as my illness at the moment is not managed(my story is on another post) l was wondering if anyone has tips on how they plan their day for housework etc.l know when lm in a flare up there is nothing l can do but take to my bed but on a good day because lm so behind with every l get so overwhelmed with what l need to do lm sure lm making myself more work.does anyone have a days plan that works well for them.At the moment lm making a file of tips and hints to ease the pain on doing things ie using a toweling dressing gown after bathing to save pain in my hands & energy on drying and using handtowels instead of large bath towels.l now only buy non iron clothes and pull on tops and trousers as it hard to do buttons up and slip on shoes.l have to leave the heavy jobs like vac,cleaning the oven,lifting pans and opening things for my husband but l dont want to give in completely so try and do as much as l can but l need to get myself more organsized in the daytime.
Hi Rose
My husband is vacuming now. I dust and pick up.
Each day of the week I set goals for my self such as clean the toilets today. or dust or whatever. I put an ole sock on my hand to dust with and I have a feather duster on a 4 ft handle to dust above the fridge etc. I keep a long handle squeege in the shower to clean it after I am done.
When my arms and shoulders are hurting really bad I use the hair dryer to dry me off after my shower. I have a nail in the wall and I simply hang the dryer up and then rotate around the dryer. It drys me off as well as warms my joints up.
Also when I am chilled I put my cloths in the clothes dryer and get them nice and warm before I put them on. It feels sooooooooo good.
I got rid of all my heavy pans. But if I must move a full skillet. I place the pan on a towel and slide it down the counter. If I must transfer the item in the pan to a bowl, I use a second pot-holder and put it under the pan to take some of the weight off my wrist. When stirring a bowl I place a wet towel or dish cloth under the bowl and stir with both hands. The wet towel holds the bowl in place. Purchase an electric jar opener they are the best.
I have been dealing with Ra for more than twenty years and have learned lots of tricks over the years. I know this is a small amount of help, but you can get more in the "Arthritis Today Magazine" put out by The Arthritis Foundation.It can be purchased at most book stores.
I am really suffering in this department, rather, my house is. I did the dishes in the dishwasher and cleaned the kitchen floor this weekend. I honestly can only do a little at a time. I often just take the dishes out of the dishwasher for use only rather than putting them back in the cabinets if I am feeling painful.I remember reading a joke once that said "You know you're getting old when you bend over to tie your shoes and ask yourself is there anything else I need to do while I'm down here?" LOL, well I find myself doing that for real now!
For me the hardest thing is vacuuming. I have a husband and two sons at home (my daughter is at college) and they will vacuum when I ask them to. But it's so hard for me to do that, not only do I feel guilty for having them do it, but honestly, tee hee, they don't do it to suit me! If we have company coming, I'm going to do it myself, and then I'm so uncomfortable it's hard to enjoy my company. My mother always said I was hard-headed and stubborn, and I guess I really am.
I am going to ask for a self-propelled vacuum for Christmas this year. Yeah, I like Roseanne Barr's idea of a riding vacuum! I would buy one of those Roomba robotic vacuums if they worked better, but I guess they don't have that much suction. I want the little Scooba, Roomba's twin. Scrubbing floors is the hardest thing for me, and I heard it does a pretty good job. Between the OA in my back and the RA in my hands & feet, I hate carrying buckets, I hate pushing a mop, and I hate squeezing out the mop. My mom got one of those sharks for her tile. She swears by it. She is in love with it and plans on giving them for Christmas. She has RA.
I also go through and pick up trash first. Then I have my kids take their belongings to their rooms. I also let them do things like having a "shoe roundup". They each are responsable for taking a persons shoes upstairs to the appropriate closet. Then I can do the dishes (I always use the dishwasher) and that is usually enough to get the downstairs clean enough to look decent. I can vacume downstairs b/c the carpeted area is not to big---My husband does the stairs and then carries it up for use on the second floor.
I sleep downstairs on the couch, it keeps me from running up and down. My kids are young enough that they need my supervision, I would never get any rest if I was up in the bed. Downstairs I have access to the kitchen and the rest of the family. I brought the kids tooth-brushes and a hairbrush down to the powder bathroom so they can brush their teeth before school in the morning and I can watch to make sure they do it right.
The worst job for me? Laundry! I can get it brought down to laundry room and washing and drying is not to bad, but after that...it all just falls apart! I have come to dred folding it and then I can maybe get it carried up stairs but I still have to put it away. I HATE LAUNDRY!!!! The best things that have helped me (and I live alone) is my lawnbuddy, brings in stuff from the car, and I can sit on it to clean things low, and cart around what I need, laundry and stuff. (homeDepot) Bought from QVC a set of cloths, Micro something, and they absolutely work, even used them to clean the oven with just water and the "steamer" I got from there too. Small one not too heavy and works great. The jar opener is a must. I use a heavy cord. robe when I can't dry, but the hair dryer is a "fantastic" idea. Thats all I can think of right now. I found an easier way to get the laundry moved around the house and I have another energy saver plan in the works. To get the clothes down stairs from the bathrooms, I sort it by person, socks and undies or towels (I dont seperate colors) and then bag each pile in those cheap trash bags. I roll them off the top step and then my children drag them to the laundry room. They seem to think this is fun---they're weird. Then all I have to do is pick a bag, and dump the contents into the washer. The new idea is to buy a shelving unit that will fit in my laundry room. I will put each persons clothes on their shelf or hang them on the existing bar. If they want their clothes upstairs they can take it themselves. I will only have to worry about my stuff---which I dont mind putting on a robe and coming down to dress--and the towels. I also am going to buy a pretty basket to keep near the bottom of the stairs. I can put things in that need to go up whenever the next person is going up. The towels will go there. I figure it wont be long before someone has to take a shower and will carry them up.
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