apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I have been homeless for 5 months now while we are waiting for a delayed occupancy permit for our new condo/loft. We have moved 7 times. It is not fun. I do not recommend it. What I do recommend is packing a concise wardrobe into 1 rolling bag and store everything else you don't need. But bring all "essentials" and things that make you feel like home- plan for the worst. Keep extra clothes and anything you think you may need at the FRONT of your storage locker/parents basement/etc. I cannot stress this enough! Do not go shopping for more clothes/shoes to dull the pain of being homeless because that means more things to move! Do not buy furniture to dull the pain of not having a home because you have nowhere to put it! If you can afford to strategically position a vacation to fall when you are homeless this works quite well. If you work from home this will be a nightmare (it is for me) Sorry to rant/vent here. I know my situation could be worse.

Sorry to hear of your situation, c.i.s.c., and thanks for your well-earned tips!

My brother once took me in, post-college and post-world travels. I tried to impose as little as possible upon his abode, i.e.-- less is definitely more with regard to personal possessions.

My situation was easy compare to the others described here. I didn't have a place to live when I moved halfway across the country, nor did I know anyone. I lived in a hostel for the maximum two weeks and then found a sublet for a month. I didn't worry too much about creating a home because I had a brand new city to explore. (I'd never been there before I moved.)

One of my first purchases in my new city was a hand-held fabric steamer. It came in quite handy since my work suits were stored folded up in my bag.

charmer, do you like the fabric steamer? i hate ironing and haven't found any good reviews about these steamers. so i don't know if the concept is good or just some brands are bad... :)

Yes! I LOVE my little steamer. I'm actually on my second one. The first lasted two or three years but it served my purposes. I think it would have lasted longer if I had used distilled water. I'm pretty sure it was the cheapest one I could find at Bed, Bath & Beyond.

They have always worked fine for me. Then again, I don't use them for hardcore purposes, just a pair of pants or a shirt a couple times a week. The wrinkles don't just magically fall out, you sort of have to tug on it a bit but I think it is much easier than ironing.

I have this one now:
http://tinyurl.com/69eqx7
(Target.com)

I work in summer stock theatre where you move all over the country for about 3 months and generally housing is part of the deal. When you're packing the suitcase you need to eliminate the phrase "just in case" from your lexicon. All it will do is take up space in your bag and you probably won't need it. All you really ned to bring to live out of a bag is a comfy pillow,a blanket (only if you're somewhere one won't be provided) enough clothes for 2 weeks (laundrymats are everywhere) and the toiletries you use everyday. nothing special NOTHING. because if you do need something special (a dress, lipstick, blanket) you can always borrow or buy one somewhere cheap. It's really hard but when you're lugging around that suitcase you'll wish you'd left all the extra stuff in storage.

My husband decided on a cold january afternoon that it was time for him to have a house to himself and kicked me out with a side helping of divorce papers. He gave me 24 hours to get out, and while I had the ability to keep my things in his garage until I could get them all moved (though at the mercy of his packing/tossing stuff in boxes/stacking dirty dishes in boxes), I basically had to call my friends at 2 pm, trying to find a place to be by 5 pm that day.

Fortunately, a friend took me in, gave me a room and a bathroom of my own, and my own stovetop espresso maker in the kitchen. The dog and cat would visit my room, and my friend and her husband created a "mii" for me on the wii.

Regardless of whether your circumstances are pleasant or unpleasant....the important thing is to feel welcome, and safe. Everything else is just stuff.

i'm currently in a similar situation. i got a promotion that is taking me from Chicago to LA. i found a place a few weeks ago, was ready to put down a security deposit, but things fell through with the landlord. so now i'm stuck until i found a place.
i have corporate assistance for about 30 days which helps out, but i'm basically living out of two suitcases (work and personal), a laptop bag (w/ work and personal computers), and my camera bag (can't leave that behind!).
i'll be arriving in LA, specifically santa monica, tomorrow and will hopefully find some places in the next week or two.

as far as living out of a suitcase, i brought some basic solid pants/shirts that i could mix and match a bunch so i didn't have to bring so much. hopefully that'll last me until i get into my own place and my things out of storage!

Cheers,
Matt

I signed a lease on a new place, scheduled to move in Friday. My old lease expired on the 31st, and I was faced with the prospect of moving everything into storage for five days and stay with my soon to be roommate at the place she's moving out of. But my old landlords gave me the ability to stay until the 5th at noon. So then I was planning on having to move everything super fast in one morning, but at least that's not living out of a suitcase. Then the new landlord called this morning and said the old tennants left the place in great condition and we could have the keys this afternoon! Moral of the story being that sometimes landlords take pity on you.

I guess I'm lucky. I'm a big camper and my pop-up has kept me from being homeless a couple of times when my leases didnt match up in college. It also bailed me out of construction when I was redoing my house. We just lived in the driveway! It's also been borrowed when my brother had the same problem. Storage hasnt really been an issue, but I can see how that wouldnt work for people living in cities where parking/storage is a problem.

When I came to Chicago I stayed with a friend for a month while I found a job and an apartment. I lived out of my suitcase and a couple of boxes she let me keep in the dining room, and I slept on the floor of her office. There was no "make this space my own" action at all...I was her guest and I tried to make myself as small as possible.