[sadieone]

I"m so proud of myself for using my new cleaning methods.
I have 2 slipped disks in my back and if i bend over more than once a day it kicks in causing me more pain and distress.

Cleaning my house is one of the hardest things i have found to do with this Lupus.

So I thought I would share a couple of tips that I have found to be successful and less exhausting then the old methods.

Please let me know if anyone out there has more tips on cleaning, I"m sure we can all use them.

1. Hire someone else to do it.(this is what my husband has suggested of course. But he does not do the bills,,, i do and I know we can not afford that for now).

2. Put cleaning suppies in every room needed. Example, a broom and dustpan and mop in every room you use it in,, so you don't have to walk around with supplies or looking for supplies.
I have dustpan, broom and mop in my kitchen and bathroom. I use mop for floor, bathtub, shower and shower walls.. instead of bending over mopping is much easier.

3. I use a chair for mopping and sweeping my kitchen floor If i'm not in such good condition taht day. One with wheels so i can roll around the kitchen while cleaning

I don't have any special tips for vaccuuming except if you have more than one level in your house you might want to get a vaccuum in level to keep from lifiting up and down stairs.

I'm excited to see what eveyone else has to offer for cleaning tips.

 

[DnA]

I've got spinal problems too and like you can't afford a cleaner. I too make sure that I have cleaning stuff in every room - which includes 3 vacuum cleaners, admittedly 2 are mini ones but they're much lighter and easier to use!

I have a hose to fit to my kitchen tap so I can fill a bowl with just enough water to wash the floor and do this while sitting on my backside on the floor, so I just shuffle around! Admittedly I do quite often splash some on the floor - but at least it's clean! Then I leave it on the floor and get someone else to empty it for me...

I've also got a freezer in the hall which is on a purpose built shelf so that I don't have to bend to get things out. I'm also quite lucky because I have my own personal lift in my flat - so don't ever have to carry anything up the stairs. This comes highly recommended for an easy life! The other thing I've had fitted are 'bars' to some of the walls so that if I need to get on the floor I've got something to aid myself getting back up.

Most of my tips came from my Pain Rehab who even arranged for some of equipment to be fitted for me.

I'd also like to hear of any other ideas...

Sammy

 

[Raglet]

my best ever cleaning tip is to do as little as possible, as often as possible.

You got it - I hate housework, and tend to live in my own brand of cheerful chaos. I keep the kitchen and bathroom clean so we don't catch anything awful, and to heck with everything else.

Fortunately my daughter likes to do the laundry so we always have clean clothes and linen for beds etc. My other daughter has been known to run around with a vaccume cleaner occaisionally.


cheers

raglet

oh, I do have a special chair I can use to 'walk' around the house on - it is bench height and has a saddle seat. I use it in the kitchen as if I stand up to do anything at the bench I imediately fall over backwards as I have no balance (I literally hit the floor). So, this chair is great for me, means I can do all sorts of stuff while I sort of skate around the house on it. Mine is black, and raises up to bench height which is really great.

 

[Clare.T]

I am of the Raglet school of thought re housekeeping except I do as little as possible as seldom as possible. Or is that the same thing ? I am having a Scrambled Brain Day.
I am not especially physically handicapped so I don't have too much need of aids, however I am thinking of getting a few hours paid help. I'd like a nice young man who can also do odd jobs around the place and the hard things like taking down curtains because I can't climb ladders.
Nor can I get down on the floor or bend down very far, so I find a grabber very handy indeed. I also use it for getting lightthings down from high cupboards or moving them closer to the front edge.
Once I chucked something accidentally into the big recycling wheelie and was able to get it out quite easily with the grabber. I would never have thought of buying one but took this from my mother's house when I cleared it, but I would recommend it.
I do have a vacuum upstairs and downstairs but the upright without attachments is useless for stairs and the other cylinder one not all that easy so I am thinking of getting a hand held vacuum or something suitable, if anybody has any recommendations.


Clare

 

[lesleyc]

we don't have any carpets in our house so my parents got me this thing that you just plug in and you can sweep all the dirt to it and it vacuums it up. so no more dust pan or getting out the big vacuum for the most part.
i ended up getting one for upstaits too. and it can suck up a lot. with 3 cats and 2 dogs the furballs can get a little out of control sometimes

i'm at work right now and cannot remember what the heck it's called......

but for the most part at my house i tend to just do big cleans when people are coming over. if someone pops in unexpectantly it can be rather embarassing, but oh well you can only do what ya can do
lesley

 

[sadieone]

So i'm not the only one reinventing the wheel.

Raglet my chair looks almost the same except the butt part on mine is flat. I love whissing around on it knowing i'm getting things done as well.

I started taking your advise. Do very little very often. well when i get tired i just stop and end up back at the computer or in bed. So the very often part does not happen.

Right now i have dirty cloths on the floor of my family room wrapped in sheets waiting for me to wash them. The vaccuum cleaner tray is at the back door, waiting for me to empty it out so i can vaccuum yet another room. Lelseyc, i have 2 dogs, so i know what its like with the furballs.

Clare, my grabber is my 6'5" hubby when he gets home. Most everything I have put in my reach so i don't have to go through much of that.

I put things in easily accessible places as much as i can. Now i have to find containers to put liquids that are too hard to lift in. For example,, the Bleach bottle. I could get little onces but i would prefer the containers they have the clothes detergent in,, the kind u just push a button and it poors into a cup.. no lifting.
I don't see that they have made one for the bleach which for me would be perfect.
I have ruined so many pieces of clothing trying to poor that bleach with a steady hand into that tiny little cup. When I find one I will let you all know.

I'm also going to have to move my dog food container up higher. the container we have now is good to hold the food but, the bending over and pulling it out of the closet, lifting the top, then bending over again to scoop the food is tireing. I guess i should start using my chair for that as well. HUMMM

Well thank you ladies for the information.. Please let me know if you have discovered anything else to help improve my domestic engineering.


take care

 

[lesleyc]

i had to laugh when i read about your clothes in the family room. i throw everything down the stairs from the 3rd floor (trying no to take out any animals in the process)
then the get kinda kicked to the basement door which is right at my living room. i always seem to have a pile there ready to get washed and it seemed like such an odd spot until now!
lesley

 

[sadieone]

Yes lesley,

It is easier for me to throw them over the balcony onto the family room floor,, we even had a designated couch for the clean dry clothes, one that allows us to sit and watch tv while we fold and seperate each others clothes. Or just the spot to let the clothes sit there for days, just taking what you need from it til its gone.

Its amazing end up that way

 

[Katharine]

I'm afraid I'm with the ever so little and very not often school here. We have a great system here that allows me to have a cleaning lady at very little cost. She comes 4 hours a week and does my ironing and a little cleaning. The only thing that's left really is keeping kitchen tops clean and doing the washing which is relatively easy as it just involves stuffing the machine then stuffing the tumble dryer.

Sadie, I don't know what you use the bleach for, I mean if liquid bleach is essential, but I use bleach tablets when I need it (which is not often, I'm not at all a bleach fan). They're little hard tablets in a bottle and you just plop them into the water that you need them in. I presume they exist elsewhere in the world.

Katharine