I haven’t seen the show, and therefore have very little to say about it! :D
However, as someone with severe mental illness, who is in a family with many disabled and chronically ill folks, it can be incredibly difficult for folks who are struggling to do basic maintenance. This can include self care, like showering, brushing your teeth, eating… I myself got a cavity for every month I was semi-homeless because my mental state was so bad, imagine someone whose whole life looks like that! This can also exclude environmental maintenance, banishing clutter and messiness. I have OCD and chronic depression. As the depression gets worse, I have less energy to do anything to clean and help my OCD. As it gets better, the OCD gets worse, and messes bother me more.
The show, which I can’t remember the title of at the moment, (Kondo is her name, right?) likely goes over environmental maintenance for the average joe. This means that she doesn’t specifically target issues that those with disabilities and chronic mental/physical illness face.
To be less depressing, here’s a list of suggestions for those who, like me and my family, struggle with self care and environmental maintenance!
If you’re only able to do ONE thing to take care of yourself… BIRD BATH. This means taking a wet wash cloth to areas prone to infection/odor. FIRST focus on your beautiful face. THEN move on to the gross bits. Pits, privates, butt, underboob, anywhere that gets… rank. Especially focus on areas that get ITCHY or RED. This irritation can indicate infections, and the only way to fix that is to CLEAN them.
If you’re able to do two things, or did the first thing yesterday, and need to keep doing various things to have a decent cycle of cleanliness going, you can next go for oral health. BRUSH AND FLOSS THEM SUCKERS. I’m not even moderately joking, I absolutely picked up 6 cavities in 6 months at my low point. And getting those fixed? Painful, expensive, and only a partial fix. You can’t un-fuck your teeth, not fully. If you ABSOLUTELY CANNOT brush/floss, it’s okay! Get a fluoride mouthwash, and swish. Then, scrub at your teeth with a DRY, CLEAN washcloth. This isn’t as good as a full brush/floss, but it’ll remove plaque and make you feel less like garbage.
Finally, if you can’t cook, can’t figure out EATING… Sustenance mush. Yes, it’s gross and makes you feel like a baby, and it may not be overly healthy, but you can make it with pretty much anything, and it keeps you alive. Just… combine shit until you get a good consistency/flavor, and microwave it if you want it hot. If you feel gross eating mush, get some tortillas or bread and make it into a sandwich/burrito.
ENVIRONMENTAL MAINTENENCE:
The most important thing to ensure you’ve got done is DISINFECTION. No, I don’t mean bleach everything. I mean if it smells bad, or is discolored/gross, get it out. Even if that means throwing the dish it’s in away because you don’t have energy to do dishes. NEVER bring food outside of the kitchen if you can help it, as it makes it easier to leave wrappers, dishes, and FOOD REMAINS for extended periods of time… WHICH IS A MAJOR HEALTH HAZARD. This invites pests to become our roomies, and can lead to illness, or further degrading of your space through harder to reverse means such as mold or rot. Get those used pads/tampons into the garbage, get that laundry into the hamper and at least febreeze it, and get all your food/moist clothes and towels out.
NEXT: NEVER, and I mean NEVER underestimate the butt-scoot. Scooting around a space on your butt to keep cleaning when you’re too low on energy to walk/stand has saved my life. Yes, I feel like a pug, a rolly-polly bug, rubbing my butt on the rug (props to those who get it) but it lets me keep going when I would otherwise give up and curl up in bed for the rest of day and say “whatever, it doesn’t matter anyway.”
Lastly, don’t be afraid to ask for help! Find a friendly individual with better maintenence skills than you, and have them assist! Most friends and non-jerk family don’t want you living in a way that’s bad for your physical and mental health (which living in filth certainly is), and will be happy to problem solve with you, or even help you physically clean. Even if they just keep you on task and motivated, that’s something!
You don’t have to be Neurotypical or Able-bodied to improve your life. Even if Miss Kondo can’t provide you the help you need, empower her as a WOC who is empowering others to improve their lives. If your mental or physical illness is preventing you from maintaining basic self care and environmental maintenance, you should absolutely find professional help, and ensure not to give up. Giving up allows us to spiral, to get worse, and even when it’s hard, we can’t let ourselves crumble.
