Reddit mentions of Sterilite White 12Qt Dishpan

REI has a very good camping checklist. Of course it's a US site and REI sells high quality stuff that is usually out of the price range of most beginners, so use it as a general guide on what you need, not necessarily the exact items you want to buy. Last time I was down under I was a shocked at the markup on imported US brands, so make do with what you can get down there.

I'm assuming you're going car camping; driving up to a campsite and unloading the gear. And I'm going to assume family of five means three kids say 8-14 or so. With older teens or more adults you'll need to pack more food and might need a bigger cooler, need a bigger tent or different sleeping arrangements.

Here are some recommendations for the basics. I'm linking to Amazon so you can see the products, and hopefully find something similar locally.

Tent - Coleman Montana 8. It's a well regarded tent for the price. Big enough for a family, can fit a couple of queen size air mattresses in there (kids can share a full size mattress or bring smaller inflatables). Whatever tent you get, make sure you take it out of the bag and try setting it up a few times. When setting up the tent, make sure you take out the poles and stakes and set them in a specific location, so they don't get lost and they don't get stepped on (and broken). If anything is confusing, get it sorted out before you go!

Sleeping bags - depends on where you are going and when. You can buy Coleman synthetic bags pretty cheap at most outdoor stores. Synthetic bags are generally heavy and bulky, but will get the job done. The rating on the bag is generally the extreme rating... as in you probably won't die at that temp but it might be a cold miserable night. Mummy bags save some weight and some bulk and are warmer, but some don't like the constrictive nature of the bags. Bring pillows from home to make things more comfortable (but note that you may have to wash them when you get home). Throw pillows will work, probably better than "backpacking" pillows. Or you can bring pillow cases and stuff them with spare clothes and jackets... I generally use throw pillows car camping.

Mattress pad - if you're car camping, don't bother with backpacking pads. Bring full size Coleman air mattresses, or even a queen. Remember you'll need some way to inflate the pad; a battery operated pump will work but is slow. You can get a pump that plugs in, but you 1. need an inverter in the car, 2. need an extension from the car into the tent since the inflated mattress probably won't fit through the door of the tent. Make sure you get the dimensions of all the air mattresses and the dimensions of the tent and make sure everything fits with some room to spare. Remember that you also need room for gear; of course the car is right there and you can always leave gear in the car, but on a chilly morning it's nicer to just open your bag and get a hat rather than run out to the car.

Stove - Camp Chef Everest dual burner propane stove. The Coleman dual burner stove is a classic and works well.

Cookset - I use full size pots and pans for car camping. You can just bring what you have at home (not too big, the stove won't fit big pots and pans), or maybe find cheaper stuff in the clearance section of some stores (if the stuff at home is too nice to bring camping). Along with the pots and pans, bring your usual utensils. You can bring paper plates, plastic cups and forks/knives, or buy "camping" stuff. Don't forget the spices and condiments, trivets for hot plates, coffee, tea, bottle/wine opener...

Water - Is there potable water at the campsite? Are you bringing your water or do you need to filter? I generally bring a couple of Coleman 5 gallon water jug. They collapse until I need them... but you really can't fill them all the way up since they're really difficult to carry. Or you might be able to buy water at the grocery store and just bring what you need - 1 gallon per day per person should be fine, more if it's hot and you're being very active.

Washing - if there's no washing facilities, you want to bring a wash basin to clean up the dishes and utensils. Don't forget the dish soap and sponge for cleaning pots and pans.

Cooler - Coleman Xtreme 70quart. Or the Igloo Max. I prefer something smaller since I've got a smaller sedan and will run into town more frequently. If you're only going overnight, you may only need a small cooler, but if your kids drink lots of milk or only cool juice, you may want to invest in a good size, well rated cooler.

Headlamps - it's good for everyone to have their own headlamps. The Black Diamond Spot is a good headlamp from a great company. You can a cheap Energizer Headlamp for under $15 for young kids, they're not great but work well enough.

Camp lantern - Coleman propane lanterns are the ol' standard, work great and cast great light. Uses the same 1lb propane tanks as the stove. But many are going with LED lanterns... these Cheap camp lanterns on Amazon seem like a pretty good deal, I've got some like them and they work fine. Very bright and very white, but cheap and effective.

Packing/hauling - Rubbermaid tote. These tubs make a great way to haul and store gear. I also store food in my tubs; make sure you can secure them so critters can't get in.

Tarp - bring a couple. It's good to have one tarp to hang over the cooking / eating area. You'll need some rope or cord to tie these up.

Folding chairs and tables - bring 'em if you've got 'em. It's much easier to cook standing up at a table.

Firewood - call ahead or check online, some campsites have firewood restrictions; some places you can't forage for wood and you need to buy it locally.

Garbage bags - bring a couple of big ones, a bunch of smaller bags if you need to pack up smelly stuff.

Well, I hope that enough for a start. Good luck!

I use a basin similar to this one although I got mine on clearance at a local store for less than $5. I've also used a regular dish washing basin which you can find at most home goods stores for under $10 and often for under $5.

Cast Iron Skillet - 8" or 10" should be good for two people.

Cast Iron Dutch Oven - you want the big deep one, with legs and a flat top.

Barbecue gloves - for grabbing hot cast iron.

Two plastic cutting boards - easy to sanitize, have one for meat and one for veggies

Aluminum Foil don't cheap out here - get the thick one. Perfect for covering the grate on the fire ring before putting on some kebabs.

Knife, metal spatula, ladle and tongs - ideally a chef's knife that has multiple uses, and tools that have long handles.

Wash tub and sponge, soap (I like dawn)

High absorbency towels - we got a big bag of these and they've been invaluable - cleaning up around the campsite, drying dishes, etc.

Get something like this and fill it with soapy water and let your dishes soak. You save a ton of soap this way, too.

I have actually been using a plastic tub just like this and it is on the floor in a corner of my kitchen out of traffic. We have been doing this because the other ways had been smelly we tried (Anything with a lid) and this holds a lot, and we are lazy (and it's cold!!) so I have not been emptying every week. This for some reason has not been smelly at all!!

You could also get a dishpan like this one:

www.amazon.com/STERILITE-06578012-Sterilite-White-Dishpan/dp/B0039V2G5E

You might still want to use the shower taps to rinse it out if it doesn't fit under your kitchen taps, but at least you can get it 90% clean in the dishpan and pour that into your kitchen sink and not dispose food into your shower.