Doing-Household-Chores-with-an-Injury

Doing Household Chores with an Injury

One of the biggest adjustments with an injury is learning to accept your limitations. Typically, we recommend your only job while recovering is to rest and heal, which means letting others do chores and/or hiring people. But, we recognize that isn’t always realistic.

More importantly, part of healing and recovering is getting back to some normalcy. What better way than to get back to doing some chores! Completing everyday tasks with an injury takes a little creativity, a lot of asking for help, and some thought of how to do it, first, without injuring yourself further.

Read through all the tips and find the ones that apply to your condition. Because cooking is a task unto itself, please read our separate “Cooking While Injured” post.  Read on cleaning diva…Hint: our most important tip is the last one and applies to everyone.

Laundry

One of the biggest chores for any family is laundry. Our best tip:  Let someone else do it! You’re injured and compromised. But, since we know some of you will ignore that advice :), here’s how you can make doing the laundry easier:

  • Have someone carry the laundry to the laundry area/room
  • Have someone sort the laundry for you, or sit on a chair or stool to sort
  • BONUS TIP for those with children in the house: most children by the age of 4, can sort and carry laundry. At this age, they LOVE to help!
  • If your laundry detergent is high on a shelf, ask someone to bring it down for you
  • Adjust the ironing board so you can sit vs. standironing-403074_1920
  • When folding clothes, do so sitting and in an area that is free from clutter.
  • Have family members fold and put the laundry away. You’ll be tired from doing the laundry and/or folding it.
  • BONUS TIP for those with children in the house: most children by the age of 9, can fold and put laundry away
  • Rest in between loads and folding. This will help you from getting fatigued too quickly.
  • BONUS TIP for those with children in the house: most children by the age of 12, can do the entire family’s laundry.  Who knew?! 

Housecleaning

This is where you truly need to share the workload. There will just be some things your compromised body won’t be able to do. Here are the few things you can do safely while injured:

  • First and foremost, have a family member temporarily store your cleaning supplies in an easy-to-maneuver carry-all or place them in the area they’ll be used and within your reach
  • Use a long-handled feather duster to make light dusting easier on your body. If you can, sit and dust one piece of furniture at a time
  • BONUS TIP for those with children in the house: most children by the age of 4, can dust.  Just put a sock on their little hand (spray/spritz your favorite cleaning solution on the sock). At this age, they LOVE to help!
  • Help make cleaning the toilet and shower easier by using automatic toilet bowl cleaners and automatic spray on shower cleaners (used after taking shower). This will help you to avoid scrubbing, bending, leaning or contorting your injured body. Dropping bleach tablets in the toilet tank keeps bowls cleaner longer, too
  • Sit and clean the bathroom sink and countertops. DO NOT clean the bathroom mirror unless you can safely do so
  • Have a family member vacuum, sweep and/or mop the floors around the house
  • To avoid getting overly tired, do a small task or two and then rest
  • Don’t do windows, raking leaves, cleaning out of gutters or shovel snow (see our post about shoveling snow while injured)

TIP FOR EVERYBODY:  Ultimately, the best solution is to have family members or friends help you with your day-to-day chores until you have recovered. If that’s not possible, you have two goals:

  1. Space the chores out over time so you can continue to take rest breaks. An example is to change the sheets on the beds one bed p/day vs. all the beds in one day.
  2. Think about your safety, first. That means you’ll have to think about how you’re going to accomplish the chore ahead of time vs. just doing them as part of your routine or a habit.

Recognize you are injured and not able to do all tasks well, if at all. The biggest gift you can give yourself is let some of the cleanliness go. It’s only temporary. If others help you, be thankful for their help and don’t criticize or grumble about the outcome. You are compromised and are in a special situation; this too shall pass. 

Regardless of the suggestions, take into consideration your injury, safety first, and always follow your doctor’s advice! Can you take a moment to help the injured and add your helpful tip?

4 thoughts on “Doing Household Chores with an Injury

    1. CastCoverz! Post author

      Hi, Amanda!
      Thank you for reading and replying. We’re sorry if you or someone you love is in need of our products and/or our expertise.
      We completely understand hiring help is expensive. But, we’ve learned that if you’re in need, the kind-hearted people in your life WANT to help.
      The owner of CastCoverz!, Annette, lives alone and had a very serious injury due to a fall. She couldn’t care for herself for about 2 months while she recuperated.
      Then she had an intense rehabilitation for another 4 months. She also had a puppy that needed a foster family.
      She HAD to put her independence aside and put the call out to friends and family, near and far.
      And she received so much help she had to keep a schedule!

      BONUS: Their gift of kindness far outweighed the memories of her rehabilitation and recovery.
      Now she pays their kindness forward by helping others in the same situation.

      We are SO glad you brought this perspective to this post.
      We hope this was helpful.

      Feel Better, Heal Better
      The CastCoverz! Care Team

      Reply
      1. Amanda

        I am in desperate need to learn how to do chores without using my foot. And for some reason this article was top in the Google search. All my friends have family, jobs and lives, and have no time to help me. I live alone and my family doesn’t live in my state. I can’t afford someone to do the chores for me. So I am looking for an article for actual tips how to do chores when my foot does not operate. Not just telling me get someone else to do it. This article comes off condescending, naïve and clueless for people with injuries that really need to learn how to do chores for themselves. And whether you can have people help you or not. Which I don’t. I’m not going be able to use my foot for probably 4 months. So my friends that need to raise their families and have significant others and careers are not going to be able to do clean my house, do my dishes and cook for me every day. This article title is very misleading

        Reply
        1. CastCoverz! Post author

          Amanda,
          We’re very sorry you’re struggling with your “foot that does not operate.” Our other reply to you in this article suggests putting your concern for others aside and kindly ask for help from your friends. Another thought, do you have co-workers or neighbors you could ask for help? Most people want to help. They sometimes just need to be asked. Plus, if you spread out their help among many, it releases you from feeling like a burden to others.

          All that aside, the first 2-3 weeks of an injury is all about healing and getting the pain managed. Then you can start very slowly learning what you can or can’t do. Most humans are born as bi-peds, having 2 feet to stand on and be mobile. You only have one, right now. You must accept that you can’t do things that you normally could. When you lose the use of one, even temporarily, adjustments must be made. You’re injured. Your very first priority is to heal. You may have to let some of your cleaning needs go, just for this season. For example, use paper plates so you don’t have dishes to wash. Or if a friend drops off food, ask if they can clean your dishes for you before they leave. If your family is too far to come help and wish they could ask them to pitch in and get a gift certificate for a cleaning service. Or Venmo you the cost. I hope some of these help.

          We are in a bit of a vacuum to adequately help you. You didn’t share if you’re on crutches, Lofstrand or standard, if you’re in a wheelchair or using a walker. There will be necessary adaptive changes depending on the mobility assistance you’re using. You also didn’t share if you’re in a cast or boot or ex-fix. If a cast is it above or below your knee? Do you have one-level living? Can you drive? Are you in the US or abroad?

          You may be feeling very down and possibly hopeless. Be assured this too shall pass! It will only be a page in one of your chapters of life. We are on your side and we do understand. The owner’s daughter has broken 22 bones and we’ve helped hundreds of thousands orthopedic patients over 14 years, so we’ve learned a thing or two, and share that with our customers. But, we also know the path our customers need to take to recover well: #1 Follow doctor’s orders #2 Acceptance of the situation #3 Ask for help #4 Be creative in adapting to limitations and then share with others. We’ve learned a lot from many of them. Some of their ideas are in this article and others were shared in this blog. Other suggestions have come from doctors or from our team. May we suggest shifting the way you view us (“condescending, naïve, and clueless”) to considering us as a trusted source who truly want to help you. Please help us help you with more information so we can give you our best recommendations.

          Keep that leg elevated,
          Your CastCoverz! Care Team

          Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.