Hobbies for Women Truck Drivers in Small Spaces
Updated: Sep 18, 2022
Discover over 25 different hobbies for women truck drivers.
A few of them are FREE!
It is going to happen, you will be waiting on a load, or maybe you're stuck in a blizzard.
What kind of hobbies can a trucker do inside the cab of a truck?
I have had a variety of hobbies over my trucking career. I know that everyone is different. We all enjoy things to keep us busy.
Hopefully, one of these hobbies will interest you.
These ideas are not limited to female truck drivers they can be hobbies that a male truck driver might enjoy.
These hobbies are also great for anyone living in a small space, such as a tiny house, camper, RV, or studio apartment.
I have compiled a list of over 25 hobbies, keep reading, and I will discuss each one.
Paper Crafts
Drawing
Artist Trading Cards
Postcards
Writing/Blogging
Poetry
Origami
Quilling
Bead Making
Fiber Arts
Knitting
Crocheting
Ravelry
Embroidery
Cross Stitch Patterns
Quilting and Sewing
Miscellaneous
Legos
Rubix’s Cube
Balloon Animals
Playing Cards
Reading & Audio Books
Video Games
Outdoors
Photography
Bicycling
Walking
Running
Fishing
Bird-watching
Before we start, I have a few advice for staying organized and ways to minimize hobbies so that you can take advantage of several different storage ideas that will use up less space.
Stay Organized
Before we even begin discussing different hobbies, I need to express the importance of organization inside your truck.
Many of the female truckers I have met have had clean trucks.
It is a natural desire for things to be in a particular place. When I am living in the cab of my truck for weeks, it is even more important to be organized.
I have seen many men's trucks that looked like drivers just piled stuff on top of more stuff. Coke cans and empty food containers are all over the floors.
As a woman truck driver, I hope your truck is more organized than that.
The cab of a truck is a tiny space. After you put your clothes, bedding, tools, and appliances inside, the space gets even smaller.
You definitely don’t want your craft supplies crammed into every nook and cranny you can find.
Designate a shelf or cubby just for your craft supplies.
Buy small totes and binders to keep your items organized.
If you like scrapbooking or other paper crafts, keep a binder to file your paper goods.
If you are into computers, games, and other electronics, Amazon has this organizer to keep all of your cords and plugins in one place.
Keep electronics, like a Kindle or computer, in a protective sleeve that will keep your device from getting broken if it falls on the floor.
The organization will help you find craft supplies easily, but the organization also provides you with more time to create during downtime. When you know where you put everything, you can find it faster. And having to put supplies up quickly when you need to move your truck out of the dock is a breeze.
Don’t Keep All Recyclable Scraps.
I am so guilty of this!
I want to keep every snippet of paper, every inch of yarn, and every scrap of fabric.
I have learned the hard way that if I keep all of these little pieces, eventually, I will have nowhere to store all the new stuff I want to play with.
If you just can’t bring yourself. All to throw them away, save your scraps until you return home from your long over-the-road trip.
Elementary schools and daycares can use these little bits and pieces to make art projects for the children.
You can also check with your local church or nursing home.
One Project At A Time
My major downfall is that I want too many projects in progress at once.
I can be knitting a sweater, crocheting a throw, making beads, and sewing a quilt simultaneously. I like to have ten different hobbies going on at the same time.
My reasoning is that one day I may not be in the mood to knit, but I feel like putting a puzzle together.
When I am at home, I have room to work on many different projects at once.
The cab of my truck gets crowded when I work on more than one hobby at a time.
Once you finish one project, you can bring the supplies for another project from home.
I find that keeping two projects to work on keeps me from having nothing to do if I complete the first project while on the road.
Paper Crafts
Paper crafts involve paper of any kind, below are a few that do not take much room to store.
Many of these can be stored in the pocket behind your seat or in a small cubby.
Drawing
For drawing, you will need a notepad and a pencil or a pen.
The drawing needs simple items that can be stored in a cubby or small tote.
You can draw your truck, the people you see, or even the scenery.
Artist Trading Cards
Another popular drawing pastime is Artist Trading Cards.
These cards are miniature works of art measuring 2.5” x 3.5”.
Many artists create beautiful miniature drawings, paintings, and other art forms.
Artists trade the finished cards with other ATC artists. Some artists sell these miniature masterpieces.
Check out this great article by Marion Boddy-Evans of ThoughtCo.
What is an Artist Trading Card or ATC?
Postcards
Postcards are a great hobby for truckers.
As you travel across the country, keep an eye out for different postcards. Many truck stops and welcome centers carry unique postcards.
If you are artistic, you can buy blank postcards, create a masterpiece, and then send it to your loved one.
I love sending and receiving postcards from all across the world. If you get home several times a week or have someone to gather your mail, you could join Postcrossing.
All you need to do is signup, write a nice message to a new friend, and write the tracking number on the postcard so the receiver can enter that he or she received your postcard. Then a random person sends you a postcard. once you receive it, you enter online that you have received your new postcard.
My younger sister, Sotera still has postcards I mailed to her from all over the U.S.
Just get a book of stamps, a pen, and a postcard, write a note and drop it in the mailbox.
I like having the postmark stamp on the postcards, providing the city and state they were mailed from.
Writing
Writing takes only a few materials that you can get on Amazon. A pen, and a small notebook, can provide you with hours of fun. With these two items, you have all you need to write stories and blogs or just keep a list of fun things you’ve seen about how you feel as a female truck driver in a male-dominated industry.
Keep a diary of all your unique experiences as a woman driver, like when that man said, "You can't back truck," before yovarious even begin backing in.
Over my trucking career, I wish I had kept a list of all those times something like that happened. If I got a dollar for each one, I would be rich.
You can also do the same thing with a laptop. An advantage of a laptop is you can post your story or ideas to a blog or other platform to share with others.
If you do record all of your stories on a computer, create a backup copy or save your writing to Google Drive or another type of digital storage.
I have set up my website with Wix, an online web host. With its drop and drag abilities, Wix has been very simple for me to set up and easily post entries to my blog.
I have tried other online website hosting platforms that were confusing to me.
When I did have a technical issue, I sent an email and received a call back within a few minutes. Wix provided trained personnel that walked me through the process. The gentleman I talked to was very nice and helpful. When I was frustrated, he asked if he could log into my computer to fix the problem, and within a few minutes, the problem was solved.
If you want to try it, follow this link to Wix's Home Page to get started.
Poetry
Poetry is another great hobby that can be undertaken with just a pen and paper, but if you have a tablet, computer, or even your smartphone, you can create beautiful poems.
Write a poem about a beautiful morning sunrise or the snow-covered mountains of Colorado.
You can even write a poem about trucking; if I get enough submissions, I will create a blog post to showcase all the fabulous poems.
You can email them to me at admin@thetruckingscribe.com and write in the subject line POETRY.
I will try to read and reply as quickly as I can.
Origami
Origami is another paper hobby. All you do is fold a flat square piece of paper to create animals and other objects.
Learning how the folds need to be turned takes practice to create a beautiful swan. With practice, you will improve, just like learning to drive a truck.
Send me pictures of your artwork!
But it is a very inexpensive hobby that takes up a little space.
Any paper that will hold a crease will work. You can recycle old papers, maps, and brochures that you can find at many truck stops, rest areas, and welcome centers.
Making this a Free hobby.
Check out Origami Easy Origami Instruction and Diagrams.
Quilling
Quilling is an art form that involves strips of paper rolled and shaped into decorative designs.
Strips of paper can be rolled, looped, twisted, and glued together to create beautiful works of art.
You can buy precut strips of paper on Amazon, along with a slotted tool that helps make the paper curling much easier to manage, but you can also use a pen or other round object to wrap the paper strips around.
If you want to cut your own strips of paper, you can buy a paper cutter that will allow you to cut even strips of varying sizes. Or just use scissors and a ruler to draw even lines and cut your strips. Grab a small tote, and you have a fantastic hobby that can be stored in a small space.
Check out Quilling 101:Learn the Basics of Quilling Paper.
Making Beads
While we are still discussing paper hobbies, did you know paper can be used to make beads for jewelry?
A friend of mine keeps all the church bulletins left after the service. She then takes the paper, cuts it into various sizes and widths, and rolls them around with a pen or pencil.
Gather everyday household items, a ruler, pair of scissors, washable school glue in stick or liquid form, a pen or skewer, and nail polish.
Then check out this great video by, The Potomac Bead Company, How to Make Paper Beads. to learn how to make paper beads.
Fiber Arts
Fiber arts include hobbies that use yarn, thread, and fabrics to create clothing, blankets, tapestries, and other textile creations.