Managing the home with chronic fatigue

saw50st8

Tue, Dec 01 2020, 8:53 am

saw50st8 wrote:

I'm not an expert because I just started this with one of my kids as a trial (though I've seen it touted all over youtube). Each kid has their own laundry basket. You wash each kids clothes separately so each load is one persons clothes. Then it doesn't need to be sorted because it is all one person's clothes. Each kid can put away their own clothes. If they don't, at least it is a basket that's all their own.

We have now been doing this for almost 2 months and it's so much easier.

Each kid gets their own laundry basket.

When it is full (or they are running out of clothing), we do a load. It's pretty easy because DH and I are working from home.

Each kid puts away their own laundry. If they don't, it's contained in their own basket.

We also have a basket in the bathroom where the kids put towels and whatnot.

It has saved us so much time.

We don't separate laundry so our whites aren't so white, but we could have one more basket for whites. I just don't care that much.

amother

Jade

Tue, Dec 01 2020, 9:48 am

miami85 wrote:

I was certainly feeling very down and "what's the point" a few months ago, I once bought a bottle of B-12 instead of Melatonin (for my kids) and I heard that it's good for energy and mood, so I started taking it and I started feeling more energetic. Perhaps try that before trying prescription medication.

I am always tired (pregnant). Can you post a link to vitamin B-12? Maybe that would help me.

What does B-12 have to do Melatonin (sleep hormone)

amother

Apricot

Tue, Dec 01 2020, 10:20 am

Op I’m so sorry that you are going through this
Is there any way you can save up 1x a month to have deep cleaning help.
I’m not sure how much cleaning help costs. By me it would probably be $15 an hour.
Also, you would need to be really on top of them that they are not wasting time.
Sometimes it’s worth getting a company that sends 5-8 ppl and they finish the job in about 2 hrs. And they are very good and very professional.
I think you need to figure this out as part of your medical treatment.
Maybe you can wing it once every 2 months.
At least start saving now for Pesach time

amother

Oak

Tue, Dec 01 2020, 10:22 am

I have narcolepsy and even with my medications and stimulants, I suffer from severe fatigue. I have good days and bad days. There are times where my house is a disaster and I only make food from freezer that's already prepared and times that I have more energy to clean.

A big step is minimizing stuff you own so there's less clutter. When I shop, I buy tons of groceries and only go to store every 1.5-2 weeks. I order everything else online.

It's not easy. I really feel for you and the struggle is every day.

Good Friend

Tue, Dec 01 2020, 11:40 am

BH I don't suffer from chronic fatigue (although I'm pretty low on energy now being pregnant and nauseous). I'm thinking you could really have your kids help with a lot as long as it's done with a positive attitude. My kids are really little, but from what I remember growing up we often had laundry parties where my mother would turn on music and we would all help sort and fold, and had races to finish our pile first, etc. You can ask who wants to be the supper helper (and reward them with being served first or something) and the supper helper is in charge of setting the table, cutting up fresh vegetables, filling a pot with water, etc.
My mother always makes a to-do list on erev Shabbos and yomtov and all of us kids would rush to check what's on the list and write oue names next to our favorite jobs to claim them. These included cleaning the bathroom surfaces with a bleach wipe, sweeping, vacuuming, clearing, wiping and setting the table, washing dishes, laundry, simple cooking, literally everything. I'm not even sure what my mother's magic is that we all fought over these chores, but we loved them, all the way from toddler age until young adult. We often (the older kids helping the younger kids) would work together to make surprises for my mother, let me she would go out shopping and we would rush to clean the whole house and then say surprise when she came in to the clean house. Somehow she made everything exciting. Maybe just the fact that she valued our participation and took us seriously? I don't know. Anyway hope some of this can help.