Nip it in the bud. Yup… that is our tip for today.

One thing that I have found helps is to “Nip it in the bud.” I am specifically thinking of housework, but it can also go for not allowing flares to get out of hand.

Each day, I try to do a little something around the house. You see, with my allergies and compromised immune system, my house basically has to be spring-cleaned if not weekly, at least monthly. It is difficult to keep up with. Thankfully, my family lives very close and are a great help. I work to do what I can and then my family steps in to fill in the gap. But… that said, it is still a constant battle to stay on top of the enemy… err… ahem… dust and germs.

On weak days, I can only do a little bit… maybe five minutes at a time… ok… the really weak days, five minutes max. It can be frustrating. I have found that there is normally one chore that is stressing me. I work on that first.

Before I start my list, please know that these are tips, not rules. Trust me. There are days, sometimes even a week or two that I can’t do even this much. I just wanted to share what has helped. 🙂 Here are some things that have helped to nip things in the bud:

1. Put things away as you go, when returning from anyplace, etc. Don’t just set things down.
2. Do small loads of laundry each day. It is much less overwhelming to process smaller loads.
3. Use small units of time to accomplish something. Only have that five minutes of strength or time? Look around to see what you can do in that time.
4. As we’ve mentioned before, break tasks up into smaller tasks and nip that in the bud.
5. Adjust where things are kept, how you do things to make them easier. Occupational therapy and my family have helped me find ways to make things easier.
6. Limit clutter to make the cleaning easier. Partially from necessity, any junk mail or packaging that comes in the house goes out immediately. Important things are set aside to be handled once a week. Keeping those things processed immediately helps.

Of course, this doesn’t always work perfectly for me, but I do see that if I nip something in the bud, it doesn’t get out of hand and I don’t get so easily overwhelmed.

On the health front, paying attention to our small signals that a flare (or infection in my case) is coming can prevent a larger flare. Listening to our bodies is important. This is not my forte, I admit, although I am learning in this area.

So… tip for the day… nip it… nip it in the bud! 🙂 What have you found that has helped “Nip it in the bud?” We can deifinitely learn from each other!