Happy Friday everyone! We have made it through another week! Who has kids that are breaking up for the Easter holiday today? The boys are spending the first week with their Dad and the second with me, I can’t wait! Today as part of my Spring Cleaning Week I am sharing ten hacks to make cleaning easier for those with chronic illnesses. I hope you find my tips useful and if you have any more, please add them in the comments below so everyone reading this can see them as well.
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So I hope you are enjoying Spring Cleaning week so far! Yesterday I posted a video rather than a blog post over on my YouTube channel, which you can check out at the link below – don’t forget to subscribe if you haven’t already!
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Good morning and happy Friday everyone! Today is World Sleep Day and so I thought the perfect day to share this post with you all. I have included some of my top tips, as well as some others from a few different bloggers which may be helpful as well.
worldsleepday.org
World Sleep Day is an annual event, intended to be a celebration of sleep and a call to action on important issues related to sleep, including medicine, education, social aspects and driving. It is organized by the World Sleep Day Committee of World Sleep Society (founded by WASM and WSF) and aims to lessen the burden of sleep problems on society through better prevention and management of sleep disorders.
Many people struggle to sleep, but chronic illnesses can make this much harder. Medications that are taken can cause insomniac like side effects and if you are pain, it can be difficult to get comfortable enoughto drop off. If you are struggling with bedtime and sleep routines, hopefully this post will have something you could try for a good night’s rest!
I went into Lush and one of the incredibly friendly staff in there came over to ask if I needed help looking for something. My reply was the magic sleepy lotion everyone was talking about. She helpfully showed me where to find said body lotion but was asking me not to blame her if, in fact, it wasn’t magical, even though she knew many people were saying it was fantastic.
Since that day I think me and Ste have gotten through four pots and are almost through the fifth. Even Ste gave it a try and will now use it most nights. We rub it on the pulse points on our neck and the insides of our wrists as this is supposed to help the smell linger all night. The smell is lovely and the body lotion as good as other Lush ones I have tried, so it is not at all unpleasant to use either.
I am a big fan of candles anyway and often light them around the house. In the bedroom I tend to use a lot of lavender type ones to promote a sleepy, relaxed environment.
I was bought a weighted blanket at Christmas – makes a huge difference!
Claire from painpalsblog.com
Weighted blankets have been seen to help aid people sleep who suffer from anxiety, restless leg syndrome, insomnia and many more conditions which affect a good night’s rest.
AD | Received this product at a discounted price
I have known Katy since the age of 4, when we both attended the same infant school way back when! Upon leaving school we didn’t keep in touch but have recently reconnected via Facebook. I saw a status update about some eye mask pillows she had made for family and friends at Christmas being really popular gifts and she was looking at offering them for sale. I got in touch as though it would be a perfect way of relaxing and getting a good night’s sleep.
Katy will ask what type of effect you are looking for (I wanted somehting calmin and relaxing) and then makes up a personal blend of oils to scent your pillow with. She has taken the time to research and acquire quality oils for this and also uses small businesses for her fabric purchases which is great. She is also happy to let you have the ‘recipe’ for your personal blend so you can purchase the same oils to ‘top up’ the scent on your pillow when it starts to fade. I love the weight of the pillow on my face in bed, and also like to slightly warm it (which can be done in the microwave) as it feels more comforting and also makes the smell a little more potent.
Check out That’s Sew Fetch by Katy on Etsy
I also wanted to mention the Space Masks from spacemasks.com
I received a couple of these in a subscription box I ordered and was intrigued to see what they did. The mask is self heating and starts to work when you take it out the packet. It suggests leaving it on for fifteen minutes but it was so incredibly relaxing that Ste cam in from his shower and had to take it off me as I had fallen asleep! I have another one left and am saving it for a day I really need relaxing from!
I always think a nice, relaxing bath and getting into fresh clean bed sheets has got to be one of the most comforting things. To make it extra relaxing you could use a bath bomb or bubble bath, or even do a face mask.
Sleep Hygiene is so important
Jo from jboccupationaltherapy.co.uk
Check out Jo’s post about Sleep Hygiene with some more great tips for getting a good night’s sleep included.
This is one of the things I struggle most with. Screen time before bed definitely affects my sleep, meaning I take longer to ‘turn off’ every night.
To help combat this I have started reading my paperbacks instead of a Kindle at night time, and my Kindle screen is also set to black with white writing, so if I am reading a book on there it is not so bright. I have also been giving myself a social media deadline and try not to go online after this time. Switching my phone to a Do Not Disturb mode has also helped with this as it turns off the internet connection. I know some people leave their phone over the other side of the room to resist temptation – this also helps you get out of bed in a more timely manner in the morning as you have to actually get up to turn off your alarm.
A V shaped pillow helps me. I have 2 from Ikea. I use them to alleviate pressure on my hips or prop myself comfortably in bed during a bad flare.I wouldn’t be without them!
Rachel from whatapain.co.uk
We have lots of pillows in bed for a similar reason. I can use them under my head, neck, knees, feet, in between my legs and in all manner of ways to get some comfort in my joints.
Routine has definitely meant that I can get a better night’s sleep. My body starts to expect bedtime when I try and keep it at the same time and similar to waking up in the morning. Almost every day now I set my alarm so that I don’t lay in bed for hours. I will always factor in to have a nap if I have a bad night and this helps recharge the batteries. I will also try and set my alarm and not nap for too long or too late, so it does not affect my night time routine.
I read somewhere that the optimum nap time to fit in with the cycle of sleep is to have either half an hour, 1.5, 2.5 hours etc so always try and stick to that, depending on what time of the day it is and what I have planned.
I have seen a lot of my mummy blogger friends talking about how this has really helped improve their children’s sleep – which in turn makes their’s better too! I have actually purchased a bottle and… misplaced it, so haven’t had chance to try it yet. I thought it was still worth a mention though as there have been some brilliant reviews on it and you might want to give it a go. The owner is absolutely lovely as well. I pointed a friend in her direction but her daughter has an allergy to orange. They were able to still create a special blend for her without the orange oil which was so lovely!
Check out Shhleepies Feet Foot Oil from Mummy Loves Organic
Here’s my post about the method I use to get over sleep inversion and insomnia, resetting the body clock
Char at chronicallyhopeful.com
I loved this post from chronicallyhopeful.com – How I Overcame Insomnia
Once you end up in a vicious cycle of not sleeping all night and then napping all day it can be hard to get out of. This is a really good technique for helping to reset your body clock.
Again, this is not one I have tried myself but I have heard great things about the meditations on it, and know many people find it effective to help them relax at bedtime.
Some love it and some hate it. White noise machines are popular for babies but can be really useful for adults too. I like to have the fan on at night, part of it is because I am struggling with my temperature due to being poorly at the moment, but I also like the gentle noise to go to sleep to. If you don’t want to buy a fancy machine you can also get videos on YouTube that play all sorts of things from the waves on a beach, to the rain forest to a hoover!
So that’s my list with some of my top tips for helping to get a good night’s sleep! Do you have anymore you can add? Please pop them in the comments below as they may help someone else reading. A big thankyou to the other bloggers I have featured in this post who had some great ideas which I had to include! Hope you all have a great night’s sleep now after reading this,
Good morning and happy Friday! So excited for the weekend, have you got any plans? We don’t have anything major planned but I will be off to Halifax at some point.
There is a big debate at the moment about the products we get sent to help with stoma care. Certain things are not being prescribed by doctors anymore as they feel they are not a necessity item – but lots of ostomates do not agree and say doctors have no idea about what it is like managing a stoma every day.
I don’t want to go into this debate too much as I feel that may take another post to do it justice. I am very fortunate that none of the products I request have been blocked. I do think that this, in part, is due to the fact that I only try and order what I really need and do not over order. Using these supplies for other things may be seen by some as a bad thing but they are not used regularly for things that don’t involve my ostomy – they just work well on some things and I thought I would share them with you!
This works fantastically well on my stepdaughter’s nappy rash. A quick spray or two and it helps heal and then protect her skin.
“Did you know that our Elisse Barrier Spray also works on bites, prickly heat and heat rashes by reducing itching and soothing the skin”
“I use the adhesive remover wipes to remove the residue from cannula tape in hospital. I always have them packed and take them with me”
I use it to get that horrible tape off that they stick over your blood test holes. I have ripped my skin so many times that this helps so much!
Ste’s mum pops a couple of these in her hoover to take advantage of the nice smell!
These are great for cleansing your skin when all my face cloths are in the wash. I use them with my cleansing oil, then to help wash off any exfoliators or face masks I use at night time.
They are also handy for finishing off cleaning your mirrors and windows – great for a streak free shine!
I don’t use them regularly for this but they once came in handy when I ran out of doggy poo bags until I went to the shop It meant Knox still got his walk that day so he was very happy!
I hoped you enjoyed heqaaring these handy tips and that they may help some of you out! Let me know if you have any more in the comments below,
Following my post, Handy Hacks For People With Arthritis, I was contacted by the lovely people over at Ecovacs. They make and sell robotic hoovers and wanted to ask if I would like to test one out – of course I said yes!
Ecovacs had seen my post and felt that their hoover would be a really good idea for people who struggled with mobility issues like I do. Hoovering can be a very physical and tiring job. The Deebot is a robotic hoover which not only vacuums, it also mops! Saving me from these housework tasks sounds like a dream come true and we eagerly awaited our robot’s arrival.
I was slightly worried about this bit as I am not very technically minded, but luckily I have a Ste! He said it was really simple though, and it was sorted in no time! The Deebot’s ‘home’ docking station needs to be placed somewhere the bot can get itself back to, and needs to be plugged in as this is where he charges. There are a number of options including doing the edges of your room as well as an all over vacuum.
You can control the bot using the buttons on the actual bot, the remote control or the app which you can download from the Apple or Android store. We generally set it up when we go to bed to hoover the living room and although we still need to occasionally get the big hoover out, we probably only need to do that once every week or two as opposed to every other day. The bot doesn’t always manage to get over our rug and if it cannot go over it, will think it is a wall and then only do half of the room which is a bit annoying. Even though our living room is set out with our sofa in the middle of the floor, it manages to get all the way around which is impressive. It also leaves the carpet really fluffy. The hoover is really quiet too, even though we have the suction on high. It is compact so fits neatly out of the way when not in use.
When Ste was recently in hospital, I told him I needed to hoover when I got home from visiting him. I returned home to a beautifully clean carpet – he had set the bot going using the app on his phone when I left which was brilliant!
Changing the Deebot to the mop setting is easy to do and does not take long. The floor does not get overly wet so it does need doing by hand once a week still, but this is perfect for the in between cleans. Because it does not get too wet, it is easy to set up and do in the day, as if you have to walk over it, you do not need to worry about slipping over.
The Deebot is a big investment money wise, but without a doubt I think it is a fantastic aid. It is perfect for people with arthritis and other chronic illnesses who have affected mobility or struggle with lots of household chores. It would also be great for parents and people who work – the bot can be set to hoover while you are out so you can return to a lovely clean carpet every day.
Check out the website
I am really grateful to Ecovacs for getting in touch and sending me this amazing device – it has helped me so much to keep the house clean and tidy, saved me time and helped save my poor joints. I am also delighted to announce that Ecovacs have agreed to host a competition with me for one of my lovely readers to win their own Deebot! Keep your eyes peeled across my social media (@thespooniemummy) in the next couple of weeks for the announcement!
I hope you have enjoyed this review and agree wioth me about it being a great aid for people with disabilities. I really am amazed at the opportunities I have come across through blogging, and love getting to share things that I really think will benefit my readers. Have a great weekend everyone,
