Given the nursing shortages that rose after the pandemic, there is a rising need for travel nurses. Plenty of opportunities are available if you’re a travel nurse. That said, part of being a travel nurse is constantly moving from one accommodation to the next.
While you might be too busy with work to keep up with the maintenance, it’s not a good idea to keep your travel nurse temporary housing messy because it can affect your physical and mental health. With that in mind, here are tips on keeping your temporary housing clean, even as a busy travel nurse.
Tips on keeping your temporary housing clean as a busy travel nurse:
1. Consider Professional Cleaning Services
According to Maid Sailors, a maid service NYC, working with a professional cleaning service is an excellent way to keep travel nurse’s temporary housing clean. Instead of dealing with more chores just as you finish a brutal shift in the hospital, you can have a professional cleaning service clean your house for you and use your free time to rest.
A professional cleaner will also be able to do a more thorough job than you, so they’ll be able to finish a lot more cleaning tasks than you might be able to do within the period of their service. While it might be an additional cost, occasionally hiring a professional cleaner, especially after consecutive days of hard shifts, can lighten your load.
2. Develop a Cleaning Schedule
Just as you have a schedule for your shifts, one way to better stick to the cleanliness of your home is by scheduling your cleaning.
Having a cleaning schedule that adapts to your work rather than being forced to follow your cleaning schedule is the key to consistency. There’s no point in having a schedule if you constantly can’t stick to it in the first place.
Aside from having a realistic schedule, it would help if you were realistic about the cleaning tasks you can accomplish. It’s more achievable to create small cleaning tasks that you do here and there but in a regular way to ensure that you can finish them.
3. Prioritize High-Traffic Areas
Instead of focusing on cleaning parts of the house you barely use, you should prioritize the high-traffic areas. These are the parts of your home that you’re always in, so they’re likely to get messy quickly. Therefore, if you have the time to clean your house, focus on the parts you use most often.
For example, your bedroom and bathroom are most likely the parts of your house you use often. If you cook a lot, remember to clean your kitchen area.
This cleaning method involves performing the cleaning tasks with the most significant impact. Thus, the energy you spend cleaning the house will reap the most results.
4. Invest in Time-Saving Cleaning Tools and Supplies
Before you head to your temporary accommodations, it’s a good idea to ask them what cleaning tools and supplies are available. That way, you know what cleaning tools to add to your arsenal to keep a clean home.
If you plan on getting your cleaning supplies, look at efficient products. That means they provide the most impact for as little effort as possible.
One way to do that is by getting effective cleaning solutions that aren’t too watered down to clean the mess quickly.
Using time-saving tools like wireless vacuums and microfiber towels, which are better at doing their jobs, is also a worthwhile addition to shortening your cleaning time.
5. Embrace Quick Cleaning Hacks
Aside from time-saving cleaning tools and supplies, it would be best to embrace quick cleaning habits that keep your home clean without giving more work for you in the future.
One quick cleaning hack is to pick a task you can do for five minutes each day. That way, you’ll constantly finish a cleaning task each day, and it won’t feel like it took you the entire day to do that. Plus, in some cases, starting is more challenging than continuing, so you might find yourself cleaning other things after that five-minute cleaning task.
Another cleaning hack you can do is leave cleaning supplies in the area where you use them. That way, you can quickly grab them whenever you need a quick clean.
6. Create a Cleaning Routine That Fits Your Schedule
If your shifts aren’t inconsistent, ensure your cleaning schedule accommodates that. There will be days when you have consecutive shifts, and on other days, you’ll have more free time. In that case, adjust your cleaning schedule based on your work.
Also, sometimes, you’re too tired to clean, so you can always move your cleaning schedule. Balancing your housekeeping responsibilities, relaxation, and working together is critical to making your temporary housing cozy and clean.
7. Utilize Storage Solutions to Minimize Clutter
Cleaning goes hand in hand with organizing, so how you manage the clutter in your home affects its cleanliness.
The proper storage solution can reduce the appearance of clutter in your house. For example, getting a dedicated storage solution for your bathroom items can reduce the items you put on the bathroom counter, making it look messier.
Reducing the items you bring on each assignment can also reduce the clutter.
8. Delegate Cleaning Tasks When Possible
If you share the temporary accommodations with roommates, colleagues, or your family that you brought, then a clean home is a group responsibility. You shouldn’t feel like the only one working on maintaining your cleanliness.
It would help if you told the people living with you that everyone should pitch in with the house cleaning. Setting these clear expectations reduces resentment in the future.
9. Stay Proactive to Prevent Messes Before They Happen
One way to reduce the cleaning you need is by being proactive. It would be best if you prevented messes from happening in the first place.
Put things back where you got them from so things aren’t all over the place. Don’t leave dishes that you need to wash overnight. Also, clean the kitchen as you’re cooking.
These habits will reduce how fast your home becomes cluttered and dirty. At the same time, if it’s cleaning day, you’ll have less work to do.
10. Maintain a Positive Attitude Towards Cleaning
While cleaning isn’t exactly the first thing you want to do as a way to relax, having a negative attitude toward it will make it much harder for you to start cleaning in the first place.
If you start developing a mindset around cleaning that shows you respect yourself and your environment, it will be easier to feel like you’re doing something that matters.
Conclusion
By having more realistic cleaning expectations and setting yourself up to make cleaning more accessible, you can maintain a clean house, no matter how busy you are. If you’re about to get to your next assignment, apply these cleaning tips to maintain the cleanliness of your temporary housing as a travel nurse.
We hope you found this article with tips for keeping your temporary housing clean as a busy travel nurse helpful. How do you maintain your temporary housing as a travel nurse? Comment your tips and tricks for keeping your temporary housing clean while on assignment.
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