Tips to conserve energy

Laundry- I use a laundry bag instead of a hamper. This way I can roll it down the stairs and then drag it to the laundry room. Also have a front loader washer and dryer that is raised up on a stand, so i don't have to bend over. (Bending over is painful for me.) Meals- I cook nutritious meals that are quick to prepare. The cases of chicken breasts are a energy saver! When i cook dinner, i make extra, so it is there for lunch or freeze for a time when there is no energy for cooking. I will also pre-slice veggies( on a good day) for salad and keep in cold water in the fridge. (3 or 4 days worth.) This way when i don't feel like making anything, i can put a handful on baby greens and eat well with no energy spent. I used to find myself going for the tea and toast, all the time, when my husband was on shift work. 5 minutes and you're done! Not a good way to eat! Mind you it's only since adding the Digestive Enzymes that i am able to eat lettuce again. Whoop whoop! Stairs- I can usually climb the first 8, then slow down to snail pace, and sometimes have to crawl up last 4. So to avoid them,as much as possible (our bedroom is upstairs) I put my clothes for the next day by my bed. In the morning when i wake up, mother nature blesses me with having to run to empty bladder with-in seconds upon waking.( You want to see someone fly down the stairs!)so by taking my clothes with me, i don,t have to go back up them. I try to save as many trips as possible. Having a warm bath before starting your day, i find helps, to losen muscles, and makes it easier to do things. Figure out what you love to do, or things that make you feel good, and find a way to do it with less energy. I find photography,sewing,slow paced beach combing, and crafts are easy energy things to do. Pretty soon, it becomes second nature and you wonder why other people waste so much energy on doing somethings. Oh, to have energy to waste!

Have you considered a sleeping bag to save you losing covers? A double one for you both or just a single for you? hugs

Fortunately for me, I don't lose the covers, my husband does, and he is warm blooded as apposed to me, and has a good sense of humour! I have tried a sleeping bag, but only when camping, and found i don't like to be that confined. (I sleep in a funny position) Same with confining clothes? Thanks for the suggestion though! I am sure it would work.

This is great! :) We need to share all the helpful tips to help conserve energy. I do the same thing with the covers, it's just that my husband gets the last laugh, I get all tangled up then he needs to help me get untangled, to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.I even fell out of bed once. For laundry, he tied a rope to my basket, I pull it room to room............God Bless....Lori:)

Janice in 20 years of caring for disabled children I have learnt my most effective survival tip is a sense of humour! Sometimes when things are really awful we can cope best by turning things into a joke. Yes there are times when we hit rock bottom and dont know how to cope and nights when we cry all night long...but still we can drag ourselves to some kind of humour in the situation and laugh! When I am with frieds who also have children with life threatening conditions we are able to laugh and cry in the same sentence, go from depths of dispair to heights of hillarity...often times people think we are totally crazy but it is how we cope and how we survive and how we support one another. Please never feel a need to appologise for joking and making light and having a laugh...where would we all be if we lost our sense of humour! Hugs

My family loves to laugh. We're kind of known for it. It's great, people will let us go to opening night of comedies for free, just to ensure some laughter! Upon seeing that I am cold-blooded my uncle suggested I hibernate over the winter. I'm thinking that that is a great idea! For energy conservation I got someone to move my dresser next to my closet, so I can look in both at once. If I'm picking stuff up, or gathering stuff to cook (ha!), I plan ahead so I can make one sweep and not have to go back for something. I actually have two hampers. If I'm to tired to hang stuff up that can be worn again I toss it in the clean hamper. Asking for help is also nice! Since most people aren't as tired as us, it's not a big deal to them to refill a glass of water when they go to get something in the kitchen. Ooh, speaking of which, I have a huge thermos that I fill up at the beginning of the day and refill my water bottle from that. If I'm going to be doing something in the morning I'll lay my clothes on my bed the night before so I don't have to get them in the morning. There's more, but I'll leave it at that for now!

Suddenly I realized that because I'm having a good day all my energy saving techniques were ones I use on good days. For sick days a huge one is I pick my camping out spot based on how many steps it takes to get to the bathroom. :) I use a huge pillow to prop myself up so I can be sort of upright. My family owns TV trays so we can still have a family dinner if I'm unable to sit all the way up and get to the table. This may sound horrible, but if I'm too tired to talk I'll put my headphones in to try to discourage people from starting up conversations with me. It sounds not very friendly, but sometimes that's just the way it is! I talk a lot on good days, so maybe it's a break for everyone!

LOVE IT! I can use that one when i don't really want to hear about engine parts!

Your Uncle has got that right! Hibernating to the warm tropics in winter does sound wonderful. I'm in.

Thank you so much everyone. My son loves room temp drinks I could never understand why. If he was to recieve a cold drink he leaves it until it is warm. Wow, the little things I never thought of. I love the one about having your camping out spot closes to the bathroom and about the dresser. I will need to remember that when Anthony Starts to sleep in his own bed OH and use the Potty!Thanks for the tips

Oh Wow, I hope I didn't offend anyone either. I had my first stroke when I was 17. Since then I have always laughed as a way to cope, I always try to smile;it makes you and others feel good. I forgot....To conserve energy in the shower, I use a chair...Lori:)

My husband's nickname for me is "Blanket Thief". I cocoon myself every night. I actually do sleep better in sleeping bags than under blankets. I too have a pillow that props me up on the bad days so that I can sort of sit upright and use the computer, but still be next to the bathroom. Unfortunately, those days I still tend to fall between the bathroom and bed. Does anyone else fall just after using the bathroom?

Sometimes I fall on the way, to the bathroom, my legs can be very weak first thing in the morning also if I stay up to late I'll fall on the way to bed....I like sleeping in a cocoon way also:) To conserve Energy when we first get a gallon of milk, my husband will pour some of the milk into a different container so I don't need to lift a gallon.......Lori:)

I do that also Lori with all my heavy items. It"s amazing how a gallon of milk feels like you're lifting the whole cow into the fridge!ha