FIBROMYALGIA CHALLENGE – CLEANING WITH FIBRO
We all used to love cleaning at some point in our lives. You probably saw yourself as a neat freak. I would be busy with something all the time, but now it is one of those cases, when or if I get around to it. I try to do one room at a time per day, but if I get a flare, I will put that room at the back of my mind, and I will continue with it another day.
Everything keeps piling up. It gets so overwhelming that you feel like you will never get things back to how they once were, so getting used to this new normal has been hard on me. My life has been flipped upside down. Cleaning has become something I hate. I am exhausted all the time. So if I do laundry, do the dishes, vacuum, mop, or scrub counters, I have no energy left afterward, and the pain is so bad I have to rest and sleep if possible.
I have to cause myself excruciating pain to get low enough on the ground to clean, so I need to sit on the ground to get a spot clean that is too low, and way more pain getting back up again. It feels like punishment to me. I do not love to do laundry. By the third load, I reached the washing line, and my body screamed for me to stop.
When I have a fibro flair, doing the washing or doing my hair is excruciatingly painful.
Hacks that can make cleaning easier.
Clean in sections when you can.
You do not have to do everything at once.
Take your chosen area that you planned to clean or the thing you want to clean, and complete that task once you have accomplished your task, no matter how small you did it. It is much easier to clean small sections at a time. You can split each room in half to make it a little easier.
Get extra underwear and clothing, then you do not have to worry about running out before you can do your laundry again.
When you need to pick something off the ground, to reserve your energy, you need to find something lightweight, like a tong you can use to pick things up. You will reserve your energy for something else you could prevent more pain.
I buy paper plates to lessen the number of dishes I need to wash. I use a mop or sit next to the bathtub to clean it. I do not want to hurt my back or lose my balance and fall. You can use a mop to clean the shower, bath, windows, and walls. And if there are ever things you can not get cleaned. Use vinegar and baking soda, let it rest for 30 minutes, and try to clean it once more.
Get a robot vacuum cleaner that does the moping and vacuuming for you.
Invest in a ROOMBA vacuum cleaner.
To prevent allergies, wear face masks when cleaning.
Use gadgets: spoil yourself with an electric can opener, a shower chair, etc.
Hire a caretaker to do things you can not do yourself. Get a trained service dog to help you pick things up.
Get rid of old clutter and things that you no longer need or things that are standing around that you never use.
When you clean the lounge, and some things are to go to the kitchen, put those items somewhere in the direction of the kitchen so when you are done cleaning, you can place them where they need to be, and you do not have to walk up and down all the time.
You can get yourself some pushing carts that you can put items in, so you will not need to carry anything, but if you want to, you can use fabric bags to put things into as you go.
Commercial break: Use commercial breaks to your advantage. When you are watching a show on TV, and there is a commercial coming on, use the commercial break time of the show to get up and take your cup or plate to the kitchen. Clean where you can till the show you were watching comes back on.
Use a mop to clean your bathtub, shower, walls or windows.
Do not have too high standards when it comes to cleaning. Things do not have to be perfect all the time.
Tips that can help make cleaning easier.
Figure out which chores are more challenging for you so that you can have more time to get those clean.
Make a priority list for all your chores so that the most important ones are done first.
Find cleaning products that do all the hard work for you. So you do not have to do so much scrubbing.
When making arrangements to clean sections, do it based on your comfort.
Brake everything down into sections when you are cleaning.
By doing that, you will not forget where you stopped cleaning when you have a break.
Listen to something that makes you feel good and motivates you to clean. I love stand-up comedy. I can enjoy a joke while I am cleaning.
Take decent breaks between long and difficult chores like sweeping or mopping.
Have a plan when you are cleaning. Start in moderate sections. If you do not get to it, that is fine. You will have another opportunity to finish.
Love Angel.
