Household tasks

Household tasks rarely stop just because you are unwell. Cooking, laundry, and cleaning still need doing, and each one costs more energy than it looks from the outside.

The approach here is the same one that works for personal care. When a task drains you, the fix is usually in how you do it rather than how fast. Lowering the effort a task takes preserves your energy for what matters to you.

Cooking involves standing at a counter or hob, lifting and carrying, and sustained attention, often in a warm kitchen. It is one of the most frequent and most demanding household tasks.

Some ways to reduce the cost:

Sit to prep
A stool or chair at the counter removes most of the standing cost while you chop, mix, or wait.

Cook once, eat more than once
On a better day, making extra and freezing portions means future meals cost almost nothing.

Lean on appliances
A microwave, slow cooker, or air fryer asks far less of you than a hob and oven you have to stand over.

Keep no-cook options in
There will be days when even seated cooking is too much. Food that needs no preparation removes both the decision and the effort.

Laundry is deceptively heavy. Carrying the basket, bending into the machine, hanging or moving wet clothes, and folding are each a separate exertion. They are easy to stack into one draining session.

Some ways to reduce the cost:

Split it into stages
Loading, drying, and putting away do not have to happen together. Each stage can sit until you have the energy for the next.

Carry less, more often
A smaller load is easier to lift and move than a full basket, even if it means more washes.

Reduce the hanging
A tumble dryer, or an airer at a height you can reach without stretching, saves the arms-above-head cost of a high line.

Lower the folding standard
Clothes that go straight from dryer to drawer, or stay in a clean basket, are still clean.

Cleaning is the highest-exertion household category. Floors, surfaces, and the bathroom involve bending, reaching, scrubbing, and sustained effort, often combined with heat and cleaning-product fumes.

Some ways to reduce the cost:

Clean one zone, not the whole house
A single surface or a single room on any given day spreads the load and keeps things from building up.

Use lighter, longer tools
A lightweight vacuum, a long-handled duster, or a robot vacuum removes much of the bending and pushing.

Let products do the work
Leaving a cleaner to sit before you wipe means less scrubbing and less sustained effort.

Lower the standard without guilt
A home that is clean enough is a reasonable goal. The energy you save is energy for something else.

On difficult days, the strategies above may still be too much. The goal on those days is not your usual standard. It is to keep things manageable at the least energy cost to you.

Disposables for washing up
Disposable plates or compostable cutlery remove the need to wash up or load a dishwasher when you have nothing spare.

Let it wait
A sink of dishes or an unswept floor can stay until you have the energy. Very little household work is genuinely urgent.

Ask for or accept help
If someone offers, or you can arrange it, handing over a task protects your energy. That is practical, not a failure to cope.

A day where the housework waits is still a day managed. The standard that matters is the one that keeps enough energy for what you need most.

Rest Between Tasks
Household work is rarely a single task, and it usually combines several. Take short rest periods between the stages. Lying flat for two or three minutes between them can reduce the cumulative cost significantly.

Our living with ME/CFS guide covers the wider picture, including your home setup and mobility aids.