I’m not normally home. I work two jobs. My 20 year old high functioning autistic son and my messy beagle have let the house get dirty and I am behind on laundry. Will I be up to doing laundry while I’m home and mopping floors or vaccuuming? I know I won’t be able to move furniture but I’m hoping I can do basic house stuff or I’ll go insane sitting around looking at it. If not, I’ll have to take a day off work and really work on it before surgery or I’ll go nuts.

Yes, I think you'll be fine to do housework while recovering, although be careful lifting those laundry baskets, nothing more than 10 pounds until six weeks post-op. But do be kind to yourself and try to rest as you'll have just undergone a major operation.

I’m not normally home. I work two jobs. My 20 year old high functioning autistic son and my messy beagle have let the house get dirty and I am behind on laundry. Will I be up to doing laundry while I’m home and mopping floors or vaccuuming? I know I won’t be able to move furniture but I’m hoping I can do basic house stuff or I’ll go insane sitting around looking at it. If not, I’ll have to take a day off work and really work on it before surgery or I’ll go nuts.

You will be able to clean and do laundry just make sure you don't lift anything to heavy. If you start hurting, take a break. I would definitely take a day off to get things together before the surgery as well.

1 minute ago, GradyCat said:

Yes, I think you'll be fine to do housework while recovering, although be careful lifting those laundry baskets, nothing more than 10 pounds until six weeks post-op. But do be kind to yourself and try to rest as you'll have just undergone a major operation.

I'll see if I can get my son to carry the baskets for me.. as long as I can bend over and pick things up and put them away Ill be happy.

8 minutes ago, NIKKIBEVERLY said:

You will be able to clean and do laundry just make sure you don't lift anything to heavy. If you start hurting, take a break. I would definitely take a day off to get things together before the surgery as well.

Id have to try to figure out which job I can take a day off from. One job is hourly and I need the money.. the other job is gearing up for a trial and I've taken a lot of time off for drs. appointments lately. I know I only work 4-11 at my second job one Saturday. Maybe if I get up early, I'll have most of the day to clean before my second job.. and I have off my second job on Tuesday and Thursday nights. I'll have to put some thought into this. I have 4 weeks from today til surgery so there is still time.

No vacuuming or anything else that uses that push pull movement for 2 months. Dusting, wiping sides etc is fine.

You don’t want to do anything that impedes your healing . If you have a partner make the most of it and let them know you are not allowed to do it so they will have to help

2 minutes ago, elcee said:

No vacuuming or anything else that uses that push pull movement for 2 months. Dusting, wiping sides etc is fine.

You don’t want to do anything that impedes your healing . If you have a partner make the most of it and let them know you are not allowed to do it so they will have to help

No partner. I have a son and a dog. I'll see what I can get my son to help me with... pull his xbox controller from his hands. LOL He won't vaccuum. He can't stand the noise but he can help with dishes and laundry and picking up stuff and taking out the trash. I'll just have to run the vacuum while he's asleep the weekend before surgery and it will just have to do until then. He can help me mop though. Most of what I need to do is laundry. I never seem to find a few hours to do it and now I need more than a few hours. I need to sort clothes too so I can get rid of some. His and mine and clean the fridge. I caught my son wearing size 14 jeans from Junior high the other day. Sadly he still fits into them even though he is 20. They are just a little short LOL

I couldn't bend over for at least a week, if not more. I thought that I would go stir crazy but the surgery really did take a lot out of me.

I didn't do a whole lot when I was home after surgery, mainly because I lacked the stamina to be able to do it. You get wore out walking down the hall

You probably won't have any real physical restrictions other than weight, but you'll be limited by your body channeling everything into healing itself. Just do what you can, take a break when you need it, and be prepared to work a lot more slowly than you've probably ever worked in your life.

Even now, 5 months out, I have problems sometimes doing all of the housework. There are just certain things that tend to wear me out.

5 minutes ago, Kara Eckel said:

I didn't do a whole lot when I was home after surgery, mainly because I lacked the stamina to be able to do it. You get wore out walking down the hall

You probably won't have any real physical restrictions other than weight, but you'll be limited by your body channeling everything into healing itself. Just do what you can, take a break when you need it, and be prepared to work a lot more slowly than you've probably ever worked in your life.

Even now, 5 months out, I have problems sometimes doing all of the housework. There are just certain things that tend to wear me out.

Im trying to figure out when I can take a day off. I have a half day off scheduled on 2/20. I have a meeting with my son's case worker and my pre-op appointment. I could take the afternoon off and work on the house. I'm actually off at my second job that night for a change so that may be my best bet. I start liquids the following Monday for 2 weeks leading up to surgery. If I can get the house semi presentable in that afternoon/evening, I'll feel better. I may not get to my son's bedroom but I can at least get the living room and kitchen and bathroom cleaned and laundry done. When I'm off for those 2 weeks I'll see what I can do about the rest of it.

Thanks!

I would highly recommend taking some time off to get your house in order before your surgery. You're going to want a peaceful home environment for your recovery. Others on here seem to be not so affected by the surgery and apparently could do housework after surgery, but everyone is different. I couldn't do much for weeks. My doctor strictly prohibited push/pull movements like vacuuming and I couldn't lift anything more than 6 lbs for 3 weeks.

Have you considered hiring a cleaner? Sometimes it ends up being cheaper and more efficient to hire a cleaner than to take time off work... I have really relied on mine since my surgery and she likes having the extra work.