Cleaning and housework : Hello fellow lupies, I... - LUPUS UK

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Cleaning and housework

heda123 profile image
12 Replies

Hello fellow lupies,

I struggle a lot with housework. Especially scrubbing things in the kitchen eg oven cleaning. After 5 mins of scrubbing i start to get pain in my shoulders, arms, hands and fingers. Does this happen to anyone else? I find housework such a chore. Are there any easy gadgets that people use in the kitchen or around the house? Would be interested to know.

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heda123 profile image
heda123
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12 Replies
Treetop33 profile image
Treetop33

I've carved out a budget for a cleaner until it all settles down - she doesn't do it all but certainly makes a dent. That probably doesn't help you though. Other than that trying to make adjustments to save my hands, like kitchen shelves rather than cupboards, getting my partner to carry shopping (or you can get it delivered). Stuff like that really.

heda123 profile image
heda123 in reply to Treetop33

Thanks for that. My luck with cleaners has been rubbish lol. Twice I've arranged for a cleaner and have been let down. I will try again.

Treetop33 profile image
Treetop33 in reply to heda123

There are some websites that network cleaners. Hassle.com for e.g. It is difficult though to find someone genuinely helpful and efficient, and I pay above the living wage too.

Silvergilt profile image
Silvergilt

Enlisting children is working so far! We have a dishwasher which saves on a lot of washing up but as it's under counter I can't load it easily. But there are on-counter washers and they work well.

Advice from me is: learn to accept mess. I hate an untidy house, I can't stand clutter but if I can't do it, i can't, and that's that. I'm sometimes taken aback at how much effort and energy is required for what is to my mind a ridiculously easy task. But I have to give myself a pass and turn a blind eye. I am able to put away some dishes and wash a load of laundry. But I couldn't fold any of it and I couldn't sort out the recycling. It's ok. It sucks but it's ok....it has to be, because I sure can't do anything about it!

I am strongly considering a cleaner, especially as I'm finding sorting the litter trays for the cats to be nearly impossible now. Not sure what can give in the budget but if someone came in once a fortnight it would be a huge help.

Wendy39 profile image
Wendy39

Hello. I had a cleaner when I worked as I just couldn't do it all and much to my shame I've kept them on, even after giving up work due to my health last July. They come every two weeks and dust, Hoover and do the bathrooms. I keep on top of it in between and do my own beds and washing and ironing. That is enough with 5 of us in the house. My husband wears shirts to work every day 😬😬. I have to say I loved a tidy house etc but with 3 children within 4 years I had to let that go, it dawned on me that I was impossible to keep the house like that now. So I do let it go. If things don't get done, then so what? As long as the children are fed, bathed, have a clean uniform etc nothing else really matters. And if I need to nap, I need to nap, the rest can wait. I am hoping that as the children get older they will do more, to earn pocket money etc and I can reduce the cleaners to once a month or maybe let them go altogether. It is a luxury to have them and I know I am very lucky. Balancing everything that this illness throws at us is so difficult. Wendy

Lilrosie1 profile image
Lilrosie1

Yes I dont even go In remission

creaky profile image
creaky

Hello, I have two ladies who come for 1 hour every Friday. If you stand still too long they Polish you!

They can't do everything as we have a big house but at least when my husband finishes work now he can relax, he was trying to do everything.

I usually manage the beds, and my ironing. Husband has always done his own.

I also bought a cordless Dyson, which I can't recommend enough, it means that I can have a mini clean between Fridays as it is light and easy to use, but actually is one of the best cleaners that I've ever had.

I have a great system for the stairs, I sit on the stair lift and vacuum a bit then move up a bit.

Husband does the oven, usually just before it becomes a complete health hazard!

I try to have a good tidy up and do some high dusting on Fridays before my cleaners come, so that they can concentrate on the things that I can't do.

I have long handled grab sticks, and long handled dustpan and brush, and a swifer mop thing that I use with a squirty bottle of cleaner for the wood floors.

Try to keep cleaning materials where you need them, so that you don't have to keep walking around to get stuff.

Good luck, hope you get some help.

Mifford profile image
Mifford

Yep I have one of those "cleaner" gadgets too 😊 I get lower level pip for daily living and I use it for stuff like that. She does an hour and a half every week - so does downstairs one week and upstairs the next. The oven I don't think anyone does though! She does do the beds and neither of us wear anything so smart that the creases don't fall out if it's hung right when it comes out of the machine so it's incredibly rare for me to do any ironing but if any builds up she'll take that away to do too - she's a single mum so happy to take on as much extra work as i can afford to give her.

Other than that wooden floors are a godsend with a black haired dog and we recently got a lightweight cordless vax Hoover - the dyson version was just too heavy for me - and that's a godsend. And dettol wipes for the kitchen units rather than having to spray and clean anything. We keep them to hand and wipe up as much as we can as we go so although by the end of the week it's not as spotless as it could be but it's also not that bad as we simply don't let it get that bad to begin with.

And I'm also in the life's too short and i have too many other challenges to worry about scrubbing an oven category 😊

heda123 profile image
heda123

Thanks for all your messages. I've been seeing a lifecoach for other reasons so today I thought I'd touch on my cleaning issues. We came up with a timetable to split all the jobs throughout the week between me my husband and the cleaner (when I find one). Seems workable lets hope it does! Ofcourse flare up means no work.

paulfon profile image
paulfon

Thanks for the post, friend. I am also thinking about buying easy gadgets that people use in the kitchen or around the house. I hope I will find right ones.

Lupien profile image
Lupien

I think that this is not only women's work, and it is for this reason that I decided to solve this issue wisely and bought a reliable robot vacuum cleaner so that it would be easier for my wife to clean the apartment. I advise you wooftowndoggydaycare.com/ , since that site has all the necessary information for choosing a vacuum cleaner in the house.

MusicalFurbaby profile image
MusicalFurbaby

Yes, I have a great gadget called a paid cleaner! 😂 I too struggle with basic scrubbing, I end up out of breath and in pain even after wiping down the kitchen counter…I have a cleaner come in once a fortnight and do the bathrooms (there is no way I can kneel or scrub a shower anymore) and they vacuum and mop as well.

I just manage the rest as best as I can, while attempting to pace myself etc. etc. If I’m flaring, the house will be messier. Nothing I can do about that. Having a dishwasher helps, although if my back is having a bad day, then packing and unpacking the dishwasher can be painful - but it’s mostly helpful. Our vacuum cleaner is an upright and it pretty much pulls itself along (Dyson), so if I have to spot-vacuum, it’s not too bad. And I ask my partner for help. Even if I can do it myself, asking for help makes it less taxing for me. I need less time to recuperate afterwards. So yes, ask for help if you can!

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