeks from activation, they are easy to use and there are no chemicals. Apart from clothes protection Anti Mosquito Balls provide excellent protection… they generate a one metre protection field which makes them particularly effective in small spaces such as cars, tents, caravans, sleeping bags etc. – also ideal for those barbeques to keep the pests away. Caravanning4u provides great advice on the problem of moths such as using string bags to place five or six mothballs in four bags and depositing one in each corner of the caravan. Cedar wood is of course the natural moth repellent with a wonderful aromatic fresh fragrance and natural cedarwood balls are ideal for this.

For more useful caravan and motorhome accessories and inspiration visit Caraselle Direct - an online shopping website full of great storage solutions and homecare products.