Packing can be a stressful yet unique task for a travel nurse because they only move for a limited time. Knowing what to pack or leave behind can be difficult, forcing some nurses to seek guidance from experts or their experienced colleagues. To pack light, a travel nurse should prioritize the most critical items and identify things they cannot live without for approximately three months.
Tips to help travel nurses pack light.
Know the length of your travel nursing activity before packing
Travel nursing assignments have different lengths ranging between 4 to 26 weeks. Once the assignment is over, the employer may extend it, or nurses transition to the next task before returning home. For some travel nurses, each assignment requires a unique packing technique. Determine the length of your assignment to ease the packing process.
Think about the area you will be visiting.
Different areas have varying climates and can present varying activities forcing travel nurses to pack a vast range of belongings. For instance, avoid packing snow skis when visiting locations during summer. Consider potential activities and the weather when planning your packing list.
Determine what the travel nursing agency offers.
Will you be staying in a company-provided house? Remember, different agencies have different housing regulations. For example, some will offer fully-furnished housing with a cleaning package and all household items you need to be comfortable with; however, some agencies only provide furnishings. Determine your housing package and do your due diligence to avoid getting blackmailed.
Develop a list of things you use regularly.
Everybody’s daily habits and lifestyle are different. For instance, some nurses prefer using slow cookers for their ability to prepare ready-to-eat meals after a tiring shift. However, others don’t own a slow cooker. Assess your list and eliminate things you don’t regularly use to lessen your luggage.
Consider thrift stores, second-hand goods, and discount variety chain stores.
Sometimes your packing list may grow beyond your plans. Consider buying some items from a discount variety and second-hand stores at your destination to lessen your items. After completing your assignment, you can determine whether to carry the items to your next task, donate, or auction them.
Download a packing App.
Travel nurses can leverage the available apps to ease packing and develop and minimize their lists. Consider saving the packing list or developing new ones depending on the assignment and location. Packing apps can even recommend things you can include or eliminate from your list. Using these apps is an excellent way of saving time.
Use a packing list generator instead of apps.
Find specially designed packing list-generating websites if you can’t stand downloading another app. You’ll only need to enter your destination, accommodation, duration of stay, and weather conditions. The website will then create a packing list based on your information.
Use compression bags to save on space.
An essential strategy travel nurses can use to pack light is using compression bags. These bags, also known as stuff sacks, allow users to stuff clothing and other items inside easily. Further, they provide a compressing strategy that users can leverage to save more space.
Pack towels are ideal for space-saving.
Good quality bath towels are fluffy, thick, and made of cotton. While they may be your favorite at home, they can be bulky and occupy lots of space. Suppose you do not pack them; you will struggle during the trip. Travel nurses should adopt pack towels as replacement alternatives. Often, packed towels are fast drying and highly absorbent.
Let the travel nursing institution provide more.
Evaluate the nursing package the travel company offers and request more where necessary. For instance, if they don’t offer cleaning supplies, request them to provide you with such.
Conclusion
Travel nurses go for assignments regularly, and most struggle with packing right. Use these tips to learn and improve your packing style. Remember you can request the travel company for more where possible. Further, you can utilize a packing app that helps you differentiate between essential items and less important ones.
Purchasing stuff from reportable second-hand stores can be crucial to lessening your package. Determine what works for you and deploy it across your travel nursing adventures.