Ok, I admit it. I do indeed follow some of those “Best Camping Tips” and “Best Camp Meals” posts that are always showing up on Pinterest or Instagram. I look to see what they are recommending and often have a bit of disdain when it is clearly something that is “camp-like” yet needs what seems like an inordinate amount of extra help beyond what the average camper might have available. But they are amusing to look at nonetheless.

Then there was the one about the toilet paper rolls and lint and collecting them to use as fire kindling. I’ve had my fair share of difficulty getting fires started (and keeping them going) over the years. I’ve seen all kinds of things that work, sometimes work or never work at all. So when it was suggested that collecting empty toilet tissue roles and filling them with lint from the dryer, I thought “Wow- let’s hope this works. It sounds brilliant.”

So I made a few and took them out for a trial run. I cannot say that these are great. Certainly they are not enough by themselves. But with a piece of fat wood and some other type of firestarter, they can help keep the fire going long enough to get the logs starting to burn. From a space perspective, they are a bit bulky to pack, though they do actually still work even after being crushed.

The thing that kills me is that it is irresistible to make these once you start. And you are recycling things that would otherwise go into the waste stream. It has just become a habit to put any empty roll on top of the dryer. And to take the lint every time I empty the dryer and shove it in a tube. Over the last month I collected easily enough to get us through this camping trip and making a fire most nights. It may not work great, but it certainly makes you feel better!