Recently my husband and I moved house. My first thought about moving was pure dread. Moving involved hard work! I honestly thought this would set me further back. Was I ready to move? Would I be able to do anything? I just wanted to stay in my own comfort zone, which was on the couch in our small comfortable apartment!

Too many thoughts running through my head. Moving is hard on us all at the best of times, however moving with ME/CFS well that sounds like an extremely hard challenge.

During the move, I surprised myself and ended up managing really well. I came up with a few pointers to share for all other sufferers out there.

Take all the help you can get. If you have friends or family around ask for their help. Any helping hand will do, it helps take the pressure of yourself and your other half.

Pace yourself. Avoid any attempts to try and keep up with everyone else. I say this because I wanted to try and keep up with everyone else, in reality you can’t! Keep at your own pace, it may not seem like much but at least you are helping.

Pack early. About a week before we moved I started packing. Everyday I would pack a few boxes up of stuff. Depending on how I was going some days I managed 6 and some only 1. I would pack them up then my husband or family would take the boxes over to the new place. This brings me to my next step.

Move over a week. It worked out that we were still in our old place and we already had the keys to our new place. This gave us a week to move. It is much easier if your other half is unable to get time off work, you have an illness and can’t manage a lot. It gives you more time to be able to do things.

Keep calm. Avoid panicking or stressing. It will all get done eventually. Things always have a way of working themselves out.

Avoid cleaning. I was told to avoid cleaning. The reason being as the chemicals might upset me. I went ahead and ignored this advice, it left me feeling not very good for a few hours. If you want to attempt any cleaning just avoid all chemicals and sprays. The chemicals will probably upset your system as us sufferers are super sensitive to everything.

Rest breaks. Take plenty of rest breaks, only you know when you need them. Make sure you listen to what your body needs.

Don’t forget to eat. Snacks on hand are always helpful. We all need food to keep us fueled, if your helping out make sure you have snacks on hand otherwise you may run out of energy very fast.

Make a list. My very last tip is to make a list of everything that needs to be done for the move. There are a lot of things to do during a move and it easy to forget. Things like getting your mail redirected is a good idea, saves you having to update your address straight away for everything.

If all isn’t going to plan, organise for the couch or bed to be setup first! This is so you can crash out and let your helpers sort it out.

Remember moving is a big thing, a lot of people go through stresses during a move and completely dread moving. Try and look on the positive side of the move. For some of us it might be your first home that has been purchased, moving in with your boyfriend/ girlfriend, a change of scenery, a new area, or starting up a business. A change of scenery can do wonders. I was deep down excited about moving, my husband and I had been living in a small apartment for over 3 and 1/2 years. The past year I knew every single brick in that apartment after spending day and night in it. Our new place has a giant back yard and it is only a 4 minute walk to the mall. I am looking forward to spending plenty of time in my back yard.

Suffering with an illness can put our lives on hold for some time, however we do need to try and live our lives as best as we can. I have just proved to myself that I can do it, which is another massive step in my recovery.

Lennae

xxx