Whiteboards Are My Friend

After talking at length with a friend who also has a chronic illness, I have begun to think carefully about how to handle the core practical issues with limited energy reserves. After several weeks of being in a serious funk, I am acutely aware again of how feeling ill, makes everything intensely harder. At my sickest in the spring, basic tasks including cooking and cleaning were difficult to impossible. As it turns out, even during the best of times, daily routines are not my strength. I don't practice a place for everything and everything in its place with any consistency. I forget appointments and routinely lose my wallet or my keys. And, while I am not a complete slob, my dishes stack up and overflow too often... So, now while I am feeling good and strong, I want to focus on creating better systems to stem the tide of my chaotic messiness. 

Over the past few days, as I have surveyed, my home (step 1), I have begun to identify the chronic issues (step 2) in order to come up with a series of practical solutions (step 3). 

But, perhaps most importantly, I have decided that the ultimate goal is not to create routines for routines sake, but rather to create a welcoming environment for me to come home to on a daily basis. Secondarily, the purpose is to create transparency for someone else to follow, if necessary. 

I've begun to put systems in place to address the most chronic problems. In order to address my forgetfulness, I have bought huge whiteboards and placed them strategically. The whiteboard on the front of the fridge lists all of my doctors appointments, yoga sessions, gym schedule, etc. and this keeps them foremost in my mind. The whiteboard on the side of the fridge is where I list my menu for the week and write down any items I need to remember to pick up on my weekly grocery run. The whiteboard on the back of my front door is where I list my errands and must-do's. In addition, I placed a small metal basket near my front door, where I put items to be mailed, DVDs to be returned, etc.

Relatedly, next to my bed, I keep a pad of paper to write down my "map of the day" because my days always go better when I have mapped out the schedule for the day the night before. 

Since gigantic binge cleaning is unrealistic and unsustainable now, I have put cleaning supplies in each area (saves me from having to trek supplies from one location to the next) and I have also placed an extra dishtray to hold the "overflow" of drying dishes, and  I put sponge holders to easily store sponges in kitchen and bathroom. I bought an additional laundry basket, so I have two laundry baskets--one for colors, one for whites. Finally, I replaced all of my open trash cans with trash cans with lids only to keep things looking tidy.  

This is phase one and it has been a most satisfying beginning.