COVID 19

Corvus Disinfecting Programs: Electrostatic Spraying

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Corvus Janitorial System and its Franchisees have been honored to participate in the fight against COVID. We are working to make workspaces clean, healthy, and safe. In an ongoing effort to support that mission, Corvus is pleased to announce its HIGH IMPACT DISINFECTING program. This disinfection process is centered around the use of ELECTROSTATIC SPRAYING systems, a highly effective technique employed to attack germs, bacteria, and viruses. Already in use by major airlines to disinfect planes between flights and also employed by medical and hospital type environments, Corvus is thrilled to bring this service offering to our valued customers.

What is Electrostatic Spraying?

Electrostatic spraying is a method of applying a coating, cleaner, disinfectant, or other liquid to a surface by applying an electric charge to the liquid solution. Electrostatic spray technology was invented in the 1930s to improve spray disposition. It was popularized in the 1940s by the auto industry, where it was used to more efficiently paint cars and trucks. In the 1980s, the technology emerged in the agriculture industry as a method to apply pesticides to crops. Over the last few years, electrostatic spray technology has found its way into the cleaning industry as an efficient new way for cleaning professionals to apply cleaners, sanitizers, and disinfectants across facility types and surfaces.

How Does Electrostatic Spraying Work?

At the most basic level, electrostatic spraying works by applying a positive electric charge to a liquid as it passes through a nozzle. The liquid is then sprayed onto a surface that is grounded or has a negative electric charge. Excess protons in the positively charged atoms of the spray are attracted to the electron fields of other atoms, causing those atoms to become polarized.

As Coulomb’s Law states, opposite charges are attracted to one another and similar charges repel each other. In essence, this means that a positively charged liquid is attracted to a neutral or negatively charged target surface. At the same time, as each particle of the liquid carries a positive charge, the particles naturally repel each other, creating a wider dispersion. As the liquid passes through the nozzle, it becomes atomized into a fine spray. The droplets disperse from each other, becoming finer and finer, and seek out a negatively charged surface to bind with.

Electrostatic spraying provides a full, even coat of liquid across a surface. The droplets will cover the entire visible area, including the underside and backside of surfaces. Surfaces that have already been covered by the disinfectant will repel additional spray, maximizing the efficiency of delivery. Conventional sprayers use air pressure to break down the particles in a liquid solution. This leads to a high spraying velocity that can cause overspray. Electrostatic sprayers do not use air pressure in the atomization process. This leads to a vastly improved transfer efficiency, which limits chemical consumption as well as the release of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) into the environment.

Electrostatic Spraying vs Traditional Disinfecting Techniques

Electrostatic spray technology provides many advantages during the disinfection process. In order to properly disinfect a surface, it must be fully coated with the disinfectant and needs to remain wet for the proper dwell time, usually around 10 minutes. Traditional methods of disinfecting, such as spray and wipe, mopping, and cloth applications are not only time consuming – they also lend themselves to human error. To truly disinfect an area, all surfaces must be disinfected. Traditional disinfection methods require the cleaner to manually apply and remove the chemicals, which can take a lot of time and requires acute attention to detail. Additionally, hard to reach areas are often overlooked, though they could still be soiled and carry dangerous germs and pathogens.

Electrostatic sprayers eliminate these barriers to effective disinfection. Because they are able to cover a large surface area relatively quickly, they are both time and monetarily efficient. Surfaces that are hard to reach by the human hand are easily reached by an electrostatic sprayer. This enables cleaning professionals to disinfect every surface in a room rather than just “high-touch” areas. Traditional disinfection methods, particularly spray and wipe, are rendered ineffective if the disinfectant is not allowed to dwell on a surface long enough.

Oftentimes, a surface will get sprayed with a disinfectant and wiped down almost immediately. This is a problem, as disinfectants need time to work properly. The proper dwell time varies by chemical, but 10 minutes is a good rule of thumb to reference. Disinfectants applied with an electrostatic sprayer solve the problem of inadequate dwell times. After applying disinfectant with an electrostatic sprayer, the surface does not need to be wiped down. In facilities such as childcare facilities, schools, and healthcare facilities where germs can spread like wildfire. Disinfection is of utmost importance to them, and electrostatic disinfection techniques are a game-changer.

Electrostatic Spraying in the Cleaning Industry

As mentioned above, traditional disinfecting spray equipment and methods come with a suite of issues. In addition to allowing for a proper dwell time, making hard to reach areas easily accessible, and shortening the time it takes to disinfect an area, electrostatic spray technology also addresses transfer efficiency problems. Transfer efficiency is a measure of how much chemical reaches a surface versus the percentage lost to the floor and surrounding environment. Just as the agricultural industry adapted electrostatic spray technology from the auto and painting industries, the commercial cleaning industry has adapted it to suit its needs. Because almost any liquid can be electrically charged, electrostatic sprayers are highly versatile in their applications.

With improvements in the past decade in the portability and simplicity of use of electrostatic sprayers, they have become a reasonable, cost-effective, and practical tool for professional cleaners to add to their arsenals. Cleaners, sanitizers, deodorizers, and disinfectants can all be used with electrostatic sprayers. In the current pandemic climate, there has been a massive surge in interest and demand for electrostatic disinfection services. Many companies are utilizing the technology to keep their businesses running and their stakeholders safe. For example, United Airlines has implemented electrostatic spray disinfection on their aircrafts after each flight.

Disinfectants Used in Electrostatic Sprayers

Since most liquids can be used in electrostatic sprayers, many common disinfectants can be applied using the technology. For use against COVID-19 specifically, the EPA has released “List N: Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2”. All of the products on List N meet the EPA’s criteria for use against COVID-19. At Corvus, we use the hospital-grade disinfectant Q.T. Plus, which has demonstrated effectiveness on hard, porous surfaces against viruses similar to the 2019 novel coronavirus.

Conclusion

At Corvus Janitorial Systems, we understand that a clean and sanitary workplace not only protects people’s health. It also gives them peace of mind. With these needs in mind, Corvus has implemented the use of electrostatic sprayers into our service offerings. Call or email today to learn more about this exciting and effective service offering.

About Corvus Janitorial Systems

Founded in 2004 to make people’s lives better, Corvus is a full-service commercial cleaning franchisor that offers cleaning services through reputable local Franchisees. Corvus has been guided by its mission to transform people and transform places by consistently delivering independence, security, and freedom to Franchisees who deliver high-quality cleaning to offices, educational buildings, medical buildings/offices, recreational centers, industrial parks, and other spaces. The company has 17 regional support offices across the United States with nearly 900 Franchisees. For more information regarding Corvus, visit corvusjanitorial.com or corvusjanitorial.com/franchise for franchise information.

Corvus Guide to Reopening: Cleaning & Disinfecting Your Medical Office

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With more and more states lifting, or planning to lift, stay-at-home orders, business owners and office managers across the country are exploring the safest – and most practical – measures to reopen their facilities to employees and customers alike. Medical offices, such as doctor’s offices, dental facilities, and specialty clinics, should begin to see an uptick in foot traffic as in-person visits start to increase and elective procedures resume. It is critical that these facilities implement cleaning and disinfecting regimens that go above and beyond the pre-coronavirus standard.

As medical offices begin the process of reopening their operations, decision makers must determine how they can create the safest environment for their staff and for their patients. At Corvus Janitorial, we understand the vital role medical professionals play – both during this pandemic and outside of it – to ensuring that our communities are healthy, happy, and safe. With that in mind, we are here to provide advice on procedures that should be implemented in medical offices and facilities in order to successfully reopen in the safest, most sanitary way.

Perform a Deep Clean and Disinfection Before Opening the Office

According to Tommy Petagna of Corvus of New Orleans, “Before opening the office to staff and patients, both a thorough, deep clean and facility-wide disinfection should be performed. We’re seeing more and more of our medical office clients ask for this type of deep clean even before we recommend it”. Though they are often thought of as the same, cleaning and disinfecting are two distinct processes. During a general clean, the intent is to remove dirt and dust. This step must be completed before disinfection because germs can lurk in grime and soiled areas. Once an area is clean, it must then be disinfected.

Disinfection can be done in numerous ways. With COVID-19, the disinfection of all areas using commercial grade chemicals is critical. Typical disinfecting is done using EPA approved medical grade chemicals that are applied to a surface using a spray bottle (or as a mop solution for floors). The disinfectant is then given “dwell time”, which is time to sit on the surface and kill microorganisms. Though this method is effective at killing germs, it can be a time-consuming task to disinfect every surface in a facility, and hard to reach areas are often missed.

Disinfecting Techniques to Combat COVID-19

To address the issues with common disinfection methods, it is advisable to use a machine, such as an electrostatic sprayer or an ultra-low volume (ULV) fogger. This will ensure maximum coverage and effectiveness.

Electrostatic sprayers work by giving the disinfectant solution a positive electric charge. Because surfaces typically carry a negative or neutral charge, once the disinfectant is sprayed, the positively charged chemicals are attracted to the negatively charged surfaces and will bind to them. The droplets will cover the entire visible area, including the underside and backside of surfaces. Surfaces that have already been covered by the disinfectant will repel additional spray, maximizing the efficiency of delivery.

ULV fog machines work in a similar manner to electrostatic sprayers. ULV fogging works by compressing disinfectants through a nozzle that produces a fine mist or aerosol. The droplets that are produced are incredibly small and concentrated, therefore fewer chemicals need to be used. These droplets will linger in the air for approximately ten minutes, allowing them to bind to any visible surface area.

At Corvus, we have begun utilizing both electrostatic sprayers and ULV foggers in our service offering to customers. We believe these methods are both effective at eradicating viral pathogens as well as safe for use in our customer’s facilities and for our franchise owners. We are happy to provide a free quote for these services as either a one-time work or as a part of a routine, recurring service offering.

Routine Cleaning is Not So Routine Anymore

Though businesses are beginning to open back up, we are still nowhere close to “business as usual”. With stay-at-home orders being replaced with safer-at-home guidance, there is still the looming threat of COVID-19 community spread. Additionally, a high rate of asymptomatic carriers means that an individual who shows no signs of infection could visit your office during a routine checkup. Thus, inadvertently exposing your facility to risks. Because of the virus’s high infection rate and the number of potentially asymptomatic carriers, decision makers must account for this risk and take preventative, precautionary steps in their facilities.

Was your medical office being cleaned twice a week before the coronavirus pandemic? If so, it may be a good idea to increase that frequency to three, four, maybe even five times per week. In medical facilities, it is never a bad idea to be overly cautious. As these facilities are more likely to interface with individuals at a greater risk of developing severe COVID-19 symptoms, they must be even more proactive in their cleaning procedures than any other businesses. As society adjusts to a “new normal”, cleaning and disinfecting are more important now than ever before.

Reopening Reminders and Checklist

Your cleaning regimen is not the only facet of your office that is likely to change once you reopen. For example, some states and localities are requiring reduced on-premise staff, alternating work schedules for at-risk workers, or other social distancing procedures in the workplace. Below, we highlight some important items that all facility managers and decision makers should account for as they get back to business:

1. Prepare a list of obvious and overlooked high touch objects such as appliances in break rooms, telephone handles, sinks and basins, trash cans, and communal printers.

2. Thoroughly clean AND disinfect those high touch points with an EPA certified disinfectant allowing for a proper dwell time of the chemical (click here for additional resources)

3. Engage with your team to comply with an appropriate headcount for your office space as well as discussing protocol for potential distancing in office. Some states are mandating reduced concentration of personnel or alternating schedules, and it’s important to stay up-to-date on these regulations.

4. Engage an outside cleaning company or delegate your own personnel to provide a thorough top to bottom clean and disinfection regime prior to re-opening.

5. Prepare to have appropriate cleaning tools, supplies, and equipment such as clean rags or wipes, proper chemicals and clean, and well-working vacuum cleaners.

During these unprecedented times, it is crucial that we take unprecedented precautions to maintain the health and safety of everyone. When it comes to reopening medical offices, we, at Corvus Janitorial, strongly urge you to take the right measures in cleaning and disinfecting your office. Doing so will ensure the safety of your staff, your patients, and their families. If you are interested in a free quote or would like more information about the appropriate cleaning and disinfection of your medical office in preparation for reopening, please feel free to contact us today!

This piece is meant simply to inform, not to provide any legal or medical advice.

About Corvus Janitorial Systems

Founded in 2004 to make people’s lives better, Corvus is a full-service commercial cleaning franchisor that offers cleaning services through reputable local Franchisees. Corvus has been guided by its mission to transform people and transform places by consistently delivering independence, security, and freedom to Franchisees who deliver high-quality cleaning to offices, educational buildings, medical buildings/offices, recreational centers, industrial parks, and other spaces. The company has 17 regional support offices across the United States with nearly 900 Franchisees. For more information regarding Corvus, visit www.corvusjanitorial.com or www.corvusjanitorial.com/franchise for franchise information.

Disinfecting and Cleaning to Open Your Daycare Facility

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As we inch toward the end of shelter-in-place orders, it’s important to be ready when our businesses open back up. We don’t want to be left scrambling when the time comes. For businesses that focus on the young and old, such as daycare and childcare centers, keeping things clean is particularly important. And that’s true now more than ever before. Following compliant, safe, and healthy cleaning practices will help us avoid preventable illnesses while we work on getting back to normal.

These practices will keep you, your staff, and the kids you care for healthy. If you’re not sure where to get started with disinfecting and cleaning to open your daycare, here are some tips from the friendly experts at Corvus Janitorial:

Give Everything an Initial Deep Clean

Before you open back up, it’s important to give everything a thorough, deep clean. This helps remove dirt, germs, and debris before you sanitize. This can be done with regular soap and water. Just scrub all of the surfaces, wash, and rinse. Make sure you hit all of the high-touch surfaces like bathroom fixtures, light switches, desks, and cubbies. Any toys or teaching tools that are shared should be cleaned, too. This will make sanitizing and disinfecting much more effective when you get there.

Give High-Touch Surfaces Some Extra Attention Moving Forward

The words cleaning and sanitizing are often used interchangeably, but they mean two different things. When you clean, you remove surface dirt, debris, and some germs. When you sanitize, you use a product that will kill 99.9% or more of the germs on these surfaces. Both cleaning and sanitizing are important when you want to keep your daycare truly clean, healthy, and safe. You’ll want to give those high-touch surfaces we mentioned earlier more attention than you used to. Any other areas that are handled a lot or shared should get extra attention.

When you’re dealing with kids, things can get messy. You’ll want to clean and sanitize throughout the day if you can. Durable, plastic toys that have been chewed on can be run through the dishwasher when you can sneak them away. Other toys can be disinfected and left to air dry. Instead of chasing children around to sanitize their toys during the day, it may be easier to sanitize these after pickup and focus on surfaces, counters, and cubbies during the day instead.

Look at the number of children you care for, the number of staff members you employ, and the number of high-touch surfaces you have, then use your best judgment to determine the right cleaning schedule for you. You can also build off of your old cleaning schedule – use it as a baseline and add additional steps from there. Once open, daycare facilities should be cleaned and sanitized at least once per day moving forward.

Use the Right Cleaning Supplies, In the Right Ways

Whether you’re gearing up for your initial clean before you open or you’re looking for ongoing cleaning practices to follow, it’s important to use the right products. Using them the right way is important, too. Before all of this happened, casual home cleaners might wipe a counter with a watery paper towel and call it a day. This won’t be enough anymore. Using an EPA approved disinfectant and following the proper dwell time is key to keeping things truly clean.

Read the label of your preferred cleaning products or check the EPA’s website to see if they’re approved. You can also find the answer to how long you should let the product dwell on a surface before you wipe it away. Many cleaning supplies have a 10-minute dwell time for maximum efficiency. For others, it might be two minutes or five. Follow the instructions on the label for the best results.

Create an Efficient and Safe Cleaning System

Many daycares are dealing with baby colds and shared toys, so you may already have a cleaning system you prefer. But with everything going on right now, it’s a good time to revisit it; there are ways to make it safer that you may not have thought of before it was a necessity. First, try to limit cross-contamination. This means keeping the mop you use for the bathroom in the bathroom and using a separate one in the hallway or playroom. If you use cleaning rags or dish towels, keep these separate, too. Limit exposure wherever you can.

With some extra effort, the right supplies, and an effective routine, we can keep our daycares and other businesses safe. We’re all in this together. And when it starts to feel overwhelming, give the experts at Corvus Janitorial a call. We’re always available to help. For ongoing cleaning once centers reopen, we’ve got our own updated practices in place. Just keep in mind that the process may have changed a bit since we last visited your facility. We’ll need a bit more time to sufficiently clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces to keep everyone safe. We’re also focusing more on power-scrubbing bathrooms and ceramic floors, and carpet cleaning. These areas harbor germs and could benefit from a slightly more aggressive scope of service.

How Corvus Can Help Your Childcare Facility Reopen

At Corvus, we understand the pressure and uncertainty that has arisen from the coronavirus pandemic. Thorough cleaning and disinfecting procedures matter now more than ever. To that end, our dedicated franchise owners and teammates have added new tools to our cleaning arsenal. These tools include electrostatic disinfectant sprayers and disinfectant fogger machines. Both tools enable Corvus professionals to sanitize and disinfect large spaces and areas that are often missed with standard disinfection practices, such as the underside of tables and chairs.

The Corvus Janitorial Systems team is here to help as America begins the process of reopening businesses and facilities. Cleaning and disinfecting are critical to open up daycare centers. If your daycare or childcare facility is in need of a professional cleaning partner, or if you simply require a deep clean and disinfection before opening up, inquire here for a free quote or give us a call at (855) 919-1346. We are happy to help!

This piece is meant simply to inform, not to provide any legal or medical advice.

About Corvus Janitorial Systems

Founded in 2004 to make people’s lives better, Corvus is a full-service commercial cleaning franchisor that offers cleaning services through reputable local Franchisees. Corvus has been guided by its mission to transform people and transform places by consistently delivering independence, security, and freedom to Franchisees who deliver high-quality cleaning to offices, educational buildings, medical buildings/offices, recreational centers, industrial parks, and other spaces. The company has 17 regional support offices across the United States with nearly 900 Franchisees. For more information regarding Corvus, visit www.corvusjanitorial.com or www.corvusjanitorial.com/franchise for franchise information.

How to Safely Disinfect Your Phone and Electronics

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In recent weeks, the Coronavirus Pandemic has brought a lot of attention to the importance of cleanliness and the prevention of spreading germs. From wearing masks in public to sanitizing our groceries, we are doing more and more to eliminate our chances of potentially spreading or contracting this disease. You may be surprised to learn that one of the biggest germ distributors is, actually, our phones. Did you know that studies show that your phone is approximately seven times dirtier than a toilet on any given day?

When you think about it, it does make sense. We are constantly checking it and taking it everywhere we go. The germs on every surface we touch are ultimately shared on our devices when we check the time, a notification, or make a phone call.

During this pandemic, the CDC suggests that we disinfect our daily used items, such as our phones and electronics, regularly. Corvus Janitorial Systems would like to share some of our tips to safely disinfect your high-touch, everyday devices.

Follow Manufacturer’s Guidelines

First and foremost, make sure that you are following your specific devices’ manufacturer’s recommendation. For example, Apple specifically says for its users to not use any type of cleaning products on its devices’ surfaces.

Utilize a Wipeable Cover

If the specific phone or electronic that you have does not allow any types of soaps or cleaners to be used, the next best option is to get a cover that does.

If you cannot afford a phone cover that will allow you to disinfect your phone properly, we’d suggest placing your device in a sandwich bag if you are going out of the house. Let’s say you are going to the grocery store. Before leaving your home, you can put your phone in a resealable sandwich bag. While you are at the store, you can still use your phone, but the germs from your hands will not be transferred to it. Then, when you arrive back home, wash your hands thoroughly, then retrieve the phone from the bag. It’ll be like you never left!

Wipes and Sprays

If your device’s manufacturer’s guideline allows you to utilize disinfectant or a cleaner (or if you have a wipeable cover), then the CDC suggests that the safest way to keep your phone and electronics disinfected is to use wipes or sprays that have a minimum of 70% alcohol.

Fears of spreading COVID-19 have led to a shortage of disinfectant wipes. If you can’t get your hand on any of those, here are some other suggestions:

● Use a damp paper towel with gentle soap
● Try a damp paper towel with rubbing alcohol and water
● Dampen a paper towel with any disinfectant spray cleaner

Use the paper towel or wipe to disinfect all surfaces of your device or phone. Make sure you are careful not to get any on the open surfaces (headphone jack, etc.). Once you have finished, dry devices thoroughly.

In Conclusion…

The thought of potentially spreading or contracting COVID-19 can be really scary. These are unprecedented times that have us taking unprecedented measures. Keeping your phone and devices clean can truly make a huge impact on the spreading of germs. Ultimately, this will bring us one step closer to flattening the curve and getting us through this difficult time. While this isn’t a comprehensive list of all the ways to disinfect your phone and electronics, we hope we’ve provided you with a great starting point for keeping germs at bay.

This piece is meant simply to inform, not to provide any legal or medical advice.

About Corvus Janitorial Systems

Founded in 2004 to make people’s lives better, Corvus is a full-service commercial cleaning franchisor that offers cleaning services through reputable local Franchisees. Corvus has been guided by its mission to transform people and transform places by consistently delivering independence, security, and freedom to Franchisees who deliver high-quality cleaning to offices, educational buildings, medical buildings/offices, recreational centers, industrial parks, and other spaces. The company has 17 regional support offices across the United States with nearly 900 Franchisees. For more information regarding Corvus, visit www.corvusjanitorial.com or www.corvusjanitorial.com/franchise for franchise information.

5 Tips for Parents Working from Home During the Coronavirus Pandemic

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The Coronavirus Pandemic has greatly impacted almost every aspect of our normal, everyday lives. In response, our world has gone pretty much entirely virtual. Millions of children are learning from home and millions of parents are working from home. While this is a great opportunity to spend more time with family, this is also a time that can bring a lot of stress. You may be thinking, how in the world am I going to juggle all of this?

We want you to know that you are not alone! COVID-19 has brought all kinds of challenges our way, and trying to maintain your work schedule on top of all of this can feel like an impossible feat. These five tips for parents who are facing the challenge of working from home can help bring some of the order and consistency back into our lives.

1. Create a Quiet, Designated Space

Working from home can be challenging, especially with children running around. It can feel overwhelming and, at times, like little is getting done. One of the best ways to establish your work time is to create a quiet space strictly for working. Whether it’s a table in your garage, a space in your bedroom, or if you have a home office, designating a specific space for work will allow you to find some separation between when you are working and when you are off.

Creating a quiet, designated workspace will also let your children know when you are working. If mom or dad is in their workspace, then they are working. It will be easier for the little ones to understand.

2. Establish a Flexible, yet Functional Routine

As a parent during this Coronavirus Pandemic, you are juggling so many things. For the first time in your lifetime, schools are canceled indefinitely, and workers are either being laid off or sent home with their work and computers. Nothing about these times is normal.

Both children and adults thrive off routine. Knowing what to expect, especially during this pandemic, will help ease some of the chaos you and your family may be feeling. Create a routine with your family that brings out the best in everyone. If you have younger children, try and take advantage of their nap times by scheduling your important meetings and work calls then. If your children are older, you could simply schedule your more important work-related items during their school time.

An established routine will bring some normalcy, but it’s important to maintain a little flexibility. There will be some days where things will come up–whether it’s that the children won’t nap or need help with their homework. Just try your best to account for the occasional change every now and then.

3. Incorporate Family Time

This pandemic has a lot of negatives, but one silver lining is that you are with your family. What other time in your life will you have the opportunity to spend so much time with your children?

When creating your schedule for this time, try and incorporate family time into the mix. Have lunch with your children, schedule a mid-afternoon walk or family activity at the same time each day. Not only will this create a sense of normalcy, but it will also give you something to look forward to each day!

4. Set Realistic Goals

It can be easy to feel like you are being pulled in a million different directions and never getting anything accomplished. Making a list of what you want to get accomplished at the start of each day can help keep you focused and feeling more productive.

Each morning, set aside time to think about your schedule and physically write down what you want to accomplish for the day. The list can include simple things such as sending a certain number of emails or bigger things like attending a particular meeting.

With all that is going on, it can be so helpful to set realistic goals and physically mark them off as you accomplish them. It will give you more drive, and a bigger feeling of accomplishment.

5. Be Kind to Yourself

The threat of the Coronavirus Pandemic is a national emergency. With so much uncertainty going on in the world, we mustn’t be too hard on ourselves. We are all doing the best that we can. There will be days when you feel like you’re on top of the world, and there will also be days when you feel like you got nothing accomplished. And, that’s okay. Be kind to yourself and tackle each day at a time.

In Conclusion…

Parents working from home are facing such unique challenges during this Coronavirus Pandemic. On top of entertaining their children, helping them keep up with their studies, and everyday household upkeep, they are also being expected to continue working full time. It sounds nearly impossible to handle! These tips are just some of the things we have found to be successful as parents working from home, and we hope that you find them to be successful as well!

This piece is meant simply to inform, not to provide any legal or medical advice.

About Corvus Janitorial Systems

Founded in 2004 to make people’s lives better, Corvus is a full-service commercial cleaning franchisor that offers cleaning services through reputable local Franchisees. Corvus has been guided by its mission to transform people and transform places by consistently delivering independence, security, and freedom to Franchisees who deliver high-quality cleaning to offices, educational buildings, medical buildings/offices, recreational centers, industrial parks, and other spaces. The company has 17 regional support offices across the United States with nearly 900 Franchisees. For more information regarding Corvus, visit www.corvusjanitorial.com or www.corvusjanitorial.com/franchise for franchise information.

How You Can Manage Stress During These Uncertain Times

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As human beings, we have all experienced stressful periods at some point in our lives. We all know what it feels like to be “stressed out”, and we usually know how to manage our stress. However, the current coronavirus pandemic has elevated the idea of stress into the stratosphere. With most of the country under stay-at-home orders, this black swan event has an impact on every aspect of our society. Whether it be families shut in the house 24/7 with parents trying to balance working from home and educating children or a single person living alone in isolation, we are all experiencing stress in a way we never have before.

As stressful as the uncertainty we face is, remember that it will pass. We are all in this together, and together we can beat COVID-19. Corvus is here for our customers, franchise owners, teammates, and communities. To that end, we would like to provide some brief insight on how you can manage stress while you are doing your part and staying at home:

Movement and Exercise

Movement is essential to relieving stress, tension, and anxiety. We already know exercise is good for our bodies, but it can also improve our mental health by releasing endorphins, improving our quality of sleep, getting us out of our heads and releasing tension held in our bodies. Exercise doesn’t have to be something you dread; instead, get creative and find activities you enjoy! Dancing, walking, jumping rope, shooting hoops, yoga, or anything that gets your body moving is great. Many fitness studios are offering online streaming classes, and YouTube has free videos on many different types of workouts.

Focus on Your Breathing

Often times when we’re stressed and under a lot of pressure, we breathe shallowly instead of deep and slow. When we breathe deeply, it sends a message to our brain to calm down and relax. By gently bringing your awareness to your breath you can start to intentionally slow down and deepen your breathing. Spend a few minutes focusing on your breathing whenever you are feeling stressed. You may not feel a difference right away, but with continuous practice, you will notice the calming effects.

Disconnect to Reconnect

With so much fear and negativity in the media it’s important to take the time to disconnect from all that is going on in the world. While it’s good to be informed, you don’t want to overload yourself with information and negativity. Choose how much media you want to consume and once you’ve reached your limit turn off the TV, get off social media and find a way to disconnect. Our brains focus on what we feed it, so be sure to find positive outlets. This could be talking to family and friends, watching a funny show or movie, making a list of everything you are grateful for, getting outside, reading, or cooking a healthy meal.

How You End Your Day is How You Start Your Day – and Vice Versa

This applies to our work life and our personal life – how we start our day is how we end our day and how we end our day is how we start our day. Many of us are working remotely and find it easy to crawl out of bed and hop onto our computers right away. But by taking a few moments each morning to take care of ourselves, organize our workspace or plan our day, we can start our day refreshed and clear-headed, leading to a less chaotic day.

If we end our day in a frenzy of sending last-minute emails and feeling frazzled, we are more likely to wake up in the same state and continue this pattern throughout the day. So, take a few minutes at the end of each workday to set yourself up for success the next morning. For your personal life, take time at the end of the day to decompress, rest, and do something that brings you joy.

Uphold a Positive Mindset

Staying in a positive mindset can be especially difficult right now. When we find ourselves stuck in negative or fearful thoughts, we can simply acknowledge the thought and choose a new thought. Ask yourself, how can I reframe this thought? What positive spin can I put on this to change my outlook? For example, “I am stuck at home” can be “I am safe at home.” A simple change of “stuck” to “safe” alters our mindset to think more positively. While it’s important to stay positive, it’s equally important to give yourself compassion if you’re having a hard time and let yourself feel the emotions that are coming up. When you’re ready, start reframing any thoughts that are bringing you down.

Social Support Systems

Now more than ever we need the support of others to get us through an unprecedented time. While visiting people in person is not advised at this time, there are alternative options. Calling, texting and video calls are easy ways to stay connected with friends, family members, colleagues or counselors. It’s great to reach out to others and check in with them on how they are doing, as some people might have a hard time reaching out if they are struggling. There are hundreds of Facebook groups covering a wide range of interests. Joining a group can be a good way to connect with people online who share the same hobbies as you.

Maintain a Routine

It can feel like we are losing control over our lives, leaving us feeling powerless. While we cannot always control our outer circumstances, we can turn our focus to what we can control – our routine. Establishing a routine can help us establish some normalcy in our lives and help us feel less like a victim of our circumstances. Start by following the routine that you already have – waking up at a certain time, getting dressed for the day, taking walks, eating meals at a set time, and performing household chores you do every day. From here, you can add in other habits such as at-home-workouts, self-care practices, social hour – carve out time to reach out to others to maintain social connections or any new habits you would like to work on.

Conclusion

Though these are stressful and uncertain times, there are things each of us can do from our homes to help manage our emotions. The list above is by no means comprehensive and each person will have their own ways to destress. However, if you are having a tough time right now, incorporating a few of the listed items may prove beneficial.

This piece is meant simply to inform, not to provide any legal or medical advice.

About Corvus Janitorial Systems

Founded in 2004 to make people’s lives better, Corvus is a full-service commercial cleaning franchisor that offers cleaning services through reputable local Franchisees. Corvus has been guided by its mission to transform people and transform places by consistently delivering independence, security, and freedom to Franchisees who deliver high-quality cleaning to offices, educational buildings, medical buildings/offices, recreational centers, industrial parks, and other spaces. The company has 17 regional support offices across the United States with nearly 900 Franchisees. For more information regarding Corvus, visit www.corvusjanitorial.com or www.corvusjanitorial.com/franchise for franchise information.