When you're almost homeless
"Couch surfing" is a lot like staying at a friends house for a couple days. Ideally, it should be nearly identical. They should want to have you on their couch, and at the least you should be able to leave them with good enough standing that they'd be willing to have you back, so tips on couch surfing can be taken as tips on guest etiquette
Make your bed. More generally, leave your space the same as you found it, or better: I never made my bed when I was a kid and I never make my bed now, but when you're on a couch, usually in a space that is a common area, a tiny bit of mess goes a long way. Fold your blankets and place them in a neat or comfy arrangement, or stuff them behind your couch. If you have stuff with you and you have to move anything to make room for it, move the stuff back when you leave. If you eat something, throw away what you're done with. Never leave something out that can be put back to where you found it. Never leave a light on or cubbard open. Never let your host do a dish that you're responsible for; some pathologically nice people might insist that you leave your dish for them to do, but you endanger your situation every time they are inconvenienced in even the tiniest way. When you use the bathroom and you notice the toilette seat is down, then always put it down. If the shower curtain is closed, then always leave it closed. On dishes, the best thing to do is just rinse and reuse the same dish the whole time you're there.
On whether to go or stay: They like you enough to have you over, but when you stay you should be actively entertaining them, or you should leave. You should spend as little time there as possible unless you're helping in some way or "hanging out," because they will begin to get tired of you. With this in mind, you should be spending a good part of your day contacting friends and finding out if you can stay over a few nights. If you have 10 friends and you can stay at each one's house for a few days, then you could stay at a person's house just a few days a month and they may never have a problem. If you don't have friends, you should be hanging out at a coffee shop with friendly regulars so you can quickly make new friends, or volunteering somewhere. This also gives you the appearance that you are trying to improve your situation, which will harden your hosts from losing their patience. You want to leave for your next living arrangement early enough that it won't be long before your host wants you back.
You've played a video game before, right? You know those health bars above character's heads? Imagine that "patience" is a health bar, and it's almost always running out. Some money or helping with the groceries (food stamps are great) will keep the bar nearly full, but not every household will feel that this transforms you from guest or "couch surfer" status into "room mate" status. Large houses with a lot of people living in them might be happy to displace their rent by a few dollars or ecstatic to see their fridge cleaned and full of food, but smaller living situations will give the host the feeling that you're taking more space than you really are. And even with some kind of compensation, if you aren't careful, you won't be couch surfing anymore. You will be homeless, looking for an abandoned building to break into (which isn't so bad either).
Make your bed. More generally, leave your space the same as you found it, or better: I never made my bed when I was a kid and I never make my bed now, but when you're on a couch, usually in a space that is a common area, a tiny bit of mess goes a long way. Fold your blankets and place them in a neat or comfy arrangement, or stuff them behind your couch. If you have stuff with you and you have to move anything to make room for it, move the stuff back when you leave. If you eat something, throw away what you're done with. Never leave something out that can be put back to where you found it. Never leave a light on or cubbard open. Never let your host do a dish that you're responsible for; some pathologically nice people might insist that you leave your dish for them to do, but you endanger your situation every time they are inconvenienced in even the tiniest way. When you use the bathroom and you notice the toilette seat is down, then always put it down. If the shower curtain is closed, then always leave it closed. On dishes, the best thing to do is just rinse and reuse the same dish the whole time you're there.
On whether to go or stay: They like you enough to have you over, but when you stay you should be actively entertaining them, or you should leave. You should spend as little time there as possible unless you're helping in some way or "hanging out," because they will begin to get tired of you. With this in mind, you should be spending a good part of your day contacting friends and finding out if you can stay over a few nights. If you have 10 friends and you can stay at each one's house for a few days, then you could stay at a person's house just a few days a month and they may never have a problem. If you don't have friends, you should be hanging out at a coffee shop with friendly regulars so you can quickly make new friends, or volunteering somewhere. This also gives you the appearance that you are trying to improve your situation, which will harden your hosts from losing their patience. You want to leave for your next living arrangement early enough that it won't be long before your host wants you back.
You've played a video game before, right? You know those health bars above character's heads? Imagine that "patience" is a health bar, and it's almost always running out. Some money or helping with the groceries (food stamps are great) will keep the bar nearly full, but not every household will feel that this transforms you from guest or "couch surfer" status into "room mate" status. Large houses with a lot of people living in them might be happy to displace their rent by a few dollars or ecstatic to see their fridge cleaned and full of food, but smaller living situations will give the host the feeling that you're taking more space than you really are. And even with some kind of compensation, if you aren't careful, you won't be couch surfing anymore. You will be homeless, looking for an abandoned building to break into (which isn't so bad either).