wash the dish or trow it?

[Shadow Catcher]

We have an old Coleman nesting pot plate set from about 25 years ago. One of my goals with Compass Rose was that meal prep and clean up be as easy as it s at home. The water heater is a big part of that.
Leave nothing but foot prints take nothing but pictures.

[PaulaB]

Here is my two cents worth.
We use enamelware dishes since they go so well with the style of the camper. They don't take up quite as much room as plastic dishes either as space is always a premium in a TD. I'm not keen on eating off of plastics since it's a petroleum product and try to limit the use of them. Paper doesn't hold up well because it isn't sturdy and if it's damp it really doesn't work. The chinet ware is the sturdiest of paper products but absorbs sauces etc. so it has drawbacks too. We keep a few paper products in a zip top bag and use them to line the enamelware plates if we are in a hurry. On short trips, I pack salads and such in wide mouth canning jars as individual servings. This makes things go fast and we have more time to enjoy our surroundings. It's easy to put the lids back on the dirty jars and wash later if need be while keeping the insects at bay. Doing this allows us to wash once a day without extra insects at the site and leaves more time for site seeing etc. I use plastic mesh netting that slips on the outside of the jars like a sock to keep them from klanking together and breaking. Wide rubber bands will also work too. Hope this helps!

[felixx]

For me,
Camp time is slow time
So slowing down and doing some dishes is no big deal
Hey they are not as clean as my dishwasher does them, but hey we are camping.

Besides, the kids are learning how to wash dishes now and its kinda a novelty at the moment

[lkinney]

We use disposables sparingly. Better for the environment, easier at the campsite - particularly for pack in, pack out sites.We don't even carry paper towel.

We do carry disposable wipes and use them to pre-wash dishes when water is not available (thus conserving our water supply).

[capnTelescope]

I wash the cooking utensils and burn or bag the paper dishes. I use genuine stainless flatware which eye wash along with the skillet or pot. Very little water used.

[Socal Tom]

Don't tell my wife, but I kind enjoy kitchen duty when camping. Most of the time we use plastic plates etc, but I do bring some paper plates, just in case. I may switch to some hardier stuff in the future, the plastic is getting kind of beat up and oils like to stick to the plastic and it can be hard to see to clean under lantern light.
Tom

[PKCSPT]

I use the cheap one time use plastic plates and my family saves plastic utensils that often come with take out for me. They are lighter than "real" plates and utensils and being plastic I do rewash them. Bonus is if one gets lost or broken I don't worry about it.

[racerrandy]

I know this is an older post but I have and love my enamel ware, but it sucks the heat right out of your food. I lot of the time we use paper plates on top of the enamel ware, then burn them in the fire.



Randy

[cheri832]

Ì gave up on the enamel ware for the same reason. Food got cold...but scalded lips on the cups. Now I use melmine plates and old wooden salad bowls for soups or stews. Your hand is protected but the food stays hot.

[lrrowe]

Right now it is mostly paper and plastic dishes. If we come across some appropriate regular ones, we will take them. It all depends on our mood as space for us is not really an issue.

[MtnDon]

Paper. Toss. We use less water and the way we camp we normally don't stay in campgrounds with water.

[Camp4Life]

We use metal utensils because there's nothing worse than breaking off a piece of plastic in your steak. We sometimes use the unbreakable camping dishes and wash them, but when we don't feel like doing dishes we get paper plates. But PAPER, not styro, and nothing that has plastic in it, and we try to get the ones made of recycled paper. Then we can just throw them in the fire and nothing goes to waste.

The dishes are just one of many things we do while camping to reduce waste. Our soap for example is biodegradable and safe for the environment. On sites where we don't want to dump dirty water (near a lake or river) we use the paper plates. All our food that we bring is pre-cut at home, and everything comes in Tupperware containers. The only "waste" we leave with when our camping trip is done, is empty beer cans and gin bottles But those go to the recycling center when we get home.

[Andrew Herrick]

Well ... I suppose it depends on your definition of acceptable hygiene :p My wife and I camped out of the back of a Ford Expedition SUV for nine months straight. We used cheap soft plastic plates, the sort you purchase for $3 at Wal-Mart. We found that a damp paper towel and abrasive pad cleaned anything except greasy plates. For that, we either used good ol' soap and water or a food-safe citrus-based degreaser. Probably not the most sanitary solution ... but we never got sick and we could stretch a gallon of water for days.

[Padilen]

I use a combo, some paper if I have a campfire, no cleaning just burn. I use plastic cups I don't drink "hot" drinks. Real silverware, and if I want fancy I have a stainless steel camp set. I do use paper towels and diaper wipes and person hygiene wipes. They help with a "pre clean", and cleaning up after my dog. I prefer the wipes to TP when using pit toilets. But pits are mostly where I work not when camping.


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[JaggedEdges]

Well ... I suppose it depends on your definition of acceptable hygiene :p My wife and I camped out of the back of a Ford Expedition SUV for nine months straight. We used cheap soft plastic plates, the sort you purchase for $3 at Wal-Mart. We found that a damp paper towel and abrasive pad cleaned anything except greasy plates. For that, we either used good ol' soap and water or a food-safe citrus-based degreaser. Probably not the most sanitary solution ... but we never got sick and we could stretch a gallon of water for days.

Not many nasties survive being dry very long, so just thorough drying will go a long way. UV helps too, so theoretically you can dip 'em in ditchwater and leave them out in the sun to drain/dry and you're good.

However, the soft plastic gives a little cause for pause in case it gets scratches that hold moisture and hence bacteria when the rest of it's dry still.

Now if you're using some kind of tin plate or ceramic, you could rig a rack that's a fire reflector, and they'll probably get hot enough that it's practically autoclave sterile.