Best Shortcuts when Unwell

[UnorganisedMother]

I'm not well at the moment, truly exhausted, and would love some tips on how to get on with daily chores and cooking.
I've had blood test and am now having tablets, including iron and B12, however they'll take a while and aren't dealing with the actual issues, just some of the effects.

I want to get back to managing the house a little more, and cooking; any shortcuts will be greatly appreciated.

I'm sorry youre going through such a difficult time, op. I live with a long term illness and I had to lower my standards because I can't manage everything anymore.

I break things down into small or micro tasks. Instead of blitzing the bathroom all at once, every week, one day I'll clean the sink, another the bath. I bought a fantastic electric bathroom scrubbing brush which makes cleaning the shower much easier and saves me a lot of energy.

Same with other chores, some weeks I have to change my bed linen a piece at a time because I can't manage it all at once. I switched from a king size duvet to a double as well because its lighter to manage.

Batch cooking when I'm able helps a lot. Deliveroo helps the rest of the time (the good old disability tax comes into play). Buy frozen fruit & veg a lot so I'm not wasting fresh food when i don't have the strength to cook.

Short term, the biggest differences you can make are to break chores down and make food as easy as possible. Long term, there are other aids that can be worth investing in.

Of course, if money isn't an object you can just through pounds at the problem and hire a cleaner & housekeeper.

Thank you @DuchessDandelion, I really appreciate your reply. You've given lots of helpful advice and I'm certainly guilty of trying to keep the same standards, even though I fail miserably at them.

Unfortunately housemaids are a to remain a dream for me, however we could possibly stretch to a cleaner occasionally.

Could I ask what you get from Deliveroo please? Is it food shopping that you mean, or takeaway dinners?

My robot hoover/mop is a godsend especially when run down and exhausted with low b12.
Also dont feel guilty about using ready meals or easy cook meals.

Food - focus on nutrition not complexity or presentation - limit the cooking as much as possible by eating things like great bread, fruit, salad etc.

Burritos. Microwave rice, those lentil pouches mixed with fajita spices or cooked chicken, wraps, ready grated cheese, salsa/guacamole pots. Or quesadillas - sandwich wraps together with cheese, salsa, any deli meat you have etc. I make soups too, which sounds like a strange priority but a bowlful of real veg is so much better for you than bought soups I think, and the blender does most of the work.

4 times a day put a timer on your phone for 12 minutes and rest. Lie down, phone down, close your eyes, play a meditation track on Spotify or whale song, rainforest noises, whatever works for you. 4 times a day whether you need it or not. First one should be early, before 10am. The most useful thing I learned from fatigue clinic.

If there are days you need to do a lot, schedule extra rests in before and after. After a busy day have a "nothing" day - you will get much more done over the week as a whole.

Fly lady home blessing hour is a good first base for minimal housework. Take 5 mins each day putting things away and try to do 10 mins each of about 6 tasks, spread through the week as much as you like. My baseline is max 10 mins each of vacuuming, spray mop, dust main living area, main sink and loo, empty bins, wipe kitchen surface & clean sink. On a better week I do a 2 hour getting ready for visitors checklist. Neither of these is good at getting to the heavy underlying cleaning but something. is better than nothing.

You already have some good advice here.

Food is the easy one. Order in from Deliveroo from local supermarket - simple ready meals or meat/fish and frozen or tinned veg. Nice fruit and snacks that you’ll like. Or maybe once or twice a week get a simple takeaway delivered.
Housework can wait! Keep things tidy like kitchen and just tidy up after yourself but deep cleaning and scrubbing can wait.

oh yes for ready meals look for the ones with fresh veg in. Jambalaya, paella, Thai curry, Singapore noodles in "healthier" range. Sometimes the ingredients lists look pretty close to home made food.

Buy frozen ready chopped veg etc like soffritto celery carrots and onion. Chopped onions, peppers, pre peeled garlic cloves. I bought a potato peeler too, a Judge potato tumbler. Use gadgets to chop food if you want fresh stuff. There are also frozen jacket potatoes cheaper in Iceland, the brand begins with a B but can't remember it properly. Frozen or Idaho mash. Grated cheese or grated in a food processor. Dishwasher for anything that can withstand it.

Both. Ordering a big shop directly from the supermarket doesn't work so well for me because I don't know how much I'm going to be up to using, so I buy smaller amounts weekly via deliveroo. Its expensive doing it this way though! I try to keep takeaways to a minimum.

I also buy healthier ready meals - ones less ultra processed and with real ingredients but again, they're the pricier options - Cook, Charlie Bigham, Waitrose. I got a breadmaker secondhand so at least I can make my own bread, a small attempt to reduce the amount of upf I now eat!

I'd love a robo hoover and hoping to get one on fb marketplace this year, I definitely don't hoover nearly as much as I used to - or should do.

If you need them then don't worry about mobility aids too, they help reduce energy expenditure - like a shower stool or perch chair for the kitchen, but they can be overpriced so I'd only invest if your immediate need is great enough or you'll need them longterm.