Doing the housework when you have Parkinson's
Parkinson’s symptoms can make keeping the house clean and tidy more difficult. Here, we share people's tips on how they manage the housework.
"I suggest cleaning one room at a time. Or polish and dust one day and use the vacuum cleaner the next."
"I use a cordless cleaner as I found the weight of a normal vacuum difficult. If the machine has a ball or swivel joint the direction of travel can be controlled by wrist action – which gives the wrist helpful exercise too!"
"Break up the jobs that need doing into manageable chunks. Rest when your body tells you to."
"My mum gives my dad the dishes to dry as he sits at the table. This means he gets to help and doesn't worry about dropping them."
"I have a cleaner once a week. Otherwise I usually do my housework first thing as I tend to get worse as the day progresses."
"To put a clean duvet cover on a duvet, use a large bulldog clip to hold each corner of the duvet inside the cover, while you put the next corner in. This means you can work with one corner at a time, so it's easier to manage."
"I used to help clean for a friend with Parkinson's. She would dust and fold washing with music from the rat pack playing in the background – music was essential to help her move smoothly."
"Get someone to help where possible, even if it's just dusting the places you can no longer reach."
"I find doing tasks much, much more slowly and far less frequently works for me."