Girly Girly

by Yvonne
(Texas)

Vicki great site, just wondering how you do the girly girly stuff? Hair makeup bathroom needs etc. Look forward to your answer. Take Care!

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Response from Vicki:


Hello, Yvonne,

Thank you for contacting us through our website,
http://www.Truck-Drivers-Money-Saving-Tips.com.

You didn't state whether or not you are in trucking, are about to go into trucking, or are thinking about it. So, I'm going to assume you're not familiar with the constraints of a trucker
* regarding space in the truck and
* regarding time to invest as regulated by the federal Hours of Service.

Many professional truck drivers spend many hours a day behind the wheel of their trucks, not interacting with folks face-to-face. While some lady drivers may prefer to not lose touch with their "femininity" with regard to the "girly girly stuff" (cute terminology!), others of us have found that with no one to really appreciate it (except perhaps their male co-drivers) and without an appropriate "payback" on the time it takes to put on, keep up and wash off cosmetics, there is no reason to invest time in it.

I will say that I keep a small bag of make-up here in the truck -- since this is literally our home right now -- so that when we are able to go to church on the weekends we go through home turf, I can spruce up a bit. The routine is always the same on Sunday nights when we get back in the truck: I warm up wash water in the hot pot, wet a washcloth, run it over the soap and wash my face using the hot pot as a sink.

As for hair, I've never known of a lady trucker (or riding companion) to spend much time on hair outside of washing it when taking a shower and brushing it first thing in the morning. The same principal of investment of time fits here.

Now when it comes to cutting hair, Mike and I invested in a Wahl home haircutting kit some years back, which we have with us here in the truck. I cut both his hair and mine at least monthly. I have done so a number of times in a shower at a truck stop. Some truck stop shower rooms are much more conducive to my cutting Mike's hair than others. What we aim for is having a moveable (non-built-in) seat that is close enough to an electrical outlet to let me use the razor on his hair. When I cut my hair standing in front of the mirror, I try to cut the sections smoothly on the top and sides, but cut it "by feel" on the back. (This has taken considerable practice.)

As for bathroom needs, from day one in trucking, Mike and I have had a portable toilet in our trucks, the sole exception being when he drove solo for Schneider for 13 months. That trucking company forbade portable toilets in their trucks, at least at that time. We go into detail about this situation on our Packing List and Portable Toilet pages.

You may be interested in reading a response that I sent to someone else about packing non-essential things in a truck
http://www.truck-drivers-money-saving-tips.com/becoming-homeless-2.html
in which I wrote "Non-essential items (lacy clothes, hair curlers, high heeled shoes, etc.) should be carefully considered as those which 'don't make the cut.'"

Now I will say that I was quite surprised to see a lady log truck driver not long ago get out of her truck, unfasten the load straps from around her load of logs as she was about to go into a paper manufacturer's facility -- all the while wearing long, dangling necklaces and very nice clothing. I wondered to myself why she would do that and how long it would take for her clothes to show signs of wear and tear from the rigors of the road. Perhaps her priorities are much different from mine.

BTW, I believe there is a difference between looking like a lady and acting like one. While I may not wear dresses/skirts or make-up on the road, I can still stay very much in touch with being a lady on the road.

I hope this answers your question.

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Thanks again for writing. We appreciate your compliment about our site. We are hoping that more and more professional drivers will use our site to "get and share great money saving tips for truck drivers." Please take advantage of the resources on our site and feel free to contribute.

Best regards,
Vicki Simons

http://www.truck-drivers-money-saving-tips.com/

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Disclaimer:

The original question was submitted through our Contact Us form and Vicki's response is adapted from her personal email to Yvonne.

In response to a follow-up email, Vicki wrote:



Hello, Yvonne,

...

I have one other resource to share with you that might help: our Home Support Team page:
http://www.truck-drivers-money-saving-tips.com/home-support-team.html.

Please note that being a home support team member "at home" is a little different from being one "in truck." Since you may be one from a distance, that poses an even more challenging scenario.

For those who are "anxious" about making a total transition into living in a truck full-time, I do suggest making a weekend trip as a trial. You may wish to look at the resources linked in my response on this page:
http://www.truck-drivers-money-saving-tips.com/becoming-homeless.html.

I wish you the best as you make whatever transition is right for you.

Best regards,
Vicki Simons

http://www.truck-drivers-money-saving-tips.com/