Storage and Stuff

let's talk about our stuff and where to keep it. i've briefly mentioned storage in a couple of other posts, but it definitely deserves it's own heading.

closets, storage lockers, sheds etc.

i managed to make it most of the year without paying a cent for storage, i'm lucky to have understanding friends and family to lend up some space. free storage is good storage, as long as you can trust whoever is storing it for you. if you can find a space where you are allowed to apply your own lock and key, even better.

if you have a friend with a garage, you may be able to keep some rubbermaid totes stored there, and possibly get a key to the garage for easy access. totes are tough, cheap, and tidy. even extra space in a friend's shed could hold your sleeping gear while you're working or wandering. some jobs may have lockers, or even sheds that you could use if you're boss is cool with it [and you're not trying to hide the fact that you're homeless]. ask friends and family if you can use a hall closet or extra space in their storage closet.. some apartments have access to storage units elsewhere in the building, you could offer someone to pitch on storage or pay/trade to use theirs.


finding a place to lock is rarely free, but storage can be found for cheap. depending on how much space you need, you can find small lockers that are only 3x5 feet, or large ones that can fit an entire house worth of things. assuming that you have as little stuff as i, the smaller lockers are sufficient. i like the smallish 5x7 lockers, you can fit the equivalent of a small couch, a bicycle, and totes of gear with enough room to access it.

the smallest lockers in my local u-haul are 5x7 for $50 a month, but i have found other non-chain self storage places with slightly smaller lockers for as cheap as $30 a month. the no-name monthly storage in my town has 24hour access included in the price, but for places like u-haul the smaller lockers have an additional fee per month for an extra key to get in the gate after hours. you will likely need an 'address' to get a storage locker, for how to have an address see my Jobs and Moneymaking post.


traveling and schools


most storage places are on weekly or monthly rates, but if you are on the move and have less stuff you can take advantage of public lockers. most bus and train stations have lockers with 24 hour access for a few bucks a day.

most colleges don't have assigned lockers. you choose one that's convenient for you, and you put your lock on it to claim it as yours. if you're young enough or at least look it, you could get away with using college lockers to keep backpack worthy loads in. of course you don't want to be seen carrying huge packs or loads of gear into a school, so this option is more for the streamline vagabonds that don't make it apparent that they live outside.


outside


keeping stuff outside can be risky, but still possible. there's a chance that it will be found by people, or animals.. it's open to the elements of nature and any given weather.. and if you're not careful about where you store your stuff you could face a trespassing ticket.

one great idea that i borrowed from a friend is to bury a large cooler in the ground in the woods. this can be used to stash small gear, food and water for when you're camping out, if you have a somewhat permanent spot out there. dig a square hole big enough to set it in lid flush with the ground, cover with brush/leaves and a top with a rock to remember the spot and keep animals out.


some people in the city use things like shopping carts to carry around their stuff. i do have a small wheeled cart myself, but i couldn't imagine dragging it around everywhere. for the longest time i kept it stored in a friend's garage until i needed something from it.. the problem with using carts is where to keep them. there's a young man downtown that has two large overflowing shopping carts full. the police hassle him often, constantly making him move his carts. he was posted up behind a small church for a couple weeks, but i've lost track of him again.


speaking of stuff...


if you're about to be homeless for the first time, you may find it a good opportunity to go through all of your possessions and decide what of your things are 'needs'. it may be hard to let go of things, like your favourite love seat or a bookshelf you built in shop class, but once you try to find a place to keep it all, you will find your priorities change quickly.

in 2008, i had an apartment with my brother. i had all new furniture, a king-size pillow top water bed, a perfectly good couch that had been in my family for decades.. basically, a whole bunch of stuff. i made a decision that i was finished working hard long days just to pay for a place to keep all this stuff, so i sold it, gave it away, and took off on an epic backpacking journey across the country.

sometimes i miss some of that stuff, sometimes i think it's silly that i got rid of it all. but at the end of the day, it's just stuff. easy come, easy go. every time i settle i find what i need, usually for cheap or for free, and i pass it along when i'm finished with it.


i have just recently taken up residence with a friend for the winter. i pulled all of my things out of storage from a few different places so that i could go through it yet again.. to see what i have that i can make use of, and things i didn't miss that i could get rid of. i found clothes that haven't seen the light of day in a few years, good stuff i forgot i had. i kept the bulk of my things that didn't get everyday use in a storage closet that i could access weekly, and kept the most used gear in a different place closer by where it would be used, ex. tent and sleeping gear, a weeks worth of clothing, my laptop, a few books and and a couple changes of footwear.

often you will find that less is more. keep only what you need, and things you feel your heart cannot do without. as time passes, some things may become easier to let go of, and the value of others may grow significantly. things are just things.. keepsakes are nice to have, there's still a few that i carry. just remember, the essence of the person or place you are keeping it for live forever in your heart, no matter what things you carry.

Homeless in Winter

the past few years i have invested effort in making sure that i am not homeless during the winter. in some places winter is too cold to sleep outside without a sturdy well insulated shelter, or top of the line winter gear, which many of us cannot afford.

my first homeless winter was certainly a wake-up call. the challenge increases in late autumn when the rain season comes, one must do their best to stay dry in order to avoid hypothermia. here's a basic outline of how to be homeless in winter.

shelters

in most bigger towns and cities that experience winter, there is a shelter and meal program set up for the homeless, usually running from the month of November until March. there is a program in my town called Out of the Cold. seven churches host the Out of the Cold program, a different location each night. doors open at 6pm when dinner is served, each location having it's own regular meal. at one place it's always chili, at another bow-tie pasta and alfredo sauce, and one of the catholic churches always has roast beef and soup.

in recent years the Out of the Cold program has become crowded, especially for the overnight beds and mats. for the most part i would show up at dinnertime for the meal, stay long enough to get warmed up, and then head back out to the streets to find shelter for the evening. it's hard to sleep in a room full of sketchy people, always wondering when it's my turn to get ripped off.

it is absolutely crucial to find shelter from rain, snow and wind in the winter months. though i would dodge the free beds most nights, on the coldest nights i would stay wherever was warm, even if it meant a full night in a shelter.

outside

if you are homeless and employed, taking the midnight shift during the winter is most beneficial. you can earn cash during the coldest hours of the day, and sleep during sunlight hours when the cold is not so deadly.

regardless, i ended up flipping my sleep schedule to sleep after the sun comes up, so that i was awake and wandering between 2 and 6 am, the coldest hours of the night. bank lobbies were decent in these hours, warm and dry and no people around to tell me to move along. i would hit the free coffee and breakfast at yet another church, then find somewhere cozy to take a nap all bundled up where no one could find me, like the seldom used stairwell at the north side of the parking garage downtown. finding an abandoned house or shed or hallway is a much better option than sleeping out in the open.

if you choose to sleep outside for most of the winter, you must stay warm and dry. once you become too cold to feel a limb or move yourself along, it's hard to recover. sleeping on the ground is guaranteed to suck all of your body heat away. it's best to find a foam mat or even cardboard to put down before you lay. find a place without any wind and where there is no snow drift accumulating or moisture.

if you have a tent for shelter, you can still camp in the winter if you play it safe. google winter camping for your area to find the best method. in places with lots of snow, you can dig a tent spot to help insulate from the wind, using the snow as a natural wind block. also tarps can be handy to create your own wind block when a natural one can't be found. you can even make a tent out of tarps and some rope hung between trees. a friend of mine set up a 3 season tent on a balcony, building a nest inside. it was his shelter all winter, aside from the nights when it would reach forty below.

clothing

dressing in layers is the best way to cope with the cold. it is not only important to keep your body heat, but also to know when to ventilate extra warmth to avoid sweating. sweat can turn to a chill very quickly, which can trigger hypothermia. if you dress in layers you can always adjust accordingly by simply removing a scarf or a coat when it gets warm.

there are three main layers to consider. your base layer closest to your skin, your insulating layer, and then your shell layer. long johns, thin synthetic materials or even pyjamas make a good base layer, but try to avoid cotton at all costs. most clothes are synthetic these days anyways, which wicks moisture much better than cotton.

for best results on the base layer, i always make sure to tuck the bottoms into the socks, the top into the pants and pull my sleeves into my gloves when i'm wearing them. this avoids cold drafts up your back or pant legs.

your insulation layer is best to be anything lofty, like fleece or knitted wool. this layer keeps your body heat against you in pockets, and helps with air circulation to spread your warmth evenly over your whole body. you do not want to dress in clothing too tight, where there is no space to hold your warmth. not too loose either so that your heat can easily escape.

your top layer, or shell layer is best to be waterproof and/or windproof. i had found a long rain trench coat one year that worked perfect as an outer layer, with some splash pants that i would pull the bottom cuffs over the tops of my boots. also very important, is a hat or head cover. having your head covered will make an enormous difference when trying to stay warm. i like to use a long scarf which wraps around my head and face, then tuck it down the front of my coat.

it is important for your gloves and boots not to be too tight. this will restrict the blood flow to your extremities and keep them cold. do not wear too many pairs of socks or gloves at once as this will create the same problem.

be resourceful

if you're in the position to do so, migration is always a good option to avoid the winter chill. besides, being a broke backpacker is much more eventful than being a street kid. having no ties could be your chance to get out and experience all that the world has to offer. now is a good time to check out resources like CouchSurfers or WWOOFing [as listed in my links], or any opportunity trading labour for shelter and food.

keep warm and stay safe!

The Pack System

having a decent system of organization for your backpack is key. how exactly you have organized your pack will depend largely on what type of pack you have, whether it's one large compartment, several small ones or somewhere in between. it will also depend on how much stuff you need to carry with you, and if you have a storage space for things you aren't currently using.

firstly, you must have a method in place to keep the contents of your pack weather safe and dry. ordinary plastic grocery bags can do this effectively. having the contents of your pack sorted into bags before you put it into your pack can save the worry of your stuff getting soggy if ever stuck in sudden rain. if your pack came with a rain tarp, all the better. i used to use the 'foot print' [tent floor] tarp wrapped around my pack bottom side out to protect from the wet.

if my bag is fully loaded ie shelter, sleep gear, clothes, food and water, my pack is organized as follows. the bottom of my pack is filled out with the body of my tent and the sleeping bag, each in their own compression sacks. the tent poles fit perfectly up the backboard of my pack. on top of those is my clothes sack, and a separate sac or plastic bag for dirty clothes. i use mainly lightweight gear, so this fills two thirds of the main large compartment of my backpack. a small food bag fits on top of that, two drink bottles on the outside bottle pockets, and all my hygeine stuff and little things [chargers, batteries, day book, maps etc] are organized in the frontmost pocket of my pack. my sleep mat ties easily to the bottom of my pack by threading a shoe lace around the frame and the hike pole loops i once thought to be useless.

i'm currently using a medium weight 30L Vaude rucksack, which can be zipped down small for city day to day use, or filled out and stacked for a month long treck easily. sacrificing one or two articles of clothing and a snack will give me enough room for a small cannister of fuel and the pocket rocket camp stove. having several small sacs to organize your stuff makes it easier to grab what you need for a day, week or month depending on your storage situation, whether or not you have an indoor place to sleep for the night, or whatever the weather demands.

shoe laces can be super useful. when i run out of room in my pack and i don't want to carry my jacket or sweater, it can be rolled or folded and strappd onto the top of my pack using a lace. they can also be used to tie a tarp or large garbage bag around the pack for rain protection. they make a great clothesline fastened to trees or a fence, or even strung across the outside of your pack to dry things like wet socks or a towel while you're on the move.

it is important that your pack is comfortable, and fits your back and shoulders properly. never carry more than you can handle. useful features to look for in a pack are waist straps and load lifter straps, an adjustable backboard, and side straps that allow you to pull the weight of your pack as close to your body as possible. once you are comfortable with what you are carrying and have a pack system laid out that works best for you, your pack becomes an extension of yourself rather than a burden to carry.

Don't Forget your Towel

one of the best investments i ever made, is the size large pack towel by MSR. the material is lightweight, thin and super absorbent. i always have it in my backpack, whether i'm trippin around for a day or taking off across the country. a towel can be used for warmth, as ground cover to stretch out on, and of course, to get you dry.

one night on a backpacking trip, i realized that i had forgotten to bring a sweater. my pack towel tied over my shoulders like a parka kept me warm, kept my arms free to work around camp, and continued to keep me warm through the night.

a perfect way to be inconspicuous about sleeping in public, is to stretch out on a towel on a beach or in a park. pick a nice shady spot, pull your cap over your face, and use your pack as a back rest or pillow and you're good to nap.

super absorbent pack towels can hold roughly 4 times their weight in water, which will prove useful when hit with sudden rainfall. find an overhang to hide under, a ledge, or set a tarp and wrap up with the towel. it will absorb the water off of you quickly, and help it evaporate from your skin as your body warms it up. also handy when using public restrooms to clean up, you can be assured that you have a means to get dry quick. the towel can be hung from the pack to dry while on the move.

the towel i used before the MSR was a freebie from a hostel in Vancouver. it was pink and purple flowers, oh so pretty.. haha. it's a must-have, no matter if you pay a good penny for it, or get one for free. for me, it's always worth the storage space.

an out stretched towel can be used when gathering branches and brush to get a fire started. a folded towel can be used as a pillow for sleeping, or for making your sitting spot more comfortable. i have used my pack towel to relieve my skin from sweaty pack straps rubbing during long hikes by draping it over my shoulders before lifting my pack back on. with so many uses there's no excuses to be without a towel. to call it crucial or creature comfort, that's for you to decide. for me, definitely a pack necessity.

On the Road

it seems to me, that to be a traveler is the most commonly accepted way to be homeless. even when trippin around my hometown, to maintain the appearance of a traveler is much safer than to look like a broke bum.

i tend to believe that it's safer to travel for many reasons. first of all, it's less likely that you will be 'caught' if you're always on the move. it's also better for the environment when living outdoors to keep switching up your camp spots. it keeps your impact to a minimal, allows for the vegetation to re-grow if you happened to mat it down, and lessens the chances of wild animals finding your camp and seeking your food.

on the move

if you happen to live out of a vehicle, then your mode of transportation is always with you. check this guy's blog for info on living in your car. if you're like me and prefer to live from a rucksack, there's still ways to get around for cheap or free.

-hitching-

it may not always seem the safest, but it's almost always free to hitch a ride. it's not always legal either, so before you stick out your thumb, check with the laws in your state or province. even local bylaws may be different depending on the region.

always check for the best places to hitch a ride. truck stops and gas stations may be a good place. never walk onto a busy highway, if you need to hitch always stand somewhere at the beginning of an on ramp where there's plenty of room for your potential ride to safely pull over. some smaller less travelled highways may be walkable, like the number 3 highway in BC. muchof it in rural areas has a wide gravel shoulder to safely walk or hitch.



-the bus-

when surfing the internet, check for travel discounts at your local bus lines. some bus companies have dollar deals to certain destinations if you pre-book your travel time. i prefer not to fly myself, so if i'm going to pay to get across the country, the bus is my preferred mode.

if you do take the bus for longer trips, most of your time is spent travelling with short breaks and possibly stop-overs. many transit terminals and break-stops leave you little choice for food purchases, most options being very costly. it's best to have a decent food bag packed before hitting the road for multi-day trips. it will save you loot and keep you from going hungry.

-bike-

cycling is good exercise, and plenty faster than being on foot.

i have met and known people to ride a bicycle everywhere they go, even clear across the country. i see having a bike as yet another piece to maintain and worry about, but i wouldn't mind making a cycle journey one day. i'd like to get a solid frame bike, attach some saddlebags and take off for the east.

if you plan to use a bike, make sure you have enough loot and know-how to maintain it. if you're relying on the bike to carry your stuff around and suddenly it no longer works, you could be left making some tough decisions on what to leave and take with you if repairing the bike isn't an option. also, you must be prepared to safely lock up or stow away your bike if you have to leave it somewhere, like outside of a job placement, or nearby a camp spot.

-on foot-

let's not forget the hiking. i've been blessed in my home region to have many footpaths to choose from. the appearance of a seasoned backpacker lends more patience and acceptance from property owners of you get spotted setting a camp along side the trail.

having proper footwear is crucial, especially if you carry a decent load of gear on your back. i love to run barefoot as much as the next hippie, but having proper support when stepping with the extra weight is important to prevent injuries that could leave you stuck. wear comfortable, wicking socks and quality shoes. it's very much worth it to invest in quality footwear and backpacks for maximum comfort. it will make the difference between enjoying your time on the move, and struggling to move forward.


tenting, stealth vs. campgrounds

it's also much easier to get away with tenting when you're on the move. i do my best not to be visible from the road, but it's not always possible to find a better place when you're running short of sunlight. one time a driver spotted the tent out in the woods by the highway, and got out and ran up just to check if we were okay. still, do your best to be invisible when you stop. my fear of dangerous human contact is often much greater than that with the wild. don't forget to be bear safe!

after a week or two of being on the move, camping in the woods and showering in truck stop sinks, checking into a campground for a night or two is a welcome vacation. provincial sites are cheap, but some have little or no resources to take advantage of. paying 10-20 bucks to tent at a private campground will give you access to showers, laundry facilites and a safe, legal place to build a fire. some places even have wireless internet, and plugs in their common areas. you may have to pay a little extra for a powered site to plug in all your gadgets, but it's usually not much more, and worth it.

Gear and Gadgets

i guess you could say i'm a pretty well geared vagabond. i have spent the past couple years building and refining my gear sets depending on whether i'm mobile or stationary, the length of trips i will take, the weather, and if i'm traveling with a partner or solo.

this is a pretty broad subject with many determining factors. what you will need in the gear department will depend on exactly how and where you are living nomadically, whether or not you have a vehicle, your funds, what you left your house-dwelling lifestyle with, and what kind of storage you have access to. stuff and storage will be the next topic i cover.

i can't sit here and tell you what exactly you will need, because that depends on you and your level of comfort with or without certain things. after my first big trip across the country i learned a hard lesson in what i need, or think i need. less is more. carrying less and lighter gear means more freedom to move further, and have less things to worry about. these things come mostly with experience, and you can add and remove pieces as you go along and get a feel for your nomadic style.

there are key pieces that i'd like to always have in any situation such as a knife, preferably a multi-tool one, and a small first aid kit. some kind of bandages and sterilization pads are key. there are pocket sized emergency first aid kits at pharmacies and camping stores for around 5 bucks.

i'm thinking the best way i can cover the gear topic is to divide it up into the various nomadic lifestyles i have encountered. this will encompass city living and urban camping, in the trees, and on the road.


City Living/Urban Camping

if you plan to stay in one city for a while, then finding storage and carrying minimal is the way to go. especially if you are employed, carrying everything you own to a job could prove to be problematic. free storage is always the best storage. if you have a friend or fams that has a spare closet in their house or maybe some room in their garage, this could work well. if you don't have access to free storage, seek out cheap self-storage units or lockers.

food, water, warmth and shelter are always the key factors to consider when picking what you will carry. i like to always have a small pack towel and self-cleaning supplies on me too in case the opportunity arises. i carry always a bottle for water, extra layers, and dry snacks in my pack. shelter can be easy to find in a city, but you may carry a tarp or bivy just in case. if you don't have 24 hour access to where your gear is stored then you will also want to carry a blanket and layers for warmth. cardboard is always easy to find to lay out for ground warmth if you don't have a foam mat.

now that the needs are covered, i'll elaborate on the gadgetry. i never used to be such a tecky nomad, but over the years communication and photography as a hobby has become such a key part of my life, i choose not to live without it. i keep my big camera gear in storage when not in use, and carry a pocket sized adventure camera on me wherever i go. i also keep a netbook in my storage closet, which i take out to the library or over to a friend's house to take advantage of free wireless internet. and of course, a cell phone. all of these things can be charged at my work, in my storage closet or wherever i find a couch to surf.

In The Trees


sometimes it's just more fun and comfortable to take off and hit the sticks for a few days or weeks at a time. this is where having some camping gear makes life easier. not much more is needed than what i mentioned under the previous header, but if you'd like to have warm food then a small camp stove is an awesome investment.




for some a tarp or bivy may be enough shelter, but for me, i need a little more. bugs love to eat me, so i'm sure to have a small shelter that's equipped with bug netting. i also definitely like to have a sleep mat and a lightweight sleeping bag. proper footwear is key as well if you plan to hit the trails or the back country. also, a small trowel for digging catholes is something i like to have, but not absolutely necessary.

you should carry a water filter or some sort of water treatment if you plan to be camping out for a while. a camp stove is much safer and convenient for cooking food than building a campfire, and of course more reliable. i have a stove meant for groups that one of us will usually carry to share, but an MSR pocket rocket and a camp cup will suffice.

i still make use of my storage when i am out and about, it's best to have for different gear sets so that i can switch out what i need depending on the conditions i will endure.


On The Road

i could go on forever about what to have or what not to have when traveling, but the list is different for everyone depending on their style and comfort. since being on the road is basically both of the previous sub-topics put together, the best and lightest gear selection from both is what you want to have.

one thing i can say from experience, don't take too much. have what you need, a little of what you want, and never ever more than you can carry. there were some journeys that i manned out of because i was carrying much more than i was willing to lug up a mountain or down a long forest trail. i'm glad i learned this so that i can tell others. however people tried to tell me the same thing. once again, sometimes these things can only truly be learned from experience.

living in a vehicle is something that i don't have experience with, but this could make your experience completely different in any of these living situations, i'd imagine more so on the road. some see it as an advantage, a mobile home and storage unit, and some like myself still see it as yet another big thing to be responsible for. if you'd like to read more about living from a vehicle, check out the Survival Guide to Homelessness listed in my links.

Communication

these days i've been keeping up with the times.. i have a netbook and a cellphone for communication, but it wasn't always so. the easiest way to keep in touch is the internet, you can access it just about anywhere, and it's possible to do so for free.

back in the days of backpacking around western Canada we were equipped with a long distance calling card and some quarters. i'd call someone back home every week and try to choose a different person to contact each time, so that everyone would know i was still alive, and in fact having the time of my life trippin around the mountains.

now i have a cellphone through koodo, it's a no contract phone plan that allows me to call to and from anywhere in Canada for the same price as a local call. it's 65 bucks a month but with little other living expenses it's very much worth my while to have. it's nice to shoot a text off to everyone in town when i travel from place to place to see who's down for a visit.

the internet is pretty well everywhere lately, we would check every public library along the way for free computer and internet access. most places give 15 minutes at a time, if it's not busy you might be able to sit down for a couple time slots to fulfill your email needs. check also community centres and other public resource centres for free internet access.

i brought a little old junker digital camera with me so that my friends would have something to see of my travels, but libraries usually don't allow capability to upload. for that i'd save my change for when i find internet cafes. the cost varies from place to place, i once paid 2 dollars on a coin op computer for 15 minutes at a laundromat in Grand Forks BC, but it was worth it to post some photos. in Vancouver many corner stores have little islands of computers set up where they charge you 1 dollar for every half-hour of usage. at least that's how much it was at the one place i'd hit up all the time on West Pender.

if you have a wireless internet device like a netbook or one of them iphone things, bigger cities have coffee shops with free wireless access for their customers. most places that have wireless also give you a place to plug inand charge your cell and computer. i decided to get a cheap netbook as a long term investment for my photography jobs and hobby. i can take it on the road and transfer data anywhere whenever i need to without worrying about plugging my hardware into someone else's machine. i suppose you could say i spoil myself nowaday, i'm a more refined tecky nomad than i was in the beginning.