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No worries. With that in mind, you'll want to do a few things before anything else.

You'll have a few challenges ahead of you, but if you're willing to put in some elbow grease and a bit of cash, and your friends are amiable to you making a few modifications, you can have a nice tiny house. The fact that you're looking at living there for the next few years implies you're willing to do some work to make it nice. Your immediate challenges include:

• Weatherproofing. The shed will need to be insulated so you can stay comfortable, and ideally with a moisture barrier to keep mold away. Read up on insulation requirements here and vapor barriers here.
  
• Electricity. You'll need some power in the shed for things like your computer, charging your phone, running an air conditioner, etc.
  
• Privacy. You cannot be caught or else you'll be out on your ass, so avoiding the neighbors as much as possible is a must.
  
• Comfort. You'll need a bed, space for your belongings, and some basic creature comforts for those days when you simply can't go anywhere else.
  
  One thing missing is plumbing. I am hopefully correct in assuming that your friends will allow you to use their bathroom, shower, etc.
  
  First, you'll need to insulate the place. This is to keep your space warm during cooler times and cool during warmer times. The easiest way to accomplish this is with foam sheeting insulation, available at Home Depot, Lowes, etc. You simply cut the foam to size and press it in between the studs that make up the walls; friction holds it in place. Cut as carefully as you can as any gaps means a space where heat can bleed through. If your friends are okay with it, you can patch up small gaps between the foam and the studs using expanding spray foam insulation. Insulating the roof is a little more challenging but can be done in much the same way. I'm not a contractor so you'll want to do some research into installing insulation and vapor barriers.
  
  Once insulation is in place you can finish the walls with drywall or other wall coverings, nailed into the studs. Drywall has higher cost and is harder to work with; you might want to consider something simpler like wood paneling. If you want to go on the cheap and are willing to work a bit, start collecting and disassembling shipping palettes. Remove all the nails from the boards, sand the boards smooth, then nail the boards between the studs to cover the walls. When you're done you can paint it or stain it or seal it.
  
  The bare plywood floor is going to be a turnoff, and I would avoid carpet since you won't have a way to clean it. On the plus side, since the shed will be a small space you can get a couple of boxes of good quality vinyl plank flooring and lay it all down in a single afternoon. It'll be durable, attractive, and easy to clean.
  
  For electricity, don't even think about running an extension cord as there's too many ways that could go wrong. I might consider two options. A couple of solar panels on the roof connected to a couple of simple car batteries can provide reasonable DC power for indoor LED lighting, charging your phone, running a fan or Bluetooth speaker, and other low-load devices. Supplement that with a gas-powered generator for higher load items like an air conditioner. Gasoline generators are cheap and run for up to eight hours on a tank of gas. When shopping, find one that's QUIET and reliable (read: Honda).
  
  If the shed has any windows you'll want to install something that will keep light from bleeding out and prevent people from peeking in. The last thing you want is for a cop car to drive by and wonder why there are lights on in a shed late at night. Consider applying mirrored blackout film (allows light in, doesn't allow light out) to the windows and installing blackout curtains on the inside.
  
  Air circulation is going to be key to your comfort. A hang-out-the-window air conditioner isn't in your future, nor is lighting a fire. Consider a small portable heater/AC unit that you can connect to your generator for power. Some of the better ones also act as dehumidifiers (if you're in a damp area) which can be helpful. If your shed has cross ventilation grates near the roof, consider changing them out for powered fans that can be connected to your solar batteries, and are reversible so that you can have good airflow as needed.
  
  A convertible bed or futon would likely be your best approach for sleeping arrangements. If your shed's roof has horizontal beams inside like the green boards pictured here then you might even be able to get creative with some plywood and build a loft bedroom up there. Screw down the plywood, cover the floor with more vinyl planks, put a small mattress up there, and set up a ladder to get up and down.
  
  Then it's just an exercise in minimal living. Forget about a big TV or high-end gaming computer; use a laptop as your "entertainment center" and stream everything. (Oh, right: If your wifi isn't strong enough from the house you may want to bump your data plan to "unlimited" and use your phone as your internet access point for your laptop.) Be careful with appliances as they often consume a lot of electricity (you don't want to be running your generator 24/7). An insulated water cooler filled with ice and water from the house can provide a convenient and cool water source for several days.

Depends where you live. So I live in California & these options were available to me at one point or another or still are & homeless.

Monthly bus pass. With this you can seek out the longest route that runs 24hrs & sleep for about an hour and a half to two hours before boarding off then back on again for another nap. If you befriend the driver at the same hours they won’t trip. They sometimes like the extra person because it makes them feel as if nobody else will mess with them during those hours.

Storage. Stay away from big brand & go mom & pop. You can crash inside your unit during the day as needed. This will help if you get sick. I have a storage, mailbox & cellphone.

Sleeping outside. Save money for rainy weather or you can tuff it out. Carry a pocket knife & always be prepared to use it. Don’t ever pull a weapon if you’re not prepared otherwise it can be taken from toy & used on you. The pocket knife you can use to stab in to somebody thigh & twist. They will go sown & not be able to get back up. Only in self defense. Otherwise if the local authorities piece together that it looks like it wasn’t self defense then you’re in trouble. Also find a corner to sleep in this way nobody sneaks up behind you. Remember to push somebody off if they’re on top as they’re coming frontal, bring knees to chest & push/kick with legs

best pepper spray to buy, have it sent to a amazon locker near you if you can. my partner has one since I got it for her & works every time

In case it’s cold at night. Use one of those extra size backpacks. I carry three jackets to sleep in & a pair of baggy sweatpants that go over my day clothes & a blanket & sleep easy then pack everything away in the morning.

I find 24hr gas stations that sell food to be reasonably ok for sleeping but camping near a hospital ER is better. Not on hospital ground just on the sidewalk. 24hr bathroom, if you feel you’re in danger you can just walk up & go inside & just ask to use the bathroom or let the security guard know there some creep outside. They also usually have water fountains. So it’s pretty chill imo from my experience & easy to charge stuff as needed .

you can try The National Center for Homeless Education

Have you tried reaching out to The Office of Residence Life or the off campus office for resources? Does your school have Academic retention centers (ARCs)? They can help as well. I’d start with the office of student body. seek out opportunities for free housing, such as working as a resident assistant in a dorm. Look for resource centers for homeless college students in your area and check your school for year-round housing options.

If you can find a school buddy. It’s possible to use financial aid to live in a off campus apartment with some roommates. Also try checking with your finical aid department for additional loans or grants you can quality for.

This is all I have, good luck 🙏

What Homelesswarrior said- a mummy bag. You want something that's insulated properly so that it rolls up tightly into a lower profile roll, rather than a camping bag that looks like you're carrying around a roll of fiberglass insulation under your arm. He also mentioned a small tent, and I will also recommend a bivy sack. Here is a good example of a waterproof bivy that your sleeping bag goes inside, here is another. These are best for stealth. If you want slightly more room, you can go with a bivy similar to this one, or go with a 1-person tent like this one, or this Nemo Sabre SE. I also recommend you maybe look into getting a headlamp, which you may find invaluable someday, especially if you like to read books the old fashioned way.

It would be great if you found a spot that is out of the way enough where you feel comfortable leaving your gear and don't have to break down your site every morning. Even if you can find an area where you can dig a hole deep enough to put a sterlite bin in, you can store your gear in the hole, and create a camouflage cover for the hole that just looks like the forest floor, or desert floor, or whatever environment you will be setting up camp.

Best of luck to you. Stay safe.

If I were homeless I would want lots of things, but as random suggestions:

https://www.amazon.com/Emergency-Sleeping-Zone-Reflective-Available/dp/B000Y9H09Q?th=1&psc=1
Some of those are cheaper than that though ... I'd also want uncooked rice and beans, but would then also need to cook them in a cheap pot and have a small burner like :

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006A2ZTS/ref=psdc_13838451_t1_B005T0SN0K

Electric so you would not have to buy nor invent your own heat for it, when in public places to mooch off of. Rice and beans are cheap and healthy, water is pretty much free, so is the electric, so the portable cheap burner with a small pot in a bookbag with your foil sleeping bag would be essential, aside from staying clean. Ideally as a homeless I would invest in a battery system to take the electricity with me, and use a small heater whilst sitting inside a box along with the tin foil. The batteries and components to go with it is what would actually get more pricey, as the sleeping bag when bought in bulk is just a couple dollars or three in this supposed higher quality case and the burner only like ten. But if you are mass buying this I am sure you don't want to go buying people ten dollar burners, and rather than buy them pots they do have large can food, I would be one to use a bucket sized used tin can as my pot for rice and beans, I am just saying pots and pans are cheap anyway and get thrown out often, if not there are empty cans made of steel anyway.

I personally like duffel bags more than bookbags, duffel bags can be pretty big.

I have seen these stoves for as little as $4.99 with free shipping, but the price floats up and down. You will need a fuel cartridge from Walmart $5. Make sure you look at the threads. There are two kinds and you want to get the right one on the first go. Always use a wind screen to save fuel and protect the flame. Make from cardboard and aluminum foil.

P-38 GI can opener can be found at Military surplus stores and Walmart. Low as $0.25 each and up.

Grease pot is what a lot of ultralight hikers carry for boiling up water. $7 at Walmart. A #10 gallon can called a gunboat will work too. Free from restaurant trash bin.

4 way silcock water faucet key

Dumpster dive. Lots of fruits and vegetables. I don't recommend taking meats from there for your use. Pets may love it. You will need to locate several productive dumpsters because results will be inconsistent. In general you will find more than you can use so be a blessing to people around you. Bakeries bins will have bread, cakes and donuts. Pizza shops bins will have pizza and dough which you can bake over the coals of a fire in a can. Aluminum foil is handy to have.

Brown rice, canned beans & corn, tortillas, lentils, Vienna sausage, Knorr instant rice and noodle packets, instant mashed potatoes come in many flavors, chicken quarters if you have freezer access like at work.

You can do dried beans if you are cooking somewhere other than your camp stove. It will burn off too much fuel to use. An all night campfire is perfect for bean stew. A crock pot, slow cooker at work is good. You can bake potatoes or bread in it.

Olive oil will substitute for butter. Powdered whole dry milk keeps well if you put it in a zip lock bag to keep moisture out. Calculate how much you need for 1/4, 1/2 and 1 cup of liquid milk and mark it on the bag.

Hey I'm not the OP, for more info please go to the original post to congratulate them. :)



Personally I DO live in a van, it's a 1992 Chevy G20 Gladiator. I have a memory foam mattress on top of a wooden platform, totes and cardboard boxes for storage (food, clothing, etc.) underneath. having the mattress off the floor gives space for storage, and also insulates the mattress from the heat or cold of the ground.

For privacy I have tinted windows, non-adhesive window film, collapsible foil sunshade for the front window, and black bug screen mesh like this for the side windows.

For water I use sturdy Arizona tea jugs. I have a basic Coleman camping toilet for nighttime and emergency uses - some people simply use pee bottles or five gallon buckets.

If it's cold at night I have a [12V electric blanket](https://www.walmart.com/ip/TREKSAFE-12-Volt-Heated-Travel-Blanket-White/54609929] and/or a 12V "car seat" warmer that I put under the mattress. I also have a propane Little Buddy heater which I have not yet used.

My main luxury item is an Alpicool C15 refrigerator powered by two 35AH "house batteries" (in parallel) which are charged using a Battery Doctor isolator. The Battery Doctor is run by my alternator when I drive-it only starts charging the house batteries after my van battery is full. The fridge uses 5.8AH per day. I used a cooler for a year, but the drawbacks are constantly buying or procuring ice (like from soda fountains), and food spoilage from it getting waterlogged, plus having to drain it frequently.

For hot meals, I use a 12 volt "lunchbox cooker" (works similar to a crock pot) which is powered in my cigarette lighter while I drive (or I can run it with the house batteries through a 12v splitter - the Alpicool is plugged into the other side. I also have a propane camping stove which I have never used.

I have a USB mini fan to run at night, or I can run my small regular fan through the 300W power inventor where I can also charge my laptop and/or phone (I usually charge the phone in the cigarette lighter).

I don't make any money if you buy from any of these links, but I only used them for illustrative purposes - I encourage you to shop around on Craigslist, eBay, Amazon, Walmart, check yard sales, etc. find the best priced similar item that works best for you. You don't have to get everything all at once - I didn't. But if you can get a basic minivan or van (seats removed), a mattress (or sleeping bag even) on a frame, and some jugs of water, it's a start.

Forget the pull top and get yourself a CAN OPENER. Scour your local good wills or second hand stores and find yourself one of those edge can openers because it creates a lid so that you can close your cans again, but the lid has no sharp edges to cut yourself on. Like this:

https://www.amazon.com/OXO-Good-Grips-Smooth-Opener/dp/B000079XW2

I've been surviving on dollar tree's $1 can of beef stew and bolillo rolls from Kroger. So long as you keep your bag of bread closed they won't dry out, but they won't last more than 4 days.

Peanut butter, also oats. But really its all about your canned foods. Get mixed vegitable canned foods.

Dollar tree has your best price because you need to stretch out your dollar per day.

Your beef jerky is a waste of money because its not really good source of protein. When it comes to grams of protein per dollar nothing beats black beans, but, I ate nothing but black beans and ended up shitting my guts out so your next best source is canned tuna fish, or the $1 beef stews mentioned above.

As for your chocolate craving, good luck. m&ms won't melt, but they are expensive.

Best of luck!!

polypropelene is great stuff, it's a fabric made from some type of rubber material that is fantastic at retaining body heat and doesn't absorb water. however it melts really easily, if you pick a metal pot off an open flame it'll melt right through.

http://www.amazon.com/Black-GI-Polypropylene-Glove-Liners/dp/B000HKPFS0/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1415566310&sr=8-4&keywords=polypropelene

a pair of those with a pair of wool/polyester is a great combo. i've used polypro socks underneath wool socks while hiking and it works great at keeping sweat from soaking through everything. pretty much the best base layer i've found.

These are worth their weight in printer ink. Calls of "spare change?" should be met with these.

Also This and This are both dandy to have in cold weather!

If on the off chance you are in Blackheath...and if by some fate that shop happens to be Shepherds Grocery across from the train station, the mans name is Kevin, and he is as harmless and sweet as he is frightening and scary looking. If this is the case, please include a note to tell him that his American friends love and miss him dearly.


Cheers! Nice one :)

Those work well. Can be as simple as punching a couple of holes in a can of soup, chili, or stew then putting it in the heater. Once warmed up, carefully it out with overmits or folded up clothing, remove the lid, and eat. This makes cleanup much easier and water saved for drinking. Fresh food can also be placed in homemade foil pouches.

It seems many companies brand the same design and sell it under their name. Price varies from what is seen in my original link to around $40 at Walmart. To use away from a car if an AC outlet is accessible, a 12V DC to 120V AC converter can be acquired. I have never done this and have seen conflicting specs for power draw. I've seen 9A, 10A, and 12A listed. This adapter would work for 10A or less of sustained power usage. This would save from having to run a car's engine along with associate fuel use and wear.

https://www.amazon.com/Converter-Vacplus-120W-Power-Adapter/dp/B076MQ2VCY

There is no such thing as a completely waterproof tent. A good tent with additional
tarps will prolly be your best bet. Ground tarps can be pretty important, as can air mattresses or cots.
A good propane heater, used safely, will be more efficient than a campfire.
A very good sleep system, like http://www.amazon.com/Military-Modular-Sleep-System-Goretex/dp/B002LLPILC
will be a really big help.
As far as raccoons getting into his food, trash pandas are smart and persistant.
A locking, hard sided box of some sort would be his best bet. It should be suspended above ground, in general, but the little bandits will not be deterred by that
There isn't much that will outright deter them except killing them, or capture and relocation.

Wherever you want with the right gear. I have the US military modular sleep system which is basically 2 sleeping bags (a heavy and a light) as well as a waterproof goretex bivvy bag. I could sleep in 6 inches of water in -20 degree weather and be warm and dry. It's rated down to -60.

There are of course down sides. It's bulky and heavy at 10lbs, but it comes with a compression bag, so it fits in my pack. It's not cheap either, I paid $160 at a surplus store, but they're $230 on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Military-Modular-Sleep-System-Goretex/dp/B002LLPILC

If you live in a climate with harsh winters, get yourself a military sleeping bag system, such as this. Sleeping naked, it will keep you alive down to -40F.