Having Trouble With Organization

I drive OTR with another company male driver and as hard as I try I cannot stay organized. I am constantly losing my reading/sunglasses, they always complain I take too long in the shower which I try todo during my 30 min break which always takes me at least 45 when I shower and usually an hour. It just takes me longer even if I leave with my hair wet. I also have problems with skin breakouts on the road I am thinking maybe soot from the diesel? I have face wupes to clean my face. Also my face becomes very dry and irritated while OTR despite my USB powered humidifier.

Maybe it could be covered the kinds of foods you are eating that could be causing the breakouts. I'm not sure. I too have organizational issues lol.. My other half is super organized, while I pack, in his words, "way too much stuff". I do carry less than I used to, but still lots of disorganization.

He carries very little. The off season clothing he puts in a space bag, under his bunk. He has stacking storage containers with lids.. one for socks, one for undies, one for tshirts. Hangs his jeans in the closet and carries a very small duffle with his shaving gear, shampoo/body wash, medications, and 1 change of clothes.. carries just that for showering or a night at a motel.

Me.. I have a huge bag, makeup, blow dryer, flat iron, clothes, cologne, all kinds of stuff. A closet full of clothes, more clothes and shoes under the bunk, non perishable foods, just craziness.

I have a storage locker so i can take stuff off the truck when i get students, but then i buy more stuff OTR. now my storage locker is filled and so is my truck. i need to start donating or throwing away. or just stop shopping.

maybe its a woman thing. i tried plastic containers with lids...small ones for first aid, make up etc. tgen i had large ones on the top bunk...one for clean clothes one for dirty, one for truck cleaning stuff.

doesnt work. if u find a way, let me know lol

Oh geeze.. I just bought storage containers. I hope it wasn't for nothing. I'm dying in the disorganized clutter that is my new truck with it's unique (lack of storage) configuration.

Hahhaha i now own like 22 plastic containers i started with 4. i have 2 dyson hand vacs, 2 SoClean Cpap cleaning machines, and god knows how many duplicate tools. i accidentally leave stuff in the locker and wind up buying more OTR before i go home. i now have 5 of the heavy fleece blankets you buy at TA and DOZENS of sheets.

i really need to go through that storage locker, but the last 2 times i went home it was pouring rain. before that was my surgery and i really couldnt lift or bend well.

my suggestion is to make lists of what you have and what you need. know what you can take off the truck for the students and what you dont.

with every student i go home and empty that top bunk, then when they get off, i go.home and fill it again.

i dont take back to back students like some. i need my solo time from time to time.

I don't use the top bunk for storage, so that's always ready to go.

Problems with the 2019 Cascadia.. lack of storage overall. For instance, there is NO PLACE that my atlas, permit book, or my BOLs will fit into. Even the door pockets are much skinnier than the 2016s. The center overhead shelves are not deep enough to use for anything. (That's where I used to keep my Atlas, permit book, and paperwork). Now I hang my headset off one of the shelves.

In the 2016, in addition to the closet, there was a large and a smaller (but quite roomy) storage cabinet on the passenger side. In the 2019, no such animal. There are these overhead compartments, and that's it. Certainly no room for luggage etc.

Here's a pic of the other cabinets.

Isn't this awful?

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that there is no place to mount my TV. It's laying on my bunk. When in my bunk, I sit it on top of the fridge.

There are no ventilation windows in the top, oh and both vents for bunk heat and AC are at the bottom bunk. Oh and since there are no traditional cabinets with the foot holds to get to the upper bunk, there is a horrible ladder. If the ladder is down, I'm trapped in my bunk. If the ladder is up, a trainee is trapped in the upper bunk.

Have I mentioned that I despise this truck? I thought I would at least come to like it somewhat, but the more I drive it, the more I hate it. The steering wheel is sandpaper rough. My hands are so raw. I've got to find a suitable steering wheel cover before I just flat out lose my temper, quit, and tell them exactly what they can do with this slug.. oops sorry... truck.

I drive solo and that may be your answer. I do not rush in the morning (any time I wake up). I take my time. I take long showers. I give myself 3 hours from the time I wake up to the time I roll. I usually take a 12 to 14 hour break and still make pleanty of miles. This week will be 3000 miles. While not very organized, I have these.

This sits between the seats and holds atlas, clipboard case for BOLs and transflow papers, a small ice scraper, squeegee for cleaning windows, an extra flashlight, tissues and some notebooks.

This is the TV mount, I use it to hang things. I keep a fan clipped to it which I removed for the photo.

Cabinet for clothes.

I keep my cooler in the hole designed for the KW fridge to go.

This space, above my head when driving, holds sunglasses and a bunch of other stuff. By the way I drive a KW T680.

Well I spent way too much for an acceptable steering wheel cover at the Iowa 80... Almost double what every other cover they had, but it's not huge and thick and definitely feels better. I also looked for an organizer to hang off the back of the seat, but the only one they had was $30 and a horrific cheap denim material. If I'm paying, it's going to at least look good and match my truck. Ya know, aesthetics and color coordination are crucial lol.

Organization... Ugh... I'm no good at that. It's nice to see that I'm not alone.

I'm bad about losing things and being slow. Here are a few things I did that help me but I don't know how this would work in a team situation. I drive a 17 midroof Cascadia.

I got a cheap hanging shoe rack and hung it from the outside of the set of cabinets that have the fridge space. It faces the bunk. Each little pocket is specified for a certain item. For example, my hair is very curly and I have to wrap it in a satin cap so it doesn't friz up during the night and I have a frizzy afro in the morning... That satin cap and an eye cover goes in one of those pockets. In another pocket all of the things that were in my jeans for that day goes there. So when I empty my jeans pockets everything goes in that shoe pocket. It's the same pocket every single time. the rest of the pockets hold things like extra toothpaste, extra razors, first aid stuff, TV remote etc, just things like that so that I don't have an extra plastic tote sitting around somewhere. I have enough of those... lol

In the automotive section at Walmart I bought a... I don't really know how to describe it, it's like a canvas cup. you put it in the vent and it hangs down and you can put pens in it. I use mine for pens, my clear ruler, my sunglasses, and when I'm done driving I put my eyeglasses to the outside.

I also bought a very small center console thingy from Walmart. It's plastic and sits on the floor. My little truck stop book goes in there, with lens wipes, and vape juice. I fold up a few napkins and stick down there and since it has a place for drinks I usually put an extra water bottle down there. I used it when I was driving a 10-speed and it wasn't too bad. This truck is an automatic so there's a little more room for that. It doesn't slide around a whole lot. If I ever have problems with it I might just velcro it to the console. Like I said I don't know if this is doable in a teaming situation.

For getting a shower faster on my DOT break I've found that I had to get it out of my mind that my shower was a relaxing moment or my time to unwind.

It's not, it's just a shower. I'm dirty, I need to clean up and I'll relax later. That's what I tell myself and it helps me.

I put an extra change of clothes in my bag the morning I get up so that I don't have to do it when I stop. When I get to the shower, I take everything out and I take a shower. No looking on my phone, no worrying about hair or makeup. I wash, I shampoo, I run conditioner through my hair, and I'm out. I save the relaxing, deep conditioning and leg shaving for my 34 or if I'm lucky enough to get a night time shower with no wait. I also don't take anything out of that bag until I stop for the night.

From time I start my break to the time I get back to the truck and release the brakes is rarely over 45 minutes now and I've hit the 30 minute mark several times since I really started working on it. But I've also dropped the hair and makeup routine since I started flatbed too. The face gets lotion and the hair goes under a ball cap.

Susan, I agree with you, those cascadia's with the ladders... They suck so bad. I really don't like them at all. My trainer had one of those, and one day I slipped off the ladder... I went flying backwards towards the cab... And I landed with the armrest from the driver seat on my tailbone. Yes I broke it... My tailbone I mean lol. I'm still dealing with the aftermath of that today. Those first few months of sitting in that seat and putting in a full day were horribly painful.

My trainer had one of those organizers that hang off the back of the seat like you're talking about. Hers was black and she got it from a truck stop. I'm planning on getting one of those too, it was very helpful.