Cleaning the Master Bedroom: Part 2

In part 2 of Cleaning the Master Bedroom, you will have two lists, one for those of you that need a basic list and a second list that is for a deeper cleaning.

Don't panic.  You only need to work from one of these lists, and these are suggestions. They are not laws or rules.  The cleaning lists are meant to be a guide, so relax and work at your own pace.  This is not a race, nor it is a time to push yourself beyond what your body is able to handle.  I have inserted hints along the way.  Before jumping in, read the hints.  They are important.

Number 1 Hint:  A timer is a great tool to use for cleaning.  If you have been very sedentary or you are coming back from a flare or relapse, you may need to work in short spurts, then rest.  I suggest setting your timer for five to fifteen minutes for each job;  however, when recovering from a flare, I have worked in short spurts of one minute to 3 minutes.  You know your body better than anyone else.  Sit down when you need to.  Moreover, do not forget to stay hydrated.

Hint:  Nearby, have boxes, baskets or hampers marked throw away, give away, put away.   

Simple List:  Cleaning 101

• Day 1  Pick up any clothes lying on the furniture or floors, that includes shoes. Put clean clothes away, put dirty clothes in the clothes basket or washing machine, and put your shoes where they belong.
• Day 2  Clean trash off the dressers and bedside tables.  Use your marked hampers, baskets, or boxes.  Then, take care of the items in them.   
• Day 3  Now, you can dust.  If it has been a while you may need more than one cloth or Swiffer Duster refill.  Microfiber dusters and cloths work well too, because they are washable, as well as holding a good amount of dust.  A vacuum cleaning wand or an ostrich feather duster works well on lampshades.  
• Day 4  If you did not wash your sheets after raising all that dust, it is time to change your sheets.  Get some help shaking out your bedspread if you are not going to wash it.   And of course, make the bed.
• Day 5  Vacuum and enjoy your clean, beautiful room.

Hint:  If you tend to be obsessive or a perfectionist, let it go.  You will only exhaust yourself, and most likely you will end up procrastinating.  Set your timer, and know your house is going to look better.  It doesn't have to be perfect. 

Deep Cleaning List (For bedrooms that are reasonably neat, because you       have been hanging up your clothes and you usually put away your shoes. )                      

• Day 1  Pick up any clothes lying on the furniture or floors, that includes shoes. Put clean clothes away, put dirty clothes in the clothes basket or washing machine, and put your shoes where they belong.  Walk starting at the door, and go to each area of your room.  Remove items that do not belong on your dressers and bedside tables.  Rest.  Dust.
• Day 2  Use the long handled cleaning wand on your vacuum cleaner and vacuum around the baseboards.  Rest.  If you have enough energy, vacuum the center of the room too.  (If there is someone in your house who will help you, ask for assistance vacuuming under the bed. Otherwise, do this another day.)
• Day 3  If you like your furniture to be polished and you can tolerate the scent, you might want to polish your furniture.  This an optional item, but sometimes I like to do this because it helps clean off rings or anything that is missed with a duster.  Rest.  
• Day 4  Wash and Change your sheets.  If you feel well, check your mirror an window for finger prints or doggy nose prints.   
• Day 5  This might be the time to put up a new picture or change around your pillows, or maybe you should just enjoy a cup of tea in your beautiful bedroom.  A nap might be nice too.  Follow your heart and pace yourself.     

Hint:  We are trying to make our houses reasonably clean.  This should be a            process you enjoy, especially the results.  Perfection is not an option              here.  You need to care for your body, otherwise, you may have a flare            that keeps you from doing what you care about.

A Final Word

When we deal with illness that causes chronic fatigue, it is important to be patient with yourself.  Sometimes, a one week plan becomes a two, three, or four week plan.  The important thing to remember is everything you clean or declutter, no matter how small it seems, adds up.  Eventually, you will see a difference in your house.  

Moreover, you learn that even if you have a setback, you can take baby steps back to reasonably clean.  I have had to do this many times.  I would be nice to be able to say that my home is always clean and I am always neat. However, that is not the case.  When I have a relapse, I don't get much done. Things tend to pile beside my recliner.  However, I have seen an overall improvement in my attitude.  Instead of feeling frozen and being disgusted with myself, I know I can take those five minute baby steps back to reasonably clean.  

Finally, if you have not already developed the habit of cleaning up behind yourself, you will probably become more conscious of putting items away immediately.  And remember the old adage, "If you get it out, you  have to put it away."

I hope you have a fruitful week.  May you have a week filled with blessings.

Deborah

Cleaning the Master Bedroom - Part 1

Image Courtesy of ponsulak] /
FreeDigitalPhotos.net

This is a slightly revised version of my previous article in September, 2013.

When you are recovering from a flare or additional illness, give yourself a break.  You have to have a recuperation period.  Trying to do too much in one day will slow down your recovery,  therefore, I expect you to use common sense.  Pay more attention to pacing yourself and resting.  This does not have to be a perfectly thorough cleaning.  We will be coming back to our rooms again.  Do what you can do, and let it rest.  Be happy you were able to make a dent in the house work.


Your main goal and my main goal are to make improvements in our master bedroom this week.  Of course, you always have the choice to devote your time and energy somewhere else, and I applaud that choice, because we are not all messy in the same places.  However, if you always leave your bedroom for last, try to spend some special time on it this week.

Before I list the suggestions for working in your room, I want to tell you what happened to me as I worked in my room.  Even though I had my room on my list several times in the last few weeks, I had only managed to make tiny little inroads.  I had dusting on my list.  It was not getting dusted, until this Saturday.  I also planned to wash the bedspread, change the sheets, and wash the dog, all in the same day.  Then, I added using furniture polish after I got off the dust.  The dust was thick:  I do not remember the last time I dusted the bedroom.  Yep!  It is said confession is good for the soul:  there it is.  

I used my timer.  I rested in between, and I still managed to overdo.  Last night the Fibro pain was all over my body.  Even my sternum hurt.  I could not go to sleep, and when my body finally told me it was ready to sleep, I threw up my medicine.  I had to get a basin and sit in my recliner with a towel over it, because I was too tired to stand up. I know this is icky, but I don't know any better way to remind you to take care of yourself.  Therefore, I slept in my recliner last night.

This is a warning and a suggestion, because you are only one that can manage your own body.  And even then, your body probably doesn't always cooperate.  However, when you pace yourself and do not try to get everything done in one day, things happen in the house.  And you can have energy left for tomorrow.  I have been doing well in that regard, until yesterday, when I became over-enthusiastic and got in a hurry.

This is a repeatable method of cleaning.  Remember, you are only to spend 15 minutes or less, depending on your strength to do these jobs.  If it takes you the whole week to do Days 1 and 2, that is acceptable.  If you want to make the master bedroom your chore for the day and your 15 minutes of decluttering, while you only tend to basics elsewhere, that is OK.  However, if you tend to this job as listed, you will end up with a reasonably clean bedroom. 

Cleaning the Master Bedroom  

(Nearby, have boxes, baskets or hampers marked throw away, give away, put away.)   

• Day 1  Pick up any clothes lying on the furniture or floors, that includes shoes. Put clean clothes away, put dirty clothes in the clothes basket or washing machine, and put your shoes where they belong.
• Day 2  Clean trash off the dressers and bedside tables.  Use your marked hampers, baskets, or boxes.   
• Day 3  Now, you can dust.  If it has been a while you may need more than one cloth or Swiffer.  Microfiber dusters and cloths work well too, because they are washable, as well as holding a good amount of dust.  A vacuum cleaning wand or an ostrich feather duster works well on lampshades.  If you tend to be obsessive, let it go.  You will only exhaust yourself, and most likely end up procrastinating.  Set your timer, and let the perfectionism go. 
• Day 4  If you did not wash your sheets after raising all that dust, it is time to change your sheets.  Get some help shaking out your bedspread if you are not going to wash it.  Sunlight will kill mites, so the old fashioned clothes line can be a plus.  I found a spray that will kill dust mites and not harm you.  I also read that vinegar and baking soda will kill dust mites, but I cannot find the proper solution.  If you are not allergic to dust mites or you have lots of static electricity in your home, I would not worry about the little critters. However, they definitely die when you wash those sheets and dry them in the dryer.

Pace yourself.  

You are making an improvement, not going for perfection.  When I put pictures of done rooms on here, you are seeing what the photographer wants you to see.  Can you see the basket of clean clothes sitting in a corner waiting to be put away?  No! Can you see the dog hair that is sitting at the baseboard where it was missed?  No.  

I plan to post Part 2 on Tuesday.

Have a good week!

The Master Bedroom, The Start and End To Your Day

Image Courtesy of  [luigi diamanti] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Last week, I finished writing about the heart of the home.  However, would you be surprised that some people consider the master bedroom the heart of their home?  After all, it is a place where we should be able to retreat when we need some peace and quiet;  moreover, this is where we rest our heads at night, so our bodies can repair and be ready for the morrow.  Even though, many people with chronic illnesses do not get optimal rest at night, we still need to have a place where we can get the best possible rest for our bodies.  

A neat, well-tended bedroom is a blessing.  Have you ever walked into a bed and breakfast, a hotel room, or a comfortable guest room, and felt the almost instantaneous relaxing of your body?  Ah, what a pleasant place, my place to let down my hair, to put up my feet, and to find comfort and relaxation.  Compare this to walking in a room that has clothes tossed over various chairs, clothes baskets waiting to be emptied, boxes tossed in a corner to be out of the way, shoes lying in various places where they were taken off, weeks of dust on the furniture, and an unmade bed.  I can say this, because I have been there.  How about you?  Does any of this sound familiar?  

Image Courtesy of [winnond]/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A bedroom does not have to be sumptuous to be delightful.  I have admired bedrooms that had stacked crates beside the bed for nightstands and unmatched tables for setting down items one needs.   The creativity of making a bedroom a comfortable place does not depend on a fat pocketbook.  However, there are some basics that make a difference in how a person feels when walking into his or her own room.  Here is a list of what I consider basic:  

1. A chair with arms, so you can assist yourself in standing up.
2. A dresser or chest of drawers for your clothes.  Even crates or inexpensive rolling carts will work.  If you want to dress them up, you could paint them or throw a scarf of some sort over the top.
3. Tables beside the bed;  however, I have seen lovely design settings where stacked books were used.
4. Lamps beside the beds and possibly a small book light for those that have spouses who are annoyed by light when he/she is trying to sleep.
5. Closets are nice, but people used hooks and wardrobes long before there were closets.  Also, shoes can be neatly lined up under the side of the bed.  Some people even buy rolling carts.  I have a hanging shoe bag in my closet.

These are some of the essentials.  If you think of some more, please write a comment.  And I might add:  if you have CFS/ME or Fibromyalgia, you should consider a comfortable bed.  This is where I would put my money.  If you cannot afford a new mattress, at least top it with some sort of padding to cushion your body in the right places.  

Image Courtesy of [Maggie Smith]/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Moreover, let me talk about sheets.  I am sure we all have our preferences.  Sometime in the middle of my bouts with Fibromyalgia, I discovered that thread counts do count.  It seems the sheets with a thread count of 600 or higher feel better when they touch my skin.  It is pitiful when even the sheets hurt your skin;  however, they have:  and, I felt desperate.  I could not stand to be touched for a time.  Just the brush of my husband's elbow against me at night made me stay awake for hours.  I hurt everywhere.  That is when we got a king size bed and I got a higher thread count in our sheets.  Let me add:  it was not my husband's fault:  it was the miserable illness.  How, anyone does not believe a person with Fibromyalgia is sick, is beyond me.  Thank goodness there is data now to back up what we feel in our bodies.

So there it is:  my introduction to a week of cleaning the master bedroom.  My goal is to walk in, to see and smell the freshness, and be rid of most of the dust mites in my room.  How many of you wake up with stuffy, swollen sinuses or with post-nasal drip?  I want my bedroom to be a launching point for my day, my own personal bed and breakfast room, and a place that oozes restfulness and peace to me and my husband.  

Finally, it doesn't matter whether you have children at home or you are the only one that lives there --your bedroom can help set the tone for your day.  I know it is your attitude that should set the tone for the day, but having a clean, neat room can make a difference.  I think order in our lives is an innate need, even a God-given need.  Therefore, I am looking forward to this week of working on our bedrooms.  Maybe, some of you will be able to do the advanced version.  LOL.  However, some of us have some heavy dusting to do.

Gentle hugs,
Deborah

P.S.  Later on tonight, I will post the proposed cleaning schedule for our bedrooms.  I know there will probably be differences, depending on the state of your room;  so, please don't be frustrated if my suggestions do not exactly fit your situation.  If you have any questions, you can comment here or at Chronic Fatigue and Creative Decluttering.

A Saturday Meltdown

Unfinished Life, D. Bolton

A writer is usually not supposed to start a piece with I;  

however, one sometimes can only begin with I."

I

have 

more than

one chronic illness.

One of these is spondylitis.

Since I felt pretty good today, 

I thought I would take the dog outside

and get some sun.  I would say hello to my husband,

and I would even cut a few overgrown bean and tomato vines.

                                                            I managed to step in a hole hidden by the grass, and I

                                                            knew my knee would pay later;  however, in a few minutes,

                                                            I could feel my lower back breaking in half -- at least, that is what

                                                            it felt like -- excruciating pain!  In misery and tears, I climbed the 

                                                            stairs going into the house, hot rail burning my hand.  I had to hold 

                                                            it or I could not climb.  I was mad the rail was black and hot,

                                                            that my back hurt again.  Every step felt like agony.

Mini-meltdown time.

Tears and why me time.

Am I allowed to feel this is unfair, 

because there is so much more I want to do?

I get tired of sitting in my chair, old before my time.

It has been too long, and how can I expect others to understand

when it is so hard for me?  My body does not cooperate with my mind and spirit.

"I'm supposed to be active," I say.  But, the most active parts of me sometimes seem to be

My heart, my mind, my spirit, and my fingers typing away on this keyboard, flying and pecking away

through tingling, numbness, and swelling.  

Thank you God, for heart, mind, spirit, soul, fingers, eyes, and every part of me that works -- even those parts that don't work so well.  You have reminded me,  I can be free and new every day, with hope in my heart, because you, dear Father God, are here with me.  

So, tears aside, I have the best.  I have Joy!  Joy!  Joy!  

And I have hope, because I know I have what is most important in my life:

I have a Savior, Jesus:  I have love. 

Therefore, she quickly broke away from the self-pity, and  she remembered she had purpose still.  What good would it bring to imagine life differently?  This is the life she had.  It was a good one, despite all she had suffered.  If she had never experienced life's pains and victory, she would never have had the richness of finding herself.  

~Deborah Bolton~