As travel nurses, you get to visit new places every 13 weeks or more. While taking pictures and making memories are great, sometimes you want something to collect from each place. The key to these collectibles is to keep them small because you are traveling so frequently. Here is a list of the top items that travel nurses in our Facebook group collected from the cities of their assignments.
Top travel nurse items to collect that don’t take up space
- magnets
- key chains
- shot glasses
- coffee mugs
- ornaments
- shirts/hooded sweatshirts
- local artists artwork
- postcards
- stickers
- charms for bracelets (Pandora)/jewelry
- smashed pennies
- pins
Magnets
Magnets make great collectibles because they don’t take up much room except on the refrigerator! They are usually easy to find if you visit truck stops or gas stations along highways.
Key chains
Again, key chains make great collectibles because they are often small. While you may not use them for day-to-day use, you can keep them hung on key hooks or just put them away to look at and reminisce on your travels.
Shot Glasses
Shot glasses are great because they are small and don’t take up much room. Because of this, they can be displayed out as décor pieces. They are often not very costly either.
Coffee Mugs
Coffee mugs can be tricky because they can take up some room. However, if you always keep a few with you and rotate the ones you take with you on an assignment, you won’t have to worry about that. Starbucks even has mugs with each state on them and pictures of landmarks and such from each state.
Ornaments
Ornaments are great because they can be displayed on a tree each year to remind you of the places you have visited. They can also be packed away until needed again. Or if you like to keep a tree out all year, you can have them out to reminisce all year long!
Shirts/ Hooded Sweatshirts
Shirts and sweatshirts are great because not only are they collectibles, but you can wear them. Again, you can rotate the ones you bring with you on assignment. They are often found at gas stations along highways.
Local Artist’s Artwork
This is a great idea! You can take the pieces with you and decorate your temporary housing with them. If you worry about remembering where it came from, you could always write the hospital or city of your assignment and the year of your assignment on the back of the piece. Many times, these pieces are found at flea markets, farmer’s markets, and possibly malls.
Postcards
Postcards are great because you can write on them, such as your favorite thing about that assignment or city. They are also great because they take up so little space. You could buy a photo album and place them in it or store them in a box.
Stickers
Stickers are another great option as a collectible as a travel nurse on the road. Some of the nurses in our group said they had made scrapbooks out of the stickers they have collected through their travels. If that isn’t something you want to do, you could keep them in an album or something similar as well.
Charms for bracelets (Pandora)/Jewelry
Another great option is charms for a bracelet. While it may eventually fill, you could get another bracelet. Bracelets and jewelry take up very little space. Pandora is just one option for charms and charm bracelets. This option also lets you be creative because you can pick a charm that reminds you of something you love about a city or state you have had an assignment in.
Smashed Pennies
Smashed pennies are a great option because they really take up very little space. You could easily put them in a container altogether that isn’t very big as well. This option also is more detailed than some of the others. Typically, a penny smashing machine gives you options of designs, and those designs usually have the city and/or state on them.
Pins
Pins are great because you can put them on a bag, hat, or really anything that you want to. You could also take the backs off and place them on a corkboard as a display piece. The options you get with pins are almost endless. Pins are a fun thing to collect!
Remembering your adventures is an important aspect of travel nursing. These are just a few things that travel nurses have collected along their travels. There are many more, but these options are easy to take with you on the road and really don’t take up a lot of space. Some of these things are probably no-brainers, but some you probably never even thought about.
What travel nurse items do you collect? Post in the comments!
