Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Can't keep up with the housework

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    #16
    Great!
    Keep sharing ideas....we learn best from each other

    Be Well,
    Susan

    Comment


      #17
      Cleaned my nasty couch with vac and my computer chair. I love my computer chair it kind of big an heavy but it work great for sitting and vacuuming. It is just the right hight for me. When I do my tile floors I use my shop vac and my rollator. The shop vac work better than the old vac for that kind of stuff and you can lock the walker for sitting. I need to find an extra hose for both of them so I don't have to drag them around when I am using the tools.

      Comment


        #18
        Originally posted by techie View Post
        Thursday dusting. I just hate this. So much bending, stretching crawling and stuff.
        I am the full time working spouse and would like to offer my cleaning tips:

        Dusting: (I HATE dusting, too) Duct tape a swiffer to the end of a broom handle and dust from your power chair. Always keep in mind that dusting is over rated!!!!

        Mopping: Use the carpet cleaner to scrub linoleum flooring.

        Laundry: We have a 3 bin rolling cart (metal frame, fabric bins). One bin is darks, one bin is bright colors, one bin is whites=automatic sorting! I attached a short dog leash to both ends so hubby can pull the cart through the house to the washer & dryer.

        Groceries: I bought a 3 level stainless steel cart to use to move groceries from the cart into the house. Hubby grocery shops on his scooter and times coming home when I can help unload.

        Garage: (safety tip) I put down two rows of rubber inter-locking mats just outside the garage door after hubby fell TWICE in that spot. We also put up handicap bars in this doorway.

        Bathroom: we have a automatic shower cleaner thing.

        That's all I can come up with right now....

        Comment


          #19
          More great suggestions, thank you!
          Be Well,
          Susan

          Comment


            #20
            Great Ideas! Thank you!

            I must admit my house needs a lot of TLC. But after working all day, and dealing with limited mobility, the "house" is not the first thing on my list to do. I just do what I can, a little at a time. What took me a half hour to clean years ago - now can take me a full day.

            BUT, doing small things at a time, do add up.

            Getting rid of the clutter I do not "need", is the number one secret! I just need to feel good enough to actually "physically" get rid of it!!
            RRMS '92; COPAXONE 5 YRS; PSMS '05; REBIF '06 - Only 2 months!

            Comment


              #21
              Service hours

              When my kids attended Catholic school they had to have a certain no. Of service hours each year. Sometimes it was hard to come up with things for them to volunteer for. So you might try calling schools and churches to see if their students need service projects. They could help you clean. Also, our church once a year will do a yard clean up for the elderly or people with disabilities. I think that is a great service!

              Comment


                #22
                Roombas are excellent if you can swing it. Everything inside is replaceable on the better models. It really cuts down on how often deep vacuuming needs done.

                Love Flylady. I followed her program quite a few years back and our house has been cleaner ever since. Even when I fall off the wagon, many of the habits still stick.

                Great idea on the rolling chair vacuuming!
                It's not fatigue. It's a Superwoman hangover.

                Comment


                  #23
                  Mornings are better for me. I do a load of laundry each morning before work. That's 7 loads a week without much effort. Each morning when I get up, I grap our small laundry tote filled with the prior day dirty clothes and let the dogs out. It's one day of our family's dirty clothes and has a handle, so it's easy to carry. After I let them in and feed them, I do one load. I fold what's in the dryer, I transfer what's in the washer to the dryer, I start a new load. We never, ever have a mountain of laundry. It's always manageable.

                  I clean the shower while I am in it, conditioning my hair. Yep. Very efficient. My sister taught me that one. I keep the tub/tile cleaner and sponge right on the edge of the tub. I try to do both the shower walls and tub in one swoop. If not, it becomes a two-day task, but it gets done!

                  I clean the bathrooms once a week. They could use it more, but I really don't care. That's what clorox cleanup wipes are for.

                  Vacuum carpets once a week. They could use it 3x a week, but it makes me tired.

                  Hubby vacuums/mops the hardwoods and tile.

                  I'm supposed to dust every other week, but ya know.....

                  I clean the kitchen as needed. I use windex on my stainless steel appliances. No, not special cleaning product for stainless steel.

                  I iron every 2 or 3 weeks. I really can't seem to get this done more frequently, once I get going, I'm okay.

                  I am super organized, so our closets and drawers look pretty good. I do this as I go. Our paperwork is in pretty good shape, too. Again, do it as I go.

                  I just got a quote on a cleaning service. Every other week, $108. It's worth it to me. Our CPA said that if my doctor writes a note that I cannot perform the tasks I used to, hiring a service to do the same tasks is a tax write off.

                  So, I was relieved when my husband got a lawn service. That is $25 a week, we tip him $5. I will also pay for him to do our leaves in the fall. I just do not see myself doing it. I can't even walk through the grocery store, how would I mow .66 hilly acres? Man, I loved mowing. Great exercise.
                  Dx: 2/3/12. 6-8 lesions right medulla/cervical spine. GLATIRAMER ACETATE 40 mg 1/19, medical marijuana 1/18. Modafinil 7/18, Women's multivitamin, Caltrate + D3, Iron, Vitamin C, Super B Complex, Probiotics, Magnesium, Biotin.

                  Comment


                    #24
                    It was interesting to read about the opportunity for tax write off

                    Thank you for sharing your ideas
                    Be Well,
                    Susan

                    Comment


                      #25
                      I use that suggestion of keeping cleaning supplies where they are used. Our old vacuum stopped working except for the hoses--now I keep that in the upstairs bathroom so I can vacuum after cleaning the cat box. If I have energy, I use it to dust as well.

                      The tub stays pretty clean because my partner takes bubble baths. It's a tip I learned from my mom: if we wanted to take a bath growing up, there had to be bubbles so it didn't leave a ring. The grout could probably stand to be scrubbed more often, but the tub is generally a nice, clean white.

                      I hang old rags near the toilet and sink, and when I have a little energy, I use them to wipe things down.

                      Put trash cans and recycling cans where they will be used, which, yes, means one in pretty much every room.

                      With clutter, both reducing it and figuring out where things will be naturally dropped helps out. I made a place in most rooms of the house for things like scissors and pens, because otherwise in a room where there wasn't a place, someone would bring them from elsewhere and leave them where they didn't belong.

                      Shoes and coats go at the spot in the entryway where we take them off anyways.

                      I spill things often enough that I figure the whole kitchen floor gets "mopped" every week or so by me cleaning up the area around where I've spilled something.

                      I manage to avoid most ironing by a combination of buying clothes that don't require it and making sure that I fold things, or at least lay them flat, as soon as they come out of the dryer. Another tip is to spritz something wrinkled with some water and hang it in the bathroom while someone is showering. A lot of the wrinkles drop out when you do that.

                      Having our washer and dryer on the first floor is a HUGE help. I can rest right after putting things in, or switching them, so laundry is one of the few tasks I can do without too much strain.

                      With dishes, I really want to get a dishwasher, because my grip has gotten bad enough that I don't feel safe washing anything breakable. We had a dishwasher for a while, and it made a humongous difference, but we haven't gotten one since we moved.

                      Oh, and having "cubbies" for things like mail and bits and pieces of people's stuff has been a big help. If there's something that needs to be tidied, stick it in their cubby and they can take care of it!

                      As for what other people think... well, that's their business. I care about what the people I live with think, and everyone else can take a hike. If they don't like how I keep my house, they're welcome to help clean it (and I've got a magnet in the kitchen that pretty much says that)!
                      Accepting reality is not the same as wanting to have a problem. It means accepting something that will be happening whether I want it or not.

                      Comment


                        #26
                        You have great ideas and you're right, don't worry about what others think. Whether it is your house, your room, or your office, the key word is 'yours'......keep it safe, organized and let it meet your needs.

                        Maybe using paper/plastic for dishes would be easier-use and toss (at least some of the time)
                        I had to buy plastic and non-breakable/chip dishware and I use paper and disposable plates often as well.
                        Whenever I entertain, I use disposable and no one cares.

                        Mopping, well, when I drop food or spill - as long as not a lot, I call the dogs and they take care of it for me! I then clean the floor when I can or can have someone help me with it.

                        Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing your ideas
                        Be Well,
                        Susan

                        Comment


                          #27
                          Wow! Great ideas.

                          Knock on wood... I am still pretty mobile although I do fatigue easily. I have found decluttering (or "purging" as I like to call it) the house has been a tremendous help. I did it room by room. "Purging" the house was huge for me. It was almost as if I "purged" the excess "junk" from my internal world. It felt good and still feels good. You will not regret it once you "purge". It puts things in perspective and makes things much easier to keep clean!

                          Cleaning for me starts with a list on Saturdays and the list may go on all week and that is really okay.

                          Bathrooms - I swear by Clorox wipes, paper towels and a good glass cleaner stocked in both bathrooms.
                          Laundry - Always separated in three hampers into towels, whites and darks. Makes the laundry SO simple. I fold. DH carrys upstairs. Sometimes I put it away. Sometimes I don't
                          Kitchen - If I am getting a cup of coffee and there is something in the sink... I just pop it in the dishwasher.
                          Watering the plants... that is an adventure with all the walking involved but I LOVE my plants and DH doesn't. I leave the watering can full, take it with me when I am feeling remotely stable and take a dust rag with me. Two birds...one stone!

                          I really try to do things as I go. Even if it something little as all those little things add up in a week. I found making a habit of doing one little thing daily for a week formed the habit and the following week I added another little thing.

                          While I was typing this... I had to pee... cleaned the bathroom and tossed in a load of waiting clothes. Needed more coffee... put the dishes in the dishwasher and did more than I should have in the kitchen! BUT now I am sitting again and finishing this. It may have taken me an hour to get this post done but when I am ready to crash later the house won't be nagging at me!

                          Be safe in your cleaning adventures!
                          And "purge" it will do your mind and your body good!
                          Karin

                          Just another chapter in the book of life...

                          Comment


                            #28
                            Karin, you're not kidding about getting rid of stuff. We used to live in a raised ranch, so....no basement. Had to be real inventive with our storage space.

                            When we were packing to move, it was wonderful to make 5 or 6 trips to goodwill to drop carfulls of stuff off.

                            Then when unpacking, we further edited our stuff and made trips to the goodwill in our new community.

                            The less stuff that's in here, the less we have to deal with.
                            Dx: 2/3/12. 6-8 lesions right medulla/cervical spine. GLATIRAMER ACETATE 40 mg 1/19, medical marijuana 1/18. Modafinil 7/18, Women's multivitamin, Caltrate + D3, Iron, Vitamin C, Super B Complex, Probiotics, Magnesium, Biotin.

                            Comment


                              #29
                              Trying to think outside my wheels!

                              Keeping the house clean is something I struggle with! I've been in a wheelchair since may. My body went downhill quickly so I'm still trying to figure out how to do things. I also fold clothes while watching tv (with brakes)!

                              I also figured out I can kind of hook a part of my vacuum on my power chair footrest and vacuum! I go forward till I run into something then backwards and repeat! Takes awhile and I'm sure looks hilarious but makes me feel like Im accomplishing something! Also swiffer sweeper vac is great for hard floors! Plus it's cordless so I don't get wrapped up in the dang cord! Lol

                              I'm figuring out a little at a time is key for me when I can. I'm so glad to find this thread! I'm so determined on figuring out how to do things. It makes me feel good to accomplish something on my own.

                              Comment


                                #30
                                My SO does most of the cleaning, but two things I do everyday is:

                                - spray and wipe the kitchen counters and sink everytime I clean cat bowls (3x a day)

                                - spray and wipe the bathroom counter, sink, fixtures every night after I wash up

                                These things only take 60 seconds but makes a huge difference on keeping those areas clean.

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X