Spring Cleaning

I have been away from the blogging world for a week or so. I succumbed to the winter blues. While the rest of the country was wrapped in a blanket of snow, we were wrapped in a blanket of ice. School was cancelled for a week and we all came down with a bad case of cabin fever in addition to that  'blah' feeling you get when the sunshine has been absent for way too long.

Today the sun made an appearance. She brought warmer temperatures with her and you could just feel that gray feeling lift. We threw open the windows and I started my Spring cleaning. I am one of those odd balls who actually enjoys cleaning. When the house is clean, I feel clean. I don't know what it is, but for my family, a clean house seems to put everyone in a more relaxed mood.

I love the Spring all most as much as I love Autumn. It just feels like new possibilities. Today I struggled a bit with vacuuming the ceilings. I have all ready been laughed at for that but in my defense, we have textured ceilings. Thank God they aren't popcorn ceilings! Textured ceilings catch every piece of dust, dog hair, human hair and cobweb that happen to float by. I can't stand them! I vacuum them once a week to keep that nastiness at bay and to prevent it from some day falling in my coffee as I walk under it.

As I said, I struggled with the task today. Sunshine or not, the weather changed, meaning my fibro has been cranky. As I vacuumed, dusted, swept and mopped, I wondered about others with fibro. What things have others done to make daily tasks easier while in pain? There is no way that I can clean our entire home in one day. For one thing, I am ocd and if I am going to clean something I am going to be meticulous. If I don't, it bugs me until I go back and do it 'right' but also, fibro is not going to allow me to do everything in one day. After three hours of cleaning today, my wrists and hands were swollen enough that I held them under cold water for half an hour. Tonight my arms and back are mad at me for standing in an unnatural position for so long cleaning the ceilings.

Normally, I will knock out a couple of big chores a day. Bedrooms and bathrooms one day, dusting, sweeping and mopping another, a couple of loads of laundry everyday, but Spring is here so it is time to add four or five extra tasks to my day to day list until every part of this house has been scrubbed, polished and shined. I have had fibro my entire life but this year has been the worst for flare and sudden, unusual pain so I am looking for ways to accomplish my Spring cleaning while making it easier on myself. I can't hire someone to do it. For one thing, we can't afford it and for another, I would clean the house before she got here because I would be embarrassed to have another person clean up our messes. So that's out.

I have seen the Roomba vacuums but do they clean well? I want a steam mop but my husband says it will damage the laminate flooring. I do have a hand held steamer that I adore. It cleans better than anything I have ever used before and I don't have to coat the house in chemicals to clean it well. So that is my question of the week. If you have any condition that makes cleaning your home difficult, what have you discovered that helps you to clean effectively without aggravating your condition?

While I wait for your answers, I am going to scour the web for ideas and just get it done. My list is long and the fibro fairy saw it and cackled like the hag she is. I love starting Spring with a truly clean  home so I am not about to give in to pain. I hope that where ever you are, the weather has warmed and you are pain free. As for me, I am done for today. I over did things and my body is letting me know it. I will spend the rest of today being nice to me and do it again tomorrow. Happy Spring!