Setting Up A Chuck Box

This post is going to be picture heavy, so consider yourself warned. Everyone's Chuck Box will be a little different, depending on how you cook while camping and what you find you most need. This box works for us and don't find it lacking, however there are some of you out there who will think it wholly inadequate. If nothing else, think of it as a nice place to start and build your box from there. Because I do so much of our prep work (food wise) at home, my box is pretty minimal.

First, you need a container to put all of your supplies. We use this tote because 1) it's big enough to hold all of our supplies without being overly huge and 2) the bottom part (the tub) acts as my washtub for dishes.

The next thing I consider part of my chuck box is this field kitchen kit. It's my husband's from his time in the Boy Scouts (he was an Eagle Scout, so proud of him!). It has been well used and for good reason. This doesn't fit into my chuck box, it's too tall, but I keep it on top or nearby it so they are all together.

Now, my utensils. I have a cutting board, knife, paring knife, spoon, spatula, fork, tongs and can opener.

Soap and a sponge. A couple of steel wool or Brillo pads are useful as well.

Matches and a lighter. Remember to have both, just in case!

I have these fire starting tabs in there as well. Not necessary, but we got them on clearance for a quarter and couldn't pass them up. Never hurts to have a little extra insurance.

I keep sunscreen in this box so it NEVER get forgotten.

Plastic wrap for taking care of leftovers.

Plates and forks. I have cups and coffee mugs as well, but they were in the dishwasher at this point.

Basic seasonings. Salt, pepper, seasoning salt, garlic powder and chicken bouillon. My salt is coarse and probably a little larger container than you would usually take, but it's what I use to clean my cast iron so I need a little more. Pack whatever it is that you use most often, not necessarily what I have here.

Trash bags. No explanations necessary!

Kitchen towels. When my towels don't look all that hot anymore, I send them out to become part of the Chuck Box. I have a few more in the box, but I just took one out for an example.

Hand crank, LED lantern. I keep this in the Chuck Box so that I have my own, personal lantern for cooking purposes instead of having to rely on the larger fuel powered lantern. The family might be doing something else and need the light, so I like to have my own.

Here it is all packed up.

Keep the coffee pot close and you are all set!

That is what I keep in my Chuck Box at all times. It's ready to use whenever I need it. You may need to give things a good dusting, or maybe a heavy wash, once in a while but it's handy as all heck to have hanging around.

There are a couple things missing from my kit that I will be adding before we leave. These are things that are not MUST haves, but are nice and we go through. I'll be adding a picnic table cloth, paper towels, TP, hand sanitizer and a small bottle of cooking oil. We used these up last trip and they need to be replaced this time around.

I hope this helps some of you to create a handy, all-purpose chuck box that you can use in all kinds of situations. It's a great idea to have one hanging around!