No matter what your title in the house, if you are the main one to do the cooking, cleaning, and caregiving, things really suffer when you get sick! I have been sick with one thing after another for 2 months now and at first, my house was falling to pieces. Moms everywhere may be wondering how to manage the house when you’re sick.
Laundry piled up to the ceiling, the floors could barely be seen under the mess of toys, sports equipment, and abandoned schoolwork, dishes were only washed as they were immediately needed, and nothing that needed to be done was getting done. After about 2 weeks, I decided I had to make a plan to get things back on track as much as possible so that the family could function and things would stop getting worse. Here is what I did and it worked wonders:
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How to Manage the House when You’re Sick
*Switch to Paper Plates
This isn’t an expense that I can normally justify, but when you are sick, it is worth it. Switching to paper cut my dishes nearly in half!
*Make One or Two Pot Meals
My family only has a few meals they all like that require the dirtying of only one or two pots, but this is the time to bring them out. Combined with the buying of paper plates, this made a huge difference in the back up at the sink!
*Worry about the Floors Only
I really hate for my house to get dusty and my bathrooms to be less than shiny, but when you are sick you have to cut back somewhere. Sweeping and vacuuming the floors takes minimal effort but makes a huge difference in the overall look of each room. Besides, you probably won’t be having company if you are under the weather!
*Limit the Laundry
I normally sort my laundry into specific piles and wash everything over two days each week. There is no way I could have done that much laundry with the way I was feeling over those two months. I cut back on what I was washing and didn’t worry as often about the things like pajamas, socks, and shirts since my whole family owns plenty of these things to get them through more than one week. I only washed what was necessary for the immediate future. And yes, our sheets and towels went a little longer than they normally do between washes, but no one in the house except me even realized it!
*Buy Lollipops (or whatever makes you feel better)
Tootsie Pops are my weakness when I have a sore throat or nasal congestion. They make me feel so much better when I am feeling bad. So whatever it is that makes you feel a little better, buy it and indulge when you are sick. You can worry about calories and carbs again when you are well!
These small changes really helped me to keep my house running when I was sick for over two months. Sometimes you just have to realize that you can’t keep up with everything all the time. I hope that they will help you too the next time you are feeling sick!
You may also like this post. It’s really helpful to do!
Do THIS before you get the stomach bug!
