Keeping Cool
If, as I suggest, you are sleeping in a car with a car cover, your problems don't end with staying warm at night. On most days the sun will enforce a wake up time. Cars heat up. On sunny days in California, sleeping past 10:00am will make you sympathize with baked potatoes, so get up before you get cooked. Also try to park under shade trees or next to a building that will cast a morning shadow on you.
During really hot times of the year, under blistering sun, even getting out of the car and finding shade may not be enough. At those times, exploit the commercial sector. Malls are a great place to hang out. Loitering is not prohibited in malls, so long as you don't look like a stereotypical homeless person. Go in dressed well. Bring your hygiene supplies and get cleaned up in one of the mall bathrooms. You may as well solve two problems at once. Spend the day window shopping and eating samples at the food court. On a hot day, when you are feeling idle, you could do worse.
Go to a movie matinee. It's the cheapest time to see a movie, and it is in the hottest time of the day, between noon and 4:00pm. Movie theaters are air conditioned, restful environments and if you aren't interested in the movie, no one will notice you snoozing unless you snore. Even then, many matinees run without an audience. You may have the entire theater to yourself.
McDonald's, Jack in the Box, Carl's Jr., Burger King, Wendy's, KFC, Church's, Taco Bell, these places have two things in common, bad food and air conditioning. Buy a soda and you can sit and nurse it for several hours. Often the refills are free as long as you are in the dining room. This will keep you out of the sun in the afternoon.
Wear sunscreen. Seriously, wear it. Sunburn is a terrible hazard to the homeless. You can get a sunburn even on overcast days, since the radiation that burns isn't even slowed down by cloud cover. Chronic sunburns can lead to open sores and infections. It is thought that skin cancer can be caused by only a few serious sunburns, and may show up decades later, so stay safe. A sunburn is a tipoff that you are homeless, in addition to being a health hazard. During the summer, wear sunscreen or keep out of the sun.
If it is really hot, dress appropriately. Don't try to carry everything you own. The car is a great storage bay. Dress lightly, but bring a windbreaker. When you go into the movie theater, restaurant, or mall it may be too cold for comfort. People overcompensate.
posted by Mobile Homemaker @ 8:24 AM
23 Comments:
You DO need to get published. Former peers need you.
Public libraries down here in South Florida are wonderfully air-conditioned and offer clean restrooms, effectively unlimited reading material, and fast-access Internet connectivity.
Other plusses include the opportunity to network with a wide variety of people and, of prime importance, the library is an island of calm and quiet in an ocean of raucous noise and tumult.
I recently Expanded My residency to a much bigger home I like to call the planet, My 95 Neon Shelters and Moves me, Currently I'm in Central Florida (west coast) and its Hellishly hot even in the darkest shade, I'm getting a lot of practice sweating. After reading "keeping cool" I have a question, since I sleep in my car while waiting for 5am to roll around so I can go to work at the Labor pool (50$/day Back breaking labor) how can I keep from sweating all My internal juices and wakeup with some left to work? (need to sweat there too)
Lueshi says hit up a couple of the 24 hour fast food resturants, and ask for a large water with lots of ice. Most of hte time they wont care, so drive around to the window and say thanks. Dump out the water, put the ice in the hot water bottles from "keeping warm" and voila.
Why not just ask for ice?
I am not homeless, but move around a LOT due to work.
I have found that a 5 day cooler from Wallmart is a great investment. ($23)
You can get free ice at hotel ice machines.
(I am staying here, but they are outside. I will let you decide if this is a moral issue.)
http://www.kurtsaxon.com/ Has some very good/cheap food ideas under 'survival foods'
Interesting blog. I've enjoyed it very much so far.
I have a question for you: What do you do during an average day? I think I'd get bored 'nursing' a fast food beverage for several hours or repeatedly visiting a movie theater just to stay cool.
I know you have to be creative! I'm not asking what I should do, I'm asking what you do during a regular day without a home.
Why not drink the cold water ~AND! keep the ice too...Brilliant! now we're onto something~
DieselWestfalia-on-WVO.
I have a nice van with windows, but it still gets terribly hot sometimes. Does anyone know some innovative ways to cool it down. For example, is there something that, if put over the windows, would prevent light from greenhousing me and yet not make me look like that trashy homeless person that always seems to get harrassed by the housed? In the winter I will then be wondering how to retain heat . . .
I'm dealing with LA climate.
I can't believe I'm posting again so soon, but....
When you need to get cool, fast, such as have gotten too much heat, try the local bowling alley. It's noisy, but compared to heat stroke, it is an option if it's close by.
Also, here are a couple of other ideas, since I was originally from L.A., and now inland N. Calif., and don't handle excessive heat well:
There are small, handheld fans which run on batteries. Mine is 20 yrs. old, and was free from a store. This one fits almost in my palm (I have a very small hand, it would fit completely in most peoples.) and runs on double A batteries. Recently a Dollar Tree dollar store opened here, and they have cases of double A batteries which come in packs of 16 for, well, $1!
Also, if you are in a dry climate, moisture is important. A small spray bottle can become your best friend in the heat. Misting yourself helps with needed cooling.
Too, there are combo fan-spray bottles. But they are a little larger, and a tad attention-getting.
Remember, you lose heat in the winter through your head, hands and feet, and that can work for you in the summer.
If you are too hot, sit somewhere with your hands in cold water. (A bowl just large enough to immerse your hands works. No waste of water needed.) Don't take them out for a little while. This summer I actually used ice water when we had our heatwave. It works! It's more difficult, and again, attention-getting, to put your feet in cool water, but if you have privacy, or can get to a fountain or pool where others are, it will cool your body down.
Wet cloths at the wrist, back of the neck etc. might also help on a bad day.
And, finally, get a hat. That keep the sunburn at bay also. Sometimes you have to be out, and just going from point A to point B can cause too much heat, or a burn. A hat helps. They now have breathable hats which scrunch up so that they take almost no room at all. And they are meant to scrunch up for travel, and unfold looking fine.
I don't know where you might find them, but I'd look around in discount stores, and also thrift shops. Which, by the way, are a good source for all sorts of things. Aside from Salvation Army and such, the thrift shops for local senior centers and hospitals generally have an every changing array of items, so really useful, for excellent prices. Look through them often to get what you want/need.
deep cycle yellow top which can be drained & recharghed many times, the batteries r good for running fans to stay cooL & can run lamp/(s) for heat , an inverter is needed too to plug into. the more batteries in parallel for longer powering times &/or more power. Starter batteries r designed to start auto compared to deep cycle batteries which can start & discharge many times.
One other thing that works is visit the local libray and read or get on the computer its kind of relaxing to say the least>Im on my 15th year doing this and its not fun but its all Ive ever know thank you for this blog writer and Ill rea the wehole thing.
what about mosquitos and hot summer nights? Ever time I have slept in a car the car gets hot and humid inside due to my breath, this is much worse in the humid summers and if you try to solve this problem by rolling down your windows you get attacked by mosquitos.
I've been thinking that maybe some insect netting and tape might solve this problem but it would not be very convienent. What have you used to solve this problem?
dryer sheets (like bounce) strategically placed near the open window will keep the mosquitos away. I am not homeless, but after 30 years of living in FL you learn what keeps those little buggers away. When ever we have an outdoor BBQ we hang dryers sheets on the rail of the deck. They can be used to freshen up your clothes, keep your car smelling nice, reduce static electricity, eliminate odor in your shoes, get baked on grease of of that old pot, etc. You can get a box of 40 at Dollar Tree.
On the same note the best way to get rid of the itch of a bug bite (mosquito, ants, bee stings, etc) is to dab a bit of deoderant on the wound. The itch will be gone in seconds and the red swelling disappears fast too. I always keep some in my car for the kids. Any type of gel also works.
The question about boredom nursing a drink for hours is a good one.
Its a good reason to not do the fast food thing. I sometimes do it, but I try to take some 'project' along. You can find computer paper printed on one side in a dumpster, check books out from the library for reference, and sit and write a short story.
I find I get restless if I'm in one place for hours.
Real RV's have a vent in the top you can open to let the heat out.
The drill is that first thing in the morning you open this, which makes it just a little chilly, and then at sundown you close it.
Don't know what you could home-make. Do know that RV owners think long and hard before putting a hole in a roof.
I was blessed with having to be homeless for almost 3 1/2 years. I'd NEVER want to do so again but I am thankful for the experience and grew from it. It's amazing what one can learn and I know now what kind of stuff I'm made of. I was never unemployed but worked as a lab technician making excellent wages. I just was faced with a series of events which quickly drained my savings and ended up losing my apartment and was unable to get back on my own feet for awhile. I was also blessed that I had a car to live in and as such I never considered myself truly homeless as I had a roof over my head which is more than some could say, and that roof belonged to me. I joked with friends telling them my license plate number as my address.
Summers in a car can be stifling hot and miserable and I found a trick to help me out in that regard. Peppermint oil! A very small bottle can cost about $6-7 but it only takes a few drops. I applied a drop to my forehead, the back of my neck, chest, the small of my back and behind my thighs and in a matter of seconds, it felt like I had my own personal air conditioning system. I still perspired, but the chilling sensation allowed me enough respite to fall asleep comfortably. A word of warning though: TEST IT FIRST. I found out the hard way that SOME people are sensitive to it and instead of chilling them, they feel an uncomfortable burning and iritation. I suggested it to a friend once and it was a mistake. The best thing to do is just try a diluted (with cooking oil)drop to a less-than-sensitive portion of skin (the back of the arm for instance) and wait to see if there is a reaction. For those who aren't senisitive to it, I hope this helps.
Of course peppermint oil only provided you with the illusion of being cool. It is important that the illusion is not strong enough to allow you to BAKE yourself before you seek some other relief. Still a great comfort tip.
This was a great post but what I really need is advice on food. Is it worth grocery shopping or do you just hit the fast food? Should you eat at real restaurants for the nutrition?
I'm considering doing the homeless thing in the near future and I'd love some more insight into the food problem.
Thanks.
I've been enlightened about your posts on staying cool, hygiene and such. But how do you handle keeping your clothes from being wrinkled or having a stale smell from the heat of the car?
For those of you with cars, you can build an air conditioner out of a cooler and run it at night, without your car being on:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Portable-12V-Air-Conditioner---Cheap-and-easy!/
You can also use cooling ties and vests like they use in the military. These aren't the kind that rely on ice packs. They have some kind of gel that stays cool for up to 24 hours. You do not refrigerate them, but soak them in water in the morning to activate them. Then you wear them as a tie or a headband. Some places have packets that are sewn into baseball caps. I got a couple this winter to use next summer since I am subject to heat exhaustion, since some friends said these are great. The site I found is Polar-products.com. Feel free to delete the site name, since I have no connection to the company and am not trying to sell anything, but thought it might help someone to find it.
Keeping cool is no joke. I used to live in an 8X35 trailer in a park. Mine had a broken swamp cooler, and the times it was working only made the 100+ degree weather so much worse with humidity. Cars are even worse than that.
The 10:00am wake-call from the sun is all to real. If I needed a nap from driving to friends' houses, that is a definite reality.
Cooking breakfast on the dashboard wouldn't have been a problem.
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