Housework is problematic when you're sick. It's sort of a balancing act between responsibility, stress reduction, energy depletion and self denial. Let's face it, doing housework isn't really fulfilling because it all has to be repeated the next day, and the next day and the next. All the time you spend on it doesn't necessarily get you anywhere, personally, and the things that would fulfill you are limited if you are the domestic engineer of the house.
At the same time, if you don't do it, the stress level of your family increases, and you feel like a heel. Add a chronic illness to the mix and every day becomes a choice between using up what little energy you have on chores or spending it on something of significance - because you can't do both. I tend to let it swing like a pendulum. I think it annoys my husband and children when the pendulum is pointed at significance. But they can't really make it swing any slower or faster, and I can't really save them from the fact that mom is impaired. My pace is my own. No apologies.
Of course, by the time the pendulum swings back to housework, there's usually the need for caution tape and disaster sirens. So, when energy is low and the brain is cooking with charcoal instead of gas, I've made myself a chore chart and written it on notecards to keep me on track. It takes away the necessity of making a list and deciding where to start (which can take hours at the rate my neurons refresh these days) It keeps me on track throughout the day. There is a card specifically for days with natural disasters and a series of 10 cards for days when you're all caught up. The cards cover just about everything you would have to do in a day and allow flexibility for sluggishness. I call it "The Art of Domestic Engineering." Parts of it rhyme (couldn't help myself).
So, in Lyme patient speak, the term is brain fog. If you have this hurdle to leap, or just want a no-brainer routine, Click on my name in the lower right corner of this page to send me an email with Domestic Engineer in the subject. I think it's adaptable to homemakers with jobs as well. All you need is some note cards, loose leaf rings/ribbon and a hole punch.
Survey: How often do you find yourself apologizing for working at your own pace?
