"Where Do You Sleep?"

I just got an email from a reader that asked where one would sleep as a freegan. I think there was a misunderstanding with my last post, in which I mentioned times that I have voluntarily been homeless. Freegansim is about living simply to reduce our impact on the world, but it's not necessarily practiced by voluntary homelessness. People accept the precepts of freeganism in different ways, and adjust their lives accordingly.

Just to clarify the statements I made earlier, I do live in a house. It is a community house, shared by 20 people, but it's still a house. I have lived in an RV with Freegan friends, and I have lived on the streets for short periods of time. (In that case, to answer the reader's question, one would sleep in the same places that less fortunate souls have slept in for many years: under bridges, in trees, on the sidewalks.) The place I live now is an intentional community focused on simplicity in solidarity with the poor, and we do not get paid, nor do we pay rent. It's a live-in volunteer situation, a place of full commitment and an attempt at living out the ideals we believe in.

More on this later, I am late for a community meeting. Ah, community life.

A freegan is someone who tries to live simply, reducing their consumption and the pressure they place on the environment, through such things as recycling, sharing resources and using one’s time to help others.

Freeganism is about climbing out of the socio-economic system and living with a new motivation. Rather than working for money, as in the current system, freegans occupy their time giving and receiving for free. -From Uk Freegans website