Tips from Jenn V, used with
permission.
- Get a stool to help with tasks like washing dishes. Sitting while
you wash dishes, chop veg, or watch a pre prepared meal cook takes
less energy than standing to do the same tasks. Make sure the stool
you get is high enough to let you do these tasks without bending, and
if you need it, get one with arms and a back. - Use pre prepared meals if you can afford it. If you can’t afford
it (or would prefer to spend the money on treatments!) investigate
Meals on Wheels or similar projects. Meals on Wheels and the like
also give you some human contact with someone who cares and who will
understand if you shuffle out in your nightie to let them in. - If you’re one of the lucky ones (like me) who has recovered
enough health to walk about without needing a stick just for
balance and support – try using one anyway. It has several benefits -
I find that it extends the length of time I can be out and about, it
reduces the amount of stress and energy it takes me to do things…
and it ensures that people DO give you a seat on a tram, or just make
things just that little bit easier that makes SO MUCH difference!
And if you’re unexpectedly taken ill while you’re out, you’ve got it
with you. (I went to get a blood test done before work, and went to
work, and almost literally fell over suddenly after a meeting…
needed the stick to hobble from my desk to a couch in our office.) - Use conveniences where you can. A clothes dryer takes less effort
than hanging clothes on a line and taking them down. If that’s too
expensive, a cheap drying rack from Kmart in the laundry room takes
less effort than a clothesline in the back yard. Leaving washed
dishes in the rack to air dry is easier than towelling everything
off. Soaking dishes in soapy water in the sink is good enough to get
them clean – you don’t need to scrub every plate. - Use timed cooking stuff. A microwave. A toasting oven which turns
itself off after a set time. A crockpot. An electric kettle which
turns itself off. Whenever buying kitchen appliances, buy the one
with a timer. You can get up after you have the energy to do so..
and the savings on scrubbing-burned-pots is immense. - If you can manage it, no carpets. Swirling a mop around, or
shoving a broom around, is much lighter and easier (to me, anyway)
than hauling a vacuum cleaner out and plugging it in and running it
over stuff. And non carpetted floors look and feel cleaner even when
they’re dirty.
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