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Re-usable wet wipes in a ziploc, and a squirt bottle. It's still a pain without a kitchen sink, but more manageable.
Haha, I do have wet wipes in a ziploc, most useful innovation of all time! I didn't know there were such things as reusable wet wipes (I suppose some people call them 'towels'), but either way it is a major pain to clean up.
Regarding your first paragraph-----I am a trusting person, but no way in heck would I let a complete stranger into my house for a meal and allow him to take a shower.
No, but you'd probably give him a sandwich he can eat on the porch and let him rinse off under the hose
Besides, I never said anything about getting a bath/shower... just gas and a meal. Most people can/will spare $30-50 for an afternoon's hard work, which is usually enough to buy a tank of gas and something to eat (and maybe even a public shower).
Those solar shower bags are pretty handy for cleaning up (hands and dishes) since they have the sprinkler heads on them. If you get a 5 gallon one, it'll last awhile and doesn't take up too much space. We currently (in our wall tent) use a Playtpus 6 liter collapsible (non-solar) water storage bag with a shower attachment as our "kitchen tap" and a couple of nesting rubber tubs as our sinks.
On shower night, we the Platy with warm water from the stove, and take turns holding it up for the each other (gravity water pressure LOL). 6 liters is usually enough to rinse your body (after a regular bucket bath) and wash/rinse your hair... if we're not too funky or our hair too long, 6 liters is enough for two people.
While I was roaming, I never found anywhere that I couldn't find something to do to get at least one tank of gas and a meal. It wasn't always the most pleasant work -- mucking stables, cleaning storm drains, etc -- but most people either want to help or want you out of their town as fast as possible. Either way, you get gas and a little something to eat. The key is not to ask too much from any one person and be willing to do whatever crap job they offer you with a smile (that makes it much nicer if you have to go back there!). "You need someone to brushcut your back field? Sure, I can do that for you if you can spare a few bucks/tank of gas/hot meal & shower. Thanks for the opportunity!"
I never had to resort to prostitution either... just in case you were wondering.
You might consider either a van or a tow-along/pop-up trailer and hitting the campgrounds and state/national parks for safer places to sleep than parked right out on some street. Self-defense and pepper spray are helpful, but not sticking out like a target/victim works even better... don't advertise or be of interest and most people/criminals will leave you alone. If you're storing anything that might be the least bit tempting to a theif in your vehicle, either keep it in the trunk or buy one of the SUV/Vans that has under-floor storage bins... do whatever it takes to make sure your vehicle does NOT look like you live in it and don't park in the same place long or frequently.
Several larger towns/cities have laundromats with showers and internet access. Definitely check out the larger truck stops... they almost always have showers if you're on the road. If you're staying in town, then the gym is probably your best bet. If you're at a campsite, most of them have facilities open most of the year (some do close in winter if you're northern).
Cooking and food prep isn't too hard. Eating a lot of fruit and veg works well - minimal cooking. Learning to cook on your engine hobo-style also works... go to the store, buy some potatoes and onion and small package of chicken (legs and thighs work best), wrap that up in foil and stick it on your engine, then drive around until you can smell it through the vents... voila! dinner is served. Also, they have 12v battery-operated fridge/coolers that you can keep things like yogurt, cheese and lunchmeat cold in, they aren't that expensive and as long as you have a place that you can charge your battery you can eat sandwiches and cereal everyday if you had to. There are also briefcase-sized propane/alcohol camp stoves that work really well and don't require a lot of room... as long as you don't use them all the time, buying the bottles of fuel isn't that expensive (certainly cheaper than eating out all the time). You can cook/heat canned food right in the can, so you really only need one pot for boiling water and a small fry pan.
----" I can do that for you if you can spare a few bucks/tank of gas hot meal/shower "-
A sandwich on the porch and rinsing off with a garden hose does not equate to--------"hot meal/shower "
Ah, true, that was a special circumstance... those folks had a shower in their barn, so I didn't need to go into the house. I never expected anyone to let me in their house (unless that was where they needed me to work). There were even a few times when I sort of insisted that I'd eat on the porch even if I was invited inside... just didn't want to take chances (I'm trusting too, but no way do I want to go into some strangers house unless someone knows I'm there!)
There's always that fine line between charity and security. If you know your instincts/intuition about people isn't so great, best to err on the side of caution rather than altruism But I've found theives casing places is much more common in and around a city than out in the rural areas, and people are much less suspicious (probably because they could easily find "the stranger" if you screw up).
Those solar shower bags are pretty handy for cleaning up (hands and dishes) since they have the sprinkler heads on them. If you get a 5 gallon one, it'll last awhile and doesn't take up too much space. We currently (in our wall tent) use a Playtpus 6 liter collapsible (non-solar) water storage bag with a shower attachment as our "kitchen tap" and a couple of nesting rubber tubs as our sinks.
On shower night, we the Platy with warm water from the stove, and take turns holding it up for the each other (gravity water pressure LOL). 6 liters is usually enough to rinse your body (after a regular bucket bath) and wash/rinse your hair... if we're not too funky or our hair too long, 6 liters is enough for two people.
That's an interesting idea. I'll have to look in to it. Do you buy water for it? Where are you getting water?
We get our water from the public well; but we've also filled up from the creeks. When I was roaming, I used to get almost all my water from the highway rest stops, or hoses at gas stations in a pinch. I very rarely bought water from the store.
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But I've found theives casing places is much more common in and around a city than out in the rural areas, and people are much less suspicious (probably because they could easily find "the stranger" if you screw up).
