An Organized Day of Water Play! And a Freebie!

Better late than never.  This post that is.  We LOVE LOVE LOVE the beach.  And have already been a beach bum family oodles of times this year.  And yes, I will be posting about getting organized for school before you know it, but it had never dawned on me up until now, to whip up a quickie post on organizing for a day of sun, sand and sea!

So how does a family of five pack up for a day away playing on the beach?  It's simple really, I refuse to lug endless bags and wagons and bins and coolers.  Absolutely won't do it.  Everything we bring must fit in either our beach bag or beach basket:
 

I have a list of beach essentials so I don't forget anything when we pop out the door.  What's on the list?  Glad you asked!!

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It's great to keep a copy of the checklist, right with the beach bag itself.  You know, just in case...

First off, I totally adore our beach bag.  I found it early this year at Target and it's by far the biggest and best beach tote I have found up to this point!

It fits our beach towels, small first aid kit, face wipes, brush and hair ties, Ziploc bags, snacks, sunscreen, goggles and camera!

First aid kit?  It's not really anything crazy.  I just threw together some essentials that I popped into an old face wipe container, just in case...

Band-aids, Neosporin, cotton pads, hand sanitizer spray, sun screen stick and lip balm!

The large plastic basket is the perfect beach carry all, since if it gets sandy, it's easy to clean up!

Instead of bringing a huge over sized blanket, I just picked up a tablecloth on clearance, again from Target, that is perfect for picnicking!

And you can't forget about the tunes!

And sand toys!  We actually keep these separate from their every day sandbox toys.  These are always packed up and ready to go!

Sometimes if we are going to be gone for long periods of time, we will pack up a small cooler with extra beverages and even snacks/food, however, if it's just a quick trip, the basket holds a pre-filled water bottle for each family member:

All set!

Time to play!

When we head back home, all I have to do is toss the life jackets in a bin in the garage, and the rest of the goodies go straight to the laundry room, where they will wait for our next trip!

I keep most of our "day at the beach" items, including the kiddos swimsuits, sunscreen, my mini first aid kit, beach toys and the beach bag itself, right in this flexi tub:

Which I pop right on top of our laundry room linen cabinet.  The beach towels get tossed right into the washer, then straight to the shelf until our next day of water play!

We used to keep all of our beach supplies in our garage, however, I like the idea of keeping them clean and dust free, so now they live happily in the laundry room. 

So who thinks I am totally nuts?  Am I the only one out there that actually organizes their beach belongings?  I really love a quick grab and go method whenever possible, not to mention, this system works great for a trip to the pool or even playing with water in the backyard.  So I haven't completely gone overboard...

What other essentials are a must for a happy day of water play with your clan?  Any other favorite ways to spend the hot days of summer?