Please note the title of this piece is Staying Clean, not Getting Clean. If you are homeless, getting clean is a difficult thing to arrange. So the best answer is to just not get very dirty to begin with.
Sitting
I sit on chairs at the library, park benches and other totally normal places that middle class people sit. If there isn't a clean, dry place to sit, I and my sons often just stand. I do not generally sit in the grass or on the curb or on a sidewalk.
I very carefully avoid sitting on anything obviously and clearly dirty or germy because I don't wash my clothes and I don't change often. So I want my clothes to just not get dirty to begin with.
Where to Eat
I almost never eat inside a sit down restaurant or eatery. I get hot foods to go and I eat at a bench or picnic table or sometimes a low wall if nothing else is available. Once in a while, I will eat on the terrace or outdoor sitting area of an eatery, such as Chipotle.
I actively scout out good places to eat and I generally know where I will go beforehand. As much as possible, I want to look like a middle class local having a bite to eat.
I do not typically eat inside restaurants in part because that would require all three of us to bring all our bags and backpacks in with us. This would stand out as unusual and mark us as homeless. Many people I interact with do not realize I am homeless or are not entirely sure. I want as much benefit of the doubt as possible because it gets me better service and easier access to middle class amenities without security guards dogging my every step and potentially informing that it is time for me to leave, even though I haven't done anything wrong.
The other reason I don't want to eat in restaurants is because there is always someone sick, sniffling, coughing, sneezing, etc. I want to avoid germs in a very big way. I don't want my possessions getting germy.
Short Hair
Even though I am a woman, I keep my hair short like a man (to the point that I often get double-takes in the bathroom). My sons get their heads and beards shaved completely every two or three-ish months. Hair is nasty stuff when it isn't washed regularly and nasty, unkempt, visibly unhealthy hair will mark you as obviously homeless.
Sandals Stay Outside
We all three wear sandals. We camp in isolated areas. We remove our sandals before we enter the tent and leave them outside. This means we are not bringing dirt and germs in on the bottom of our shoes. (To be fair, we left our shoes at the front door when did have an apartment.)
Replacing Clothes
We get new clothes as needed and we throw the old stuff out. When my clothes get too grimy and/or germy, they go in the trash. My sons get new t-shirts for about a dollar or two at various stores. We scout out where super cheap shirts can be had.
My shirts typically cost between $3 and $5 because I am a woman and I am braless, so I need something that will give me good coverage. The shirt needs to be a little loose, dark in color, thicker material and preferably have some kind of printing on the front as a means to trick the eye.
Hand Sanitizer and Spray Peroxide
We carry hand sanitizer and spray peroxide to help us clean up and stay germ free. We try to jump on it quickly. But mostly we try to avoid getting dirty to begin with.
People who see me regularly tend to figure out I am homeless, but people who do not see me all the time often think I am a tourist. This gets me treated vastly better than I otherwise would be.
Sitting
I sit on chairs at the library, park benches and other totally normal places that middle class people sit. If there isn't a clean, dry place to sit, I and my sons often just stand. I do not generally sit in the grass or on the curb or on a sidewalk.
I very carefully avoid sitting on anything obviously and clearly dirty or germy because I don't wash my clothes and I don't change often. So I want my clothes to just not get dirty to begin with.
Where to Eat
I almost never eat inside a sit down restaurant or eatery. I get hot foods to go and I eat at a bench or picnic table or sometimes a low wall if nothing else is available. Once in a while, I will eat on the terrace or outdoor sitting area of an eatery, such as Chipotle.
I actively scout out good places to eat and I generally know where I will go beforehand. As much as possible, I want to look like a middle class local having a bite to eat.
I do not typically eat inside restaurants in part because that would require all three of us to bring all our bags and backpacks in with us. This would stand out as unusual and mark us as homeless. Many people I interact with do not realize I am homeless or are not entirely sure. I want as much benefit of the doubt as possible because it gets me better service and easier access to middle class amenities without security guards dogging my every step and potentially informing that it is time for me to leave, even though I haven't done anything wrong.
The other reason I don't want to eat in restaurants is because there is always someone sick, sniffling, coughing, sneezing, etc. I want to avoid germs in a very big way. I don't want my possessions getting germy.
Short Hair
Even though I am a woman, I keep my hair short like a man (to the point that I often get double-takes in the bathroom). My sons get their heads and beards shaved completely every two or three-ish months. Hair is nasty stuff when it isn't washed regularly and nasty, unkempt, visibly unhealthy hair will mark you as obviously homeless.
Sandals Stay Outside
We all three wear sandals. We camp in isolated areas. We remove our sandals before we enter the tent and leave them outside. This means we are not bringing dirt and germs in on the bottom of our shoes. (To be fair, we left our shoes at the front door when did have an apartment.)
Replacing Clothes
We get new clothes as needed and we throw the old stuff out. When my clothes get too grimy and/or germy, they go in the trash. My sons get new t-shirts for about a dollar or two at various stores. We scout out where super cheap shirts can be had.
My shirts typically cost between $3 and $5 because I am a woman and I am braless, so I need something that will give me good coverage. The shirt needs to be a little loose, dark in color, thicker material and preferably have some kind of printing on the front as a means to trick the eye.
Hand Sanitizer and Spray Peroxide
We carry hand sanitizer and spray peroxide to help us clean up and stay germ free. We try to jump on it quickly. But mostly we try to avoid getting dirty to begin with.
People who see me regularly tend to figure out I am homeless, but people who do not see me all the time often think I am a tourist. This gets me treated vastly better than I otherwise would be.