I made a list of what I was going to wear each night when we went out. I packed each outfit with the last outfit going in first, along with all of the accessories, (wigs, stockings, arm warmers, etc.) and each night, just picked out the newest outfit from the top. It was so much easier than digging through everything in a bin!

we bought a sheet of dry erase type board at home depot $12, cut it in 3 pieces, gave 2 away kept one drilled holes in the edges used some to zip tie it to the shad and others for markers... I LOVE the assortment of messages up dates and doodles

i brought plastic drawers that kept all my cookware/plates/cleaning stuff. it was amazing having things more organized- i'm going to bring more drawers next year for clothing and camp gear (goggles, head lamp, all the stuff you tend to lose once the sun sets)

i brought a pee bucket- i too find it a nuisance to pee into a funnel in the dead of night. too impossible!

OMG, I just got all the leftover food out from the RV. I think we ate about 10% of what i brought. And this was my 7th year...I still don't have the food thing down. But I think I've got it dialed in for next year...I wrote myself a note reminding me what we did and didn't use with the food. Now I don't have to rely on my awful memory.

I made the coolest shade structure -- people.tribe.net/4a278b27-...8fcb48f84. It was the BOMB!

i will never ever ever ever EVER go to BM again without my own personal bike. ever ever ever.

Love the shoe organizer idea.

Less sweet food and more salty food, i knew that but then when i got to the grocery my sweet tooth took over. It goes into total retreat out there, though, and my body is just like SALT! FAT! SALT! FAT! MUST HAVE!!! Olives, V8, canned soup. Forget the LaraBars, the fruit (cept the pineapple, i was diggin the acidic stuff) - and also, i eat WAY less out there. have to remember that.

I went kind of light on the food this year, and as much as I thought I brought about the right amount (not TOO much left over)..... I think next year I'll bring more. I didn't like having to make decisions and 'ration out' the really good stuff until later in the week, when it would taste better. Also, had a few panicky moments of "oh god did I bring enough food?" (not like we'd starve, but...you know?). Will err *slightly* on the side of more food next year.

I also have pretty much realized that no matter how much I make fancy complicated costumes, my favourite playawear is some variant of booty shorts, fishnets and a tank top, with knee-high boots. I did make/bring/wear a few other sorts of costumes, but the one skirt I spent the most time making, I didn't even bother to wear. Ha.

We usually do a similar exericse when we're sitting in Exodus, but we literally drove off the playa this year and didn't have a chance!

We pack everything in labeled clear plastic tubs, with similar items packed together, which worked well for everyone but my husband who couldn't even find his glasses on top of his own head. lol

We tried on all our outfits at home, packed them in a cargo bag on the hangers, then pulled them out and stored them on a two-sided clothing rack. LOVE that thing. Makes it so much easier to see what you have and pick out outfits. Dirty clothes go in a pop-up hamper that goes back in the cargo back and straight to the laundry room.

We ate like kings and queens out there and didn't come home with very much, with very little cooking or clean up. Very happy with the food department this time.

I had battery powered LED xmas lights on my bike and up my bike flag, which everybody appreciated for finding me, our bikes and/or our group all week. It was a nice change from el-wire and my bike looked really good.

One thing that doesn't work..........forgetting the tent poles at home. Thank god I married MacGuyver!

The next time we go, we'll need a new shade structure, at least one new bike, new goggles, tent repair and other things. It was a rough year for our old equipment, but we were trying to do it on the cheap.

thanks for all these posts! i haven't been yet, so it's really helpful (and fun) for me to hear all your words of wisdom...you all fucking rock! :-)