My Misadventures Of Cleaning With Fibromyalgia

Confession time… I do not have a super clean house. Sometimes, I will clean a room and then need to rest for days. The house gets messy. I will straighten up and then need to rest. While I rest the house gets messy again. It is a disappointing roller coaster ride that does not end with any progress made disappearing while I recover. Sound familiar? My husband has said that I put out fires. I see something that needs to be cleaned & clean it really well which then throws the rest of the house & me out of balance. The Fly Lady also uses that analogy with “hot spots” (or places we pile mail, magazines, or whatever). I have a hard time stopping once I finally have the energy because everything is “on fire” & I just want my house to be clean! I will always pay dearly for this wrong thinking. I love a clean house but it never stays clean & that frustrates me!

There are certain things about cleaning that we know to be true, for instance: you should dust before you vacuum so that the dust that settles on the ground can be vacuumed up. Sometimes, just dusting wears me out & I don’t have the energy to vacuum when I am done. Someone who does not suffer with chronic pain will think this is ridiculous, but we know how that goes. The Fly Lady turns what we know & how we think about cleaning upside down. Her theory is that ANY cleaning is a blessing to our home,  to ourselves, and our loved ones ~ EVEN if it is done “incorrectly”. She starts with routines and adds a little to them each day. She puts rooms into “zones” and has a plan to tackle chores each day so that each “zone” gets thoroughly cleaned in a week. With consistent habits and routines, her plan is to slowly & progressively achieve a clean, organized home, and life. 

My husband has been telling me about the importance of routines for years but I never found a way or just dug in and kept good routines in place on my own. My way has obviously not worked. I tried the Fly Lady plan many years ago but stopped. Her ideas and plans are good and I am going back. Due to health or time constraints, sometimes I am unable to keep her schedule each day. But, in a month, I will be closer to a really clean house than I am now without the roller coaster disappointment or the bedridden flare! WHO IS WITH ME?!

To join in our Adventure of Getting Our Homes and Ourselves in Order ~ Start here: Flylady beginner-babysteps The Fly Lady starts you out slow with Beginner Baby Steps – don’t try to work too far ahead! Her philosophy is that you are never behind and that routines will help to keep your home neat and tidy without overwhelming and exhausting you.

You can sign up for her daily emails to remind you of what you should be doing throughout the day here: Flylady getting started (they are helpful but they add up very quickly if you do not check email regularly!).

Check the Facebook page daily for reminders here: Finding Joy in the Midst of Chronic Pain. Let’s encourage each other & do this together!