23/28 Car Truths: P.S. P.O.!

Source.

PO Box for Bills

If you're going to be living in an area for an extended period of time, get a PO Box. I have one as a back up address, but all my bills are done via internet (phone, banks, netflix, sallie mae).

Having a PO Box also falls into play with my lie. I live in the dorms and the dorms use a PO Box system for students. Once I move back home, I will return my keys to the small rectangular compartment in the hall of rectangular compartments. For the time being, the box only receives letter from the previous owner. The previous renter most likely ran some sort of child care non-profit based on the mail that arrives.

For plasma donation however, I had to use my friend's address as CSL Plasma doesn't accept PO Box addresses.

19/28 Car Truths: Self Defense

Source.

Self Defense!

There have been debates on different van dwelling forms about carrying a gun as a form of self defense when living in your car. After my personal rant, my take on the subject will be further down...

After my boyfriend decided to tell his WHOLE EFFING FAMILY about my little adventure, they did one of two things.
1.) Started to try and convince me to give him "let him use" my car and buy a used Yukon, so I could place a mattress in back. (I don't spend on my money on booze and cigarettes, so they think I'm the upper crust of the lower cake.)

2.) Told me I should buy a gun and with my clean record it would be pretty easy.

Before I go on a rant about my mixed feelings over guns, I'd like to point out that buying another vehicle and a gun are expensive. The Yukon they tried to convince me to buy from their friend was around 1,000. It would of probably broken down the moment I bought it (if all the broken down cars in front of their house are any indication of how good they are at picking vehicles). This doesn't count registration, insurance, bad gas mileage and whatnot.

Even a small gun is a couple hundred dollars and I'm sure the license itself also costs a bit.

If I had that kind of money - I could of just rented an apartment! My ex's parents were trying to manipulate this into their favor and wanted me to basically take care of their deadbeat son for them. I'm not going to tap into more student loans for you.

I have mixed feelings about guns. Should people be allowed to carry function weapons for hunting and paranoid-sprung home protection? Sure. Why do people need assault rifles? Honestly, even though hand guns are used in most gun-violence, why do people need assault rifles? The only answers I seem to find are this is America; the second amendment; what is shit hits the fan and we need to defend ourselves from anti-Christ Obama. I don't particularly find any of those attitudes convincing, but whatever.

Source.

Back on topic!

I've come to the conclusion most have: carrying a gun around makes you a target for the cops, which should be avoided. Even if owning a gun is a part of your rights and whatnot, cops can legally give you a hassle of a time for no justification at all. Be respectful and don't start with them. Having a gun in your car also makes it a target for breaks in and that's generally a bad thing.

What I personally use is a mixture of pepper-spray and some sharp pointy things in close reach.

The more time I spend in my car, the more I realize that the majority of people just don't care. They have errands to run, friends to meet, phones to tap. My little arsenal of defense toys are kind of a back up for having the misfortune to run into a creep. Maybe because I cut them off, or I appear vulnerable or they want to steal something; I don't know. Just in case, I have my little friends.

One of the tools that I actually want, but have been holding out on buying is a kitty key chain self defense stabber. Besides my love for cats, it's small, easier to use and gets the point across.

My mom is the one who provided me with pepper spray. Unfortunately, our neighbors can't won't control their "guard" dog. That dog has gotten out three times and attacked my mom and her dogs. It reached its peak when the dog ripped open our pup, Penny. With emergency veterinary care, Penny survived. I always liked every dog I met until this one. Now my mom has to walk around the neighbor we have lived in for twenty years with fear. She carries pepper spray to fight off the dog if it gets out again.

(The animal control in our city has be completely ignored us. We've called them out, filed charges, called and gone to the office multiple times; nothing.)

This is the school I go to. Sigh.

Oh, by the way: I fight. I just prefer to beat up on my friends, as opposed to actual criminals.

The on the upside, the police are the only group I've really had to worry about it.

Even when riot parties happen right now the street from where I'm sleeping, I didn't hear a word of it until the next day. The party made the front page of the Collegian.

18/28 Car Truths: Familiarity

Source.

Familiarity

If you're planning on living out of your vehicle, whether to travel or as an alternative to four walls, get to know the place you're going to be residing, parking and or traveling through.

It doesn't require extremely detailed knowledge on the area, but just enough to try and stay out of trouble and avoiding inconveniences. An example would be rush hour in the morning, lunch time or five pm.

Where's the "bad" part of town? Are you near a school (especially if you have a van)? Are you in a heavy traffic area? Or a town small enough where an unusual vehicle would stand out? Are there strict parking laws (Colorado Springs vs. Fort Collins)? Are there higher rates for car accidents (LA freeways)

Knowing your surroundings is generally a safe idea anyway, but living out of your car is vulnerable. One break in, one car accident or the cops following you around can really mess up your experience.

Mishaps will happen regardless, try to action to avoid some of them.
?

17/28 Car Truths: Alternative Forms

Alternative Forms

Source.

... of income!

The main reason (besides not really having any other place to stay at the end of December) of living in my car is to save money. I already have a part-time job as a source of income, but adding the extra $55 a week for plasma donations help cover most living expenses for the week. That leaves the majority of my paycheck to go towards loans and fixing my car.

Honestly, I'm debating about finding different sources of income besides plasma donation. If I lose any more weight from running, the $55 a week drops down to $35. It's not really worth it for the lesser amount and I'd rather be athletic.

Previously, I cleaned houses to gather extra money. Unfortunately, CSU likes to create schedules where the entire day is taken up with classes. I'm pretty sure the system is designed to babysit the college kids. The community college I attended before transferring to university had a MW, TR schedule as opposed to CSU's MWF, TR scheduling.

Only being available during evenings and weekends has really affected my work life. Especially, since most of my jobs have been sale-results related. Whatever.

16/28 Car Truths: Scavenge

Scavenge!

This might be more a part of college life than living out of your vehicle related. Somewhere out in the wilderness of the town and campus there are organized events that give away food. As the frugal person I try to be and as the daughter of a mom who would save popcorn bags for movie trips, I love free food.

I shouldn't say free, as my student fees go towards paying for event food.

The up side to going to as many events on campus for food is that you also get to learn about other programs or careers out there. So, it's entertainment as well.

Student organizations and club set up various themed activities or forums related to their mission. Most of the events have professionals from the field who discuss their jobs. The Ethnic Studies department had  professionals who have careers in social justice, the International Studies department invited professionals from the field to describe how they found their careers; French and German Club hosts Mardi Gras/Fasching every year.

If you're a student, go down to the student center and look for posters, club meetings and offices that you could gather information about where to go.

If you're luckily enough not to be in school anymore, local libraries and city websites detailing event information (csindy.com, for Colorado Springs events).

Besides being active in the community and learning about something you normally wouldn't seek out, it's free food.

Even though you're looking for discounted food, remember to be a respectful guest and actually participate in the activity. For Fasching, I helped decorate and danced around. For the career seminars, I listened to all the presenters and asked questions on their experiences.

Stoves

Source.

This fall under one of my faults in frugality: if something is cheap and maybe need it, I'll buy a lot; if something is expensive, but I could definitely use, I'll hold out.

A gas burning stove kind of falls in that category. If I did have a small stove, I could cook soups, rice, beans, pastas, and other nice warm foods that are cheap in bulk. On the other hand, I don't really have that kind of space. My car is already cramped by just being in there, let alone fixing food up to eat. Also, I don't think the local PD would appreciate me cooking around town.

I've definitely window shopped for stoves and plan on purchasing one before I live out of my vehicle again. Although, some of the stoves appear to be getting quite outlandish. Why bring an entire kitchen out camping? There are grills, ovens and burner tops all designed for some type of luxury camping.

And I thought as a kid using wire coat hangers over sticks to roast marshmellows was fancy.

A small burner appears to be the smallest, cheapest option.
Grab a cheap or free pot, a gas canister and cook!

Source.

15/28 Car Truths: Stay Clean

Stay Clean!

Even if you did choose this way of living, most people, if they found, would consider you homeless. Unfortunately, homelessness is generally looked down upon in America. If you're not using a gym to have a place to shower, definitely stay clean and "normal" looking.

Truck stop showers, sink showers however you plan on maintaining cleanliness will help you avoid that stigma of being homeless. Further, living in your car could be an adventure, an opportunity to rise above or get out of your the ennui of "normal" life.

If you're not keeping up on regular maintenance, it makes you less stealthy. Your safety and belongings are packed up in that car, don't draw attention to yourself.

When I don't want to go to the gym and workout, I can usually draw up my hair and a deodorant stick can get me through the day easily. Even with a home people still have grungy  days. On Sundays, when I have to be at work before the gym opens, a good sink shower in the library keeps me fresh.

Deodorant, a package of baby wipes, and shorter hair is all you need to stay clean and stay stealthy.

12/28 Car Truths: Research

Research!

Nothing could really prepare you for living for an extended period of time out of your vehicle. Depending on how long you're planning on living like this or got forced into the lifestyle, it helps to learn from others' experiences. Originally, I wanted to get a van and ease into this life. Due to my room mate (and boyfriend) problems I kind of got pushed into it.

Basic mistakes will always happen, but seeing variances on the same idea can help you plan how to live.

Ilgunas wrote a book on the experience.

It also makes me feel less alone and crazy. Everyone I have spoken to about the concept gives me a look of just not getting it. I've never met another van dweller or vagabond and sometimes the weight of hiding how I live gets to me. (Which is also why I'm a Car Truth post behind - Sunday I had a sad.)

Here are some helpful blogs to get you started.

Ken Ilgunas
Deciding to live in a van for graduate school, Igunas lived in one of the parking lots of Duke University. Inspired by Thoreau's Walden, he details his experiences on his blog. Honestly, Ilgunas shares similar motivations for my car life: I hated getting a student loan and vowed that I would pay it off as soon as possible.

I worked my ass for years and used my savings to cover school expenses. Transferring to CSU, living where I did, taking months to find a job, and unfortunately getting involved in a money and emotionally draining relationship put in a position where by last December I only had a hundred dollars in the bank.

Ilgunas vowed to go to graduate school and not get anymore loans. I want to finish my undergrad with little to no loans.

Source

Cheap RV Living

Probably most of the recent traffic came from the Cheap RV Living forum. The website has how-tos and set up tutorials. The most beneficial part o
f the site, I have found, is the forum. The individual stories and vans from the followers of the website are inspiring and solve van dwelling problems.

VanDwellers.org
Van Dwellers is also a big resource website. Copyrighted and also updating regularly, Romana keeps a log of useful information for those seeking to live the dream and move into their vehicles. His living in a car section is my experience in one page, as opposed to a whole website, and features good videos on the subject.

11/28 Car Truths: Bugs

Bugs!

Any fresh food should be consumed within a couple of days.

Keep the car clean.

You have a little space, the more disorganized you become the harder it is to find stuff and the easier it is for these little demons to sneak inside.

This is a more complicated subject then just saying clean and organized. Moisture collects in the car while you live in it. To avoid nasty smells and damp sheets, air out the car. If there's food or places to reside, bugs find them.

I generally keep my food in the trunk, in a box. There are some granola bars up front for breakfast. Those Nature Valley bars become crumbs.

Have a plastic bag around for trash.

Preferably don't eat in the car to avoid crumbs.

Fortunately, I live in Colorado and lived in my car mostly through winter. The forecast right now says it's going to snow again on Wednesday. Hah!

Don't let bugs be a problem.

10/28 Car Truths: Nothing new

I have a "Style" folder on my computer,

You don't need anything new!

The few items that I purchased to make living in my car easier are:
Cold weather sleeping bag - $23
Three red containers - $12
Four sun reflecting window covers - $26

Out of those items how many do you think I really needed?

None, honestly.

Where I collect inspiration pieces.

I left the sleeping bag at my mom's house over Spring Break and survived through one blizzard and two snow storms with the blankets I already had. Further, my mom had two sleeping bags in the garage, that I didn't want to use because they were "old."

I'm only using one of the red containers that I bought now. The third one kept getting in the way, so I left it at my ex's and never got it back after we broke up. After rearranging the clothes I actually use versus the clothes I brought, I eliminated the second container. The problem is: I work at a grocery warehouse, I could of just grabbed some cardboard boxes for free.

I used the window covers for my first week in the car and had two problems: I couldn't find a way to hang them up they attracted attention. Sun covers, on all the windows, during winter is an unusual sight. They're bright, shiny and say "The person who owns this car doesn't want you to see something." Most people ignore the blankets I have in my car and if I wasn't lazy in the mornings I could store them in the trunk for further stealth. I even received a ticket, while sleeping in my car, and the person who gave it to me didn't realize someone was in there.

That's sixty-four dollars that could of been mine.

I have a soft spot for "cool" jackets.

There's a lot of cool traveling gear, that I wish I had, but waiting until you have the cool clothes before going an adventure brings you no where.


You lack nothing to live free; the hard part is getting rid of the excess.

The Quarters: Updated

I saw the Quarters post reach one of the top ten posts and decided to update the poorly made graph of how I currently live. There's still an Emergency cat kit, even though it's not featured.

8/28 Car Truths: Water

Water!

You need it! Besides having an army of water bottles that were mainly acquired throughout the campus, I carry a 3 liter jug in the car. I'm living off the campus, so water is easy to come by and is covered by my nonnegotiable student fees.

On the road, I would suggest having multiple, reusable 24 oz bottles to fill up at various locations: parks, stores, gas stations. Afterwards pour the water in the larger container. There's no need to pay for water.

The jug of water is so I never run out, or if I need to wash things. Unlike living in a home with a sink, I have to conscious think about all my utilities and manage my time around that.

7/28 Car Truths: Sleeping

The Morning View

Sleeping!

How do I do it? It's actually much more comfortable sleeping in my car than I previously would of imagined. I've overslept well into the day and not realized.

Are there sometimes when it's loud outside? Sure, but I also hear similar noises to the same effect in buildings too.

The passenger seat of my car is taken out and left back home in my mom's garage. I lied and said my ex took it out to help with the move and I didn't know how to put it back in. (There's four basic bolts and a seat belt sensor, but being able to pretending I'm incapable of technical work without question is one of the benefits to being a girl, I guess.)

In place of the passenger seat is a free ottoman from Craigslist. Online, I've seen people craft their own wood boxes, but I didn't have time for that. Besides the itchy fabric on the ottoman, I get by with two blankets and two pillows. One blanket covers the bed and wraps around me like a burrito and the second goes on top, to block out any light and keep me warm.

During the colder months, I had a cold weather sleeping bag to crawl into underneath the blankets. I started sleeping on top of the sleeping bag and decided it was warm enough to leave it back home over Spring Break.

Parking and sleeping definitely go together. Depending if I'm going to sleep in or wake up early, if it's the weekend or a week day largely dictates where I choose to sleep.

The busier the morning is going to be, the sooner I want to be out of my car. On weekdays or sleep-in days I pick low traffic, side street places.

6/28 Car Truths: Lying

Can be found here.

Lying

There isn't any way around this: when you live in your car, you're going to have to lie. It's a good thing to have these answers preplanned and short.

"Where do you live?"

I've had a mixture of friends, school faculty and cops asked me this questions. For cops, I just say nearby and make a had gesture in a direction. This implies a location, but I don't really want to tell them. My friends think I live in the dorms, if you have a friend that lives on campus as well, I would find a different answer. The one professor who asked where I lived (I asked for an extension after I had had to move with a month's notice during finals), I told him in a house with some people.

Saying I live in the dorms mean I don't have to have a fridge. Since I don't have one in real life, this is useful. I can't store cold food items, my friends know this. Someone offers me food that needs to be refrigerated, I can tell them something.

"Where do I drop you off?"

Meme can be found here.

The one night I needed a ride home from drinking too much, the DD asked me where I lived. I picked the dorms on the far side of campus, that has an entryway slightly obscured from the road. This makes it look like I got safely inside, without them seeing. If you don't live on a campus, I would suggest picking an apartment complex that has a relaxed parking policy. Therefore, if someone does drive you home, you can leave your car in the parking lot and walk to it.

"Do you have room mates?"

No.

I generally avoid talking about my living situations. All of my personal belongings are in my car. I don't want anyone to steal away my life.

Someone has to know the truth of the situation. It can be hard sometimes and I need to have a non-judgemental person to vent too. My best friend and ex were the only two people I told. (And then my ex told his family, because he's inconsiderate.) On nights when I feel a little down, I have my friend to talk to. Even though I chose to do this, I still get sad about my living situation; like I failed somehow.

This rabbit is hilarious.

Source.

5/28 Car Truths: Clothes

My typical laundry bin

Clothes!

Choose every piece of item you keep carefully. I have two jackets, a hoodie, a plastic full of day clothes and a locker of gym clothes. It doesn't seem like a lot, but it can get me through two weeks pretty well.

I have my four skirts, two black jeans, two long johns, two work out pants, a black dress and an assortment of tops. For socks, I have two heavy duty, cold weather ones. There are nights I definitely need them. Two towels and one wash cloth. A beanie to keep my head warm during cold night.

For dressy occasions (I haven't had a need to be fancy) I have two business casual skirts, a black dress and my black boots.

I already mentioned my black boots and brown, which keep my feet cozy. For warmer weather I have a pair of tennis shoes and running work out shoes for the gym.

Really, there is not much one needs. I dressed plainly before, so this isn't a big leap for me. Keep what is necessary, eliminate everything else.

Miss Minimalist has the best travel assortment I have found on the web. She manages to fit all the clothes she needs for travel in a large purse. In comparison, I definitely need to cut down!

For more insights on minimalist living, I would definitely check it out. It doesn't have much of anything to do with van dwelling or car life, but cutting back on the excess is a part of either way of life.

4/28 Car Truths: Food

Banana, Nutella,
peanut butter tortilla, yum!

Food!

Figuring out what food to buy, how much and working that into the whole budget for the month was a completely new experience for me. Originally, I tried giving myself a certain amount I could spend everyday. That didn't work out for two reasons: I would focus on buying little things over cheap larger purchases and I worked better having a set amount of money I could spend over the course of the week, as opposed to three dollars every day.

I have a small lunchbox cooler for small items that need to be stored for a couple of days and when the weather stayed cold enough I purchased different juices and fruits. Now that the weather is warming up (even though it's still snowing) I avoid large purchases that can go bad too quickly and stick to simple items.

For snacks and breakfasts, I mostly have granola bars (33-50 cents each, depending on the brand, Nature Valley honey is the cheapest), various nuts (10 bucks for a canister of cashews, almonds or 14 for pistachios). Peanut butter and tortillas are always a good bet. Carrots, apples and bananas are fruit and a vegetable that last for a couple of days while I munch on them. Those are the healthy food stuffs. I still occasionally have a one dollar burrito or hamburger from a fast food restaurant.

3/28 Car Truths: Parking

Parking!

Most van dwelling and other types of vagabond blogs mention Wal-Mart parking lots as the go to for free parking. Because my car life in Fort Collins is longer than a couple of days, and Wal-Mart is out of my way, I chose to park in various locations around down that I deemed safe.

After finding different places to park, I developed a sense to what locations are better to park than others. In the state of Colorado, it isn't illegal to sleep in a car, which might of helped with this. 

Instead of parking in neighborhoods with plenty of housing, I stayed near apartment complexes. This is a college town and having unfamiliar cars near apartment buildings is not unusual. 

Most of the time I parked on the street, near an apartment complex. Parking is sacred in Fort Collins and many apartment complexes have designed parking spots. Depending on the complex and the time I had to wake up in the morning (early is preferred), I parked in between two parked cars. That way, the people are already inside and no one parks next to you during the night.

I avoided down town and heavy party areas, as many students walk to different parties. I didn't want some dudes looking in the car and seeing me, like before.

I avoided parking near street lamps for two obvious reasons; to make it harder to see in to the car and because its harder to sleep with bright lights shining down on you.

2/28 Car Truths: Drinking

Drinking!

Safely drinking can be an issue even when one does have a home. The several times I have gone out drinking started and ended pretty smoothly: stayed at a friends house till morning and slept down town in my car. Then there's just practicing good old moderation and staying fit to drive (no more than two drinks).

A couple of weeks ago my friends invited me out for a ~girls night~ which included a free lobster dinner. I know, right?! My friend won a Red Lobster gift card and took another friend and myself out for a night on the down. What a pal.

At the restaurant, I had an Irish Coffee and two tequila shots.

At the house party afterwards, I had a shot and two cheerleader beers.

When it got time to leave, our two DDs decided that it would be easier to pick up my car and one of them drive it to the dorms and the second one follow to drive the first DD back home.

I've been telling my mom and friends I live on campus; which is technically true. I do live off the facilities on campus: Rec Center, bathrooms, Study Cube. 

Not exactly knowing how to handle this, a little drunk I played along, rode in my car with my friend to the dorms. The second DD and her waited for me to "go inside" so that I would be safe.

I sneaked around a tight corner and hid until they left. Once the truck drove out of sight, I ran to my parked car.

Always have a plan. Always drink according to that plan. I also would suggest not to have alcohol in your car, to avoid problems if the cops run into you.

1/28 Car Truths: Piddle

To celebrate the final 28 Days Before Graduation, this is a series to highlight some of the features of living in a car. While the past couple of posts have been more about life and personal preferences, this blog is still themed on the essentials of car life.

Piddle!

When I first started this blog, I tried to be as gender neutral as possible. I'm a girl and being homeless is a dangerous situation to put myself in.

As I near the end of my stay in Fort Collins and have the perspective that no one really reads my blog, I'm starting to care less about how I represent myself.

Sometimes, I forget right before bed that I live in my car.

Sometimes, I'm out with friends and feel so normal again.

Sometimes, I forget to use the fucken toilet before I go to bed.

This is important. To better understand my situation, try waking up and not immediately relieving your bladder. Try it. Drink a whole glass of water before you go to bed. Go for a thirty minute walk, stay in bed for a little while.

I've pissed outside four times because I didn't think I could make it to the nearest campus facility with a restroom. Behind my car at four in the morning, behind the dorms around nine, in the corner of fences behind a bush sometime around seven, and behind a brick wall next to a statute.

If I want to do anything, it has to in public facilities and some times I mess up and forget that I rely on such places.

Snowing in April

Woke up to a car covered in snow. I've mentioned previously that I feel safer when it does snow. The car is completely covered and while I generally feel people's apathy for their surroundings protects me most of the time, it is nice to have that extra security.

Although, to be honest, yesterday morning I felt a little defeated. My first draft of my thesis paper is due on Monday and I feel like I only have a small grasp on a much larger subject. Friday, I spoke to the a Eastern European studies professor, more in tune to the early twentieth century and the transitional shifts that brought people from the medieval period, to the Enlightenment to the modern era. Those seem like large gaps in history, but it is all interconnected. Once my paper gets reviewed a couple of times I might post it on here.

Anyways! The sky snowed nonstop. I went to bed pretty late Sunday night/Monday morning, and left the library to a light snow fall. By the time I woke up, the snow blanketed the landscape. I opted out of going to the Plasma center, not wanting to wipe off my car. Slept in, unintentionally and scrambled off to class.

 I stopped by the library before to find this notice. The school offers a 24 hour study location in the library, but the library itself would be closed. I still had to work though.

The warehouse grocery store had little traffic. Normally, it takes the crew an hour or so after closing to clean up everything. We left ten minutes after closing, because no mess had been made.

Here are some pictures of the open area covered with snow. I love walking through there, it's like being in a little forest. Can you believe the school wants to tear this down and build a stupid fucking stadium?

I imagine a small Fern Gully community living in the man made forestry, terrorized by the very threat.