Take Care Of Your Home When You’re Sick

Sickness happens. I decided to film this video after the kids and I were hit with sickness in December. I was extremely sick and weak and it seemed like the kids really bounced back quickly. Of course, at first I felt overwhelmed, but then I decided to create some ground rule and follow the advice I would give you. 

And then this month my husband got really sick. We have been married almost 18 years and he has never been this sick before. I knew we were headed to the hospital several times, but thankfully he finally bounced back and began the road to recovery. This was the kind of sickness where you sit next to the bed and keep a watch on his oxygen level. The world stands still when things like this happen. 

The reality is that we will all be sick, or someone in our care will get sick or have a surgical procedure. Things these happen. Sometimes it’s just for a few days and sometimes its a week or longer. But parts of life still go on and we have to do what we can to not lose our minds. 

Here are some things that help me during this time:

1. Lower my expectations.
   You’re sick. You will not get all the things done. Sure, I created a Big 3 for the week. But at least 1 of those is replaced with “get better.” So now I know that I can’t do all the things and I need to accept that.
   The first day my husband was so sick I think I only got one thing done on my list and it was something I did on my phone while waiting. We were at Urgent Care almost the entire day and the evening was spent picking up prescriptions and delivering clothes to my sweet mom who helped with my kids. But the important PERSON was taken care of. I just had to change my expectations.

2. Choose the spaces you can control.
   This was a HUGE one for me when I was sick in December. My little girl was sick during the night. Occasionally during the day she wanted to cuddle and would nap, but for the most part, she had most of her energy and still wanted to play. (Please note, she is old enough to be in a room within hearing distance. If you have a tiny one this rule might not apply.) I decided to ask her to play in 2 areas. If we were downstairs and she wanted to pull all her toys out (knowing I wouldn’t have the energy to help her clean up) I asked her to play in the front room of the house. This is a room that used to be our dining room. It now has a table and piano in it and plenty of room for her to play. If you have a dedicated play room, that might be a good choice.
   If we were upstairs I asked her to play in her room.
   By doing this, it allowed me to keep the rooms I was in the most tidy and easy to keep that way. When I was downstairs I spent most of my time in the living room and so I could keep the kitchen and living room neat. While upstairs I could keep my bedroom and bathroom clean.
   Adding to this, be sure to take a second and pick things up when you can. When you get up from your bed, grab any trash or empty cups on your way to the bathroom. When I would brush my teeth in the morning I would be certain the bathroom counter was picked up. When I showered and changed from one pair of pjs into a fresh pair, I made sure to put my dirty laundry away. These simple little steps helped me to keep the space around me neat even though I felt like I had been ran over by a freight train.

3. Choose the tasks that are the most important.
   So while there were some things I just couldn’t do. There were a few that were time sensitive. For example, while my husband became really sick early in the month, I still had to be sure the bills that are due around the 1st were paid. Take a minute and jot down the necessary. But be sure to use your defer arrow (something I really dislike to do, but must during a time like this) for all those other things that really can wait.
   While I kept the house neat by being sure things were picked up when I had a bit of energy, I had to skip any regular cleaning.

4. When you’re feeling up to it - take advantage of downtime to be productive.
   After a few days I was thinking more clearly, but still couldn’t leave the house or get up and do deep cleaning. Thankfully I have a laptop and while I had “called in sick,” I was still able take care of some work and do things that might not be urgent, but would help me down the road. You know those things. Here are some examples: get caught up on email, update my budget, clear out photos on your phone, eliminate email (check out my blog post on getting your email to zero HERE.)
   Thankfully I was able to accomplish quite a bit while sitting right there on the couch recovery.

I will add that I finished a book I had been reading. Sometimes we are forced to rest and we have to accept this. If you have followed me any length of time you have probably realized that I don’t sit still for long, but this was forced. 

I hope something here will help you next time the unexpected rolls in. So cuddle those babies, get lots of fluid, turn on some worship music, or grab a nap and get better!