Camping with Kids Tip: Make a Camping Electronics Charging Station at Home

As a mom who camps solo with her toddler (now preschooler!) I have spent years trying to improve my packing and prepping strategies. Anything that makes preparing for a camping trip easier, quicker, and less stressful for me increases my energy to actually get out there and go!

One of the things that used to take a lot of time and mental energy leading up to a camping trip was charging our various electronics. The night before a camping trip I would be hunting around my house for open plugs, looking for the ever-disappearing charging bricks and cords, spreading out the charging devices on kitchen counter tops, under the breakfast bench, on the kitchen table, on the floor because of short cords. It was a visual and mental mess.

But now - no more! Over the past year I created a mobile camping charging cart that can charge 6+ devices at once and stores all of the cords and accessories too.

There are a few key elements to my little DIY charging station. The first is the cart which I stole from my husband. It is just a small free standing metal cart on wheels. The important piece is that the shelves are flat and open on the sides (so NOT like the Michael's craft carts!) so cords can lay flat and just run easily all around without tipping devices up/crooked and putting unneeded pressure on the charging port/pins.

Next are my two multi chargers. The bottom one is a simple splitter - turning one plug into two USB-A outputs. The top one is a mega splitter - turning one plug into two USB-A and two USB-C outputs. Just these alone allow me to charge 6 devices at once from 2 plugs - without the need for a power strip or any charging bricks. I also got two USB-A to USB-C adapters because I have a number of USB-mini items that I only have USB-mini > USB-A cords for. So now I can use those in the USB-A slots of the multi-charger as well when needed.

This set up can charge 6 devices. But one of the "devices" I am always charging is our portable battery pack, and the great thing about that is I can also plug items into that (3 of them on mine) while the battery itself is charging. It will act as pass through and charge the small items and then the battery pack once those are charged up. Effectively increasing my capacity to 9 chargeable items simultaneously.

I also got four of those 8x11 zipper bags and labeled them for my various charging accessories - USB-C cords, USB-mini cords, specialty cords (shokz headphones, garmin watch, etc), and charging bricks (if ever needed). And then the little clear handled bag that I put all of the completely charged items in for packing to our campsite. Those bags live right next to/under the shelf at all times.

To some people my little charging station may not seem like a big deal to pull together or a big impact on packing up. But to me and my brain it has been huge!