tips for housekeeping & cleaning with a disability

I HATE housework! But not for the usual reasons, I hate housework because I am not always able to guarantee completion of the tasks that need doing around the house, and even if i do, there's no certainty it will be up to the standard. I suffer from an autoimmune disease call Lupus, which (long story short) wreaks havoc with my joints - usually ceasing up to the point where I have little to no use of my hands and at times my legs. However, the house does not care for my condition, & still needs to be cleaned. Frankly, I’d rather save my energy spending quality time doing something nice with my 3 year old (you know, to compensate for not physically being able to pick him up and give him a squeeze..), the things that make memories, not whether or not my floors have been mopped! So I’ve had to come up with new ways to manage the house. Here are my tips for managing housework. I hope some of them work for you. 

Disability Hacks for Housework
1. Break tasks into smaller chunks - If a task seems overwhelming, break it down into smaller tasks and do them over a course of time with regular rests in between.
2. Don’t try to do everything in one day - Set certain tasks for certain days. If you miss a day for whatever reason leave it until next week.
3. Learn to aim for good enough instead of perfect - This is a hard one for me as I used to be super organised and liked things in their place. Over time though I’m letting my standards fall as I can’t keep up with it and good enough is simply… good enough!
4. Get the kids to look after their own things if at all possible - This is another hard one, at least with my muck magnet! Chore charts for rewards can be used as incentives for little ones. If you’ve got more than one child you could even make it a (fun) competition between them. I think though that the key here is to teach your children to put away their own belongings so that the mess doesn’t build up to start with. 
5. Long handled dustpan and brush to limit bending - I was so pleased when I found my long handled dustpan and brush. I can more easily keep the kitchen floors clear now even if they are not always mopped.
6. Lightweight hoover - An upright hoover is easier to push around rather than dragging a big heavy thing around behind you. Consider a second (even second hand ) hoover to keep upstairs as some hoovers are big and awkward for getting up and down the stairs.
7. Don’t  leave dishes in the sink overnight - Often we are at our worst in the morning and they are harder to clean once food has dried on.
8. Use shower gel, not soap - Use gel rather than soap as the shower, bath and sinks. You won’t get soap scum and can go a little longer between cleans or give them a simple wipe now and again.
9. Reduce allergens with a bagless hoover - Use a bagless hoover to reduce allergies from dust, pollen and pet hair. .
10. Have more than one basket of cleaning products - Keep cleaning fluids to hand in places where they are commonly used such as bathrooms and kitchen. It will reduce the number of times up and down the stairs.
11. Don’t spray polish on furniture - Spray a little Polish on the cloth instead of the furniture to reduce exposure by breathing. I’m very sensitive to chemicals so by spraying onto the cloth I can minimise the amount of spray that goes into the air.
12. Anti-static sheets - Use Bounce sheets to polish things like your TV and mirrors. It will help repel the dust and they won’t need to be cleaned so often.
13. Wax paper - Wax paper is great for reducing water marks on chrome and stainless steel taps. Water and oil (wax) don’t mix so the water will be repelled by the wax coating on the taps.
14. Reduce chemicals in you cleaning products - Consider making your own cleaning fluids and detergents if you are sensitive to them. I’ve been doing this for a year now, & I’ll often post tips about how to make your own cleaning products and washing detergent etc.
15. Simplify cooking - Try to cook one-pot or slow cooker meals more often to reduce the clean up.
16. Only iron what really needs it - Fold laundry straight from the dryer and most things don’t need ironing.
17. Dust clever-  Use the extension on your hoover for dusting. You will suck up the dust rather than moving it around. This is great for hard to reach areas like the ceilings and also reduces exposure to allergens.
18. Let others help - Learn to smile and say thank you when someone offers to help. I know women can feel territorial with their homes but we need to push past that and learn to accept help when it’s on offer.
19. Rope in other household members - Explain to those who live with you that if they help around the house you will have more energy to spend time doing something with them.
20. Use a perching stool - Use a perching stool for ironing or chopping veggies at the counter top so you don’t have to stand.
21. Use a long handled grabber - Use a long handled grabber for picking up toys from the floor. Even better, give it to the kids and time how quick they can do it without touching them with their hands!
22. Whistle while you work - Play your favourite music while you work. I like to tuck my phone in my bra (don’t judge!) and listen through head-phones so it goes with me. Modern day Snow White!
23. Reduce clutter - Keep clutter to a minimum to reduce what needs to be cleaned. If you don’t absolutely love it, give it away.
24. Paperless billing - Go paperless for bills etc. to reduce the paper clutter in your house. 
25. No shoes in the house - Ask everyone to take their shoes off in the hallway. Less dirt is walked around the house.
26. Good door mats - Use good quality floor mats in your hallway that has a lot of dirt off the bottom of shoes before it gets on the floor.
27. Use the dishwasher for more than dishes - Most things that are plastic can actually be washed in your dishwasher even toilet seats - yes you heard right toilet seats - just don’t put them in with your dishes!
28. Line the oven - Line your oven with tin foil. That way when having to clean the grime from the oven  all you have to do is change the foil  when it’s dirty. This dramatically reduces how often you need those awful oven cleaners.
29. Washable walls - When you next decorate use washable paint for your walls so that any splashes or spills can be wiped away and the wall doesn’t need repainting. Also, baby wipes get most things of the walls, including crayon! 
30. Easily clean the microwave - Before cleaning the microwave, microwave about half a cup of water in there for several minutes. The steam generated during this process will loosen all the grime and dirt and then simply wipe off with a kitchen towel. Some people like to add a cap of vinegar to the water as well as it’s a degreaser and can tackle really tough jobs.