#a silly thing while executive dysfunction is preventing me from writing anything

[milktrician]

(what the. who threw a wife plot device in the middle of a peak lord meeting)

i thought about this bit at the end of the airplane extras the other day. bro why are you looking at your coworkers like that rn

[hellforcertain]

cleaning for cripples

It frustrates me that often, sites focused on teaching you to clean up your space are geared towards people who were never taught how to, or people who are too “lazy” to. People with disabilities often fall into neither of those categories, and often their issues with cleaning aren’t what able people’s issues are. Disabled people, like me, often know what to do and how to do it, but there’s a barrier that isn’t “laziness” preventing them from cleaning, and often we have to figure out our own ways of tackling cleaning. 

This is a collection of some of those ways I’ve learned to handle cleaning; they’re mostly focused on kitchen cleaning as that’s what I tackled this morning so it’s on my mind, but many of them translate to general cleaning.

These tips may not work for you, and that’s okay because everyone handles their disabilities in a different way. Even if you can’t utilize these tips, maybe they can be a jumping point to help you figure out ways that do help you.

executive dysfunction issues:

This may sound obvious, and it’s one of the more difficult things to do, but don’t let things get to the point where they’re intimidating. A full and overflowing sink is going to feel harder and harder to clean, until it seems impossible to know where to start. 

If it does get to that point, don’t berate yourself for it. It happens to the best of us. Castigating yourself for it is going to make you associate cleaning with the guilt of letting it get out of control, and it’ll make it harder to start in the first place.

If you don’t live alone (and if your living situation is one where you can safely do this), make a plan of attack with your housemates. If they’re similarly disabled, they may be having the same executive dysfunction issue you’re having, but combining forces will make the task less daunting.

This one may seem silly, but clean spontaneously. If you’re already up and in the kitchen to get a drink, or in the bathroom to use the toilet, clean something that takes five minutes. Part of executive dysfunction is dreading the task ahead because the number of steps to take to get there seems insurmountable. Cleaning this way doesn’t give you the time to dread it. Plus, if you go to the kitchen, say, eight times a day to refill your glass of water, that’s forty minutes of cleaning spread over the day, which helps to keep things from building up.

Don’t use the 15 minutes on/10 minutes off method. While this method -- cleaning for fifteen minutes, taking a break for ten minutes, rinse and repeat -- can work just fine for people without executive dysfunction issues, it’s pretty much one of the worst ways for people with it to clean. A 10-minute break only gives you 10 minutes to dread getting back on task.

Clean by section, not by time. Identify a part of the room you need to clean, and do that: ie, start by saying you need to wipe all the counters down. Then, either stop then or, if you’re able to, continue on to the next part of the kitchen, like scrubbing the stovetop.

Start small and work your way up. If you try to tackle the most daunting task first, you may burn yourself out before you can finish the smaller things. I notice it’s easier to continue cleaning when I’m “on a roll”, so I usually start with the smaller issues and then tackle the biggest one once I’m already in the cleaning zone.

Keep yourself accountable. I’ve noticed that now that I’m an adult and don’t have parents to answer to, it can be harder to self-impose tasks like cleaning. With your housemates, write up a chore chart. It can seem childish, but if you’re accountable to even a piece of paper it can make overcoming executive dysfunction easier. (And if you can’t sometimes, remember to not beat yourself up about it!)

sensory issues 

Many people with autism, fibromyalgia, and a whole host of other conditions have sensory issues that make cleaning the gross parts of the house (the bathroom, a sink full of dishes) incredibly difficult because you’re fighting your gag reflex the whole time. The goal here is to create a barrier in between yourself and the cause of the issue.

If you have issues with touching gross things, buy yourself a pair of latex/latex-free cleaning gloves. Yes, the bright yellow ones that make you feel like a 1950s housewife no matter your gender, age, or marital status. They’re only a couple dollars at the grocery store (look for them with the cleaning supplies), and are thick enough to not tear easily and to dull the sensation of touching something gross. Plus, anything that might be growing can’t penetrate them. Don’t buy disposable latex/nitrile gloves (the ones that doctors wear) -- they’re not really thick enough, and plus we don’t need to be throwing away more plastic when there’s a reusable option.

If your issue is the smell of something gross, the solution is unfortunately a bit more expensive than the above tip. You’ll need to buy a respirator mask, like this one. I’ve used a variety of face masks for different reasons, and I’ve found that the less expensive dust masks don’t keep smells out, as that’s not what they’re designed to do. And hey, you’ll be able to roleplay as a survivor in a post-apocalyptic setting, and that’s always fun. 

I, personally, don’t have issues with seeing gross things, so take this tip with a large grain of salt. But if we continue the theme of creating a barrier between yourself and the issue, then logically a very dark pair of sunglasses (like they give patients who have had eye surgery) should be able to provide some level of relief. 

chronic pain issues

Know what your limit is. This is important but also difficult if your limit fluctuates from day to day. If that’s the case, listen to your body. Often, trying to work through that pain can backfire and fuck you up later. If you know you have obligations later, then don’t push yourself past your limit cleaning. 

Don’t work yourself to the point of pain because your brain will start to associate cleaning with pain. This can make starting to clean even more difficult, especially if you have executive dysfunction issues on top of it.

Take preventative measures. If you think you might end up in pain despite your best efforts, take your low-level pain reliever of choice (mine is Aleve) before starting so that it has time to kick in; by the time you’re in pain, the medication is already working, so you’re not in pain while waiting for it to kick in.

This is one I learned at physical therapy: fix your posture. For example, I notice that my lower back always hurts after I’ve been bending over the sink to wash dishes. My physical therapist pointed out it is partially because my hips and back are out of alignment, which puts more strain on that part of my back. So take stock of how you’re standing. Place your hand against where your back curves most, and use it to guide your hips, back, and shoulders into a straighter position. It’s something that takes some practice to get the hang of, and it probably won’t solve all your problems, but it can help more than you might realize.

Don’t clean things the typical way. Sure, maybe you’re “supposed to” wash dishes standing, but there’s no rule saying you can’t pull up a chair. You can sit on a pillow on the floor instead of kneeling while cleaning the bathtub. Roll around the kitchen in a rolling chair when moving things around. Make cleaning as easy on your body as it can be.

If you have the financial ability to, get appliances that clean for you. This might mean getting a dishwasher (countertop/apartment-size dishwashers exist) or a roomba; they’ll do the bulk of the work for you, which means less pain for you.

I hope some of this helps, and sorry for the incredibly long post. If you have similar tips, feel free to add them!