Fibromyalgia and Chores
When you have a chronic illness, it's tough to focus on things such as housework, chores, keeping things tidy and clean, as much as a person who's entirely healthy. However, this can have a negative impact on your health, your mental well-being.
No one likes to live in a cluttered, messy, untidy house, but all is not lost. There is a way around this. Codie shares her tips on how you can make housework easier with fibromyalgia.
Here are my top tips for keeping on top of your housework if you suffer from a chronic illness.
Don't Be Afraid to Ask for Help
If you live with someone, be that a parent, children, significant other, friends, or roommates, make sure they know how much you can and can't do. Make sure they understand the situation and that it's not that you're lazy, it's just that you struggle with these things.
It's perfectly okay to ask for help. Chances are your friends and family are probably willing and happy to help you with these things.
Also, if you can afford to, pay for a cleaner, or for someone to do your ironing, even if it's someone you know, that can be a great help.
Prioritize Needs to be Cleaned
Don't spend an entire day cleaning the house, top to bottom, lifting heavy things, scrubbing, or hoovering because the next day and the day after that, you'll suffer, and you won't be able to get anything done.
So, prioritize, work out what is most important, what's urgent, and then do things in small doses.
Make sure you rest before you're tired, and think of your housecleaning, or your chores, as a long-term thing, rather than, sort of, every day. Make things as easy for yourself as possible.
Examples include:
- Keeping the cleaning supplies in the room that you need them. (i.e., Keeping the bathroom cleaning supplies in the bathroom, rather than in a cupboard in the kitchen.)
- Make sure you have a good easy-to-use vacuum. (i.e., A very lightweight or wireless one.)
- Don't bend or stretch when you are dusting. (i.e., Look for a duster with a telescopic handle, which means you can reach the high places and the low places without having to strain or hurt your joints or muscles.)
Be Kind to Yourself
This is a really important one. Don't compare your house to your friends' houses who are completely able-bodied, whose homes look like show homes.
You need to remember that things are a little bit more difficult for you and it's okay if things are a little bit messy. It's okay if you didn't quite get to those dishes; as long as you're happy and healthy, that's the most important thing.
