going on a cleaning bing..

Ok, I found out last week that I will be having a total Hysterectomy on Jan 6.. and have found myself in a cleaning frenzy.. I am not sure weather its the fact that I want to get the place clean before hand, or is it some psychological reason. I was anorexic when I was in my early teens and it was a control issue.. Is this also a control issue?? Oh and I have cervical Cancer which scares me also, even though the Doctor assures me it is early not to worry.. I always clean when I get nervous.. I am just a mess.. any thoughts??

Hi. I'm sure your cleaning frenzy is a combination of a lot of things. Yes, you are preparing your home so that it will be in order while you are recovering. Nothing wrong with that!

It probably is also a way to expend nervous energy and take your mind off of what's worrying you. Cleaning the house is a healthy way to do that. In my opinion, as long as you are not making yourself crazy, obssessing over the cleaning to the point of "insanity" you are probably helping yourself deal with your fears. Just don't overdo it and try to allow yourself some quiet time to think about things so that you can deal with them.

Best wishes to you!

My house is cleaner than it has been in 10 years. I don't believe that you will find a dust bunny ANYWHERE. I have been doing this since I schedule in late October. I even went as far as to have new carpeting installed, bought new comfortable chairs, and a few other new things. I wanted to make sure that everything was clean, comfortable and in good working condition so that I have NO WORRIES while in recovery.

I'm a pretty neat person to start with, but this put me into psycho cleaning mode. You are not alone. I have been driving DH nuts. I need to teach him how to use the vacuum now.

I also have enough food stocked up that we could actually go without shopping for at least 6 months and with the exception of milk and eggs, I would not run out of anything. The local store has milk and eggs, so DH can pick them up on the way home from work.

I think you are just like everyone else on this site. I think everyone probably found themselves cleaning way more than usual. It does help to keep your mind occupied so that you don't think to hard.

No better time to have a cleaning frenzy than before your hyst. You're going to need to rest then. It helped me pass the time and my nervous energy to get things ready. I froze meals, even cleaned out closets. ;-)

hang in there,

Ok so I am not crazy that's a good thing.. I am going to leave my Vacuum cleaner out so that everyone can use it when they come to visit..
My husband is a wood carver and uses our living room to work so If I can't vacuum for 6 weeks I might need a shovel to get all the wood chips out... lol.. Thanks everyone!!

There should be some way to match up those with nervous pre-op energy whose houses are already spotless with those in recovery whose homes are now showing the LACK of attention or even those who are pre-op whose condition means they can't clean. . . .

Husbands are so useful - mine built a chicken house and got us 4 hens in the time he took off work to look after me post-op. I'm so glad he didn't do the woodwork in the living room and he did reasonable looking after as well

Enjoy your sparkling home. Hang on to your sense of humour - that will be at least as useful as the clean house.

J

How about telling your dh to vacume up after himself? What a concept, right? ;-)

If you are in a cleaning frenzy can you come to my house!! lol

I think the cleaning frenzy is related to a few things, in my opinion anyway....I cleaned my house like crazy because I knew I would not be able to after surgery! And new that people would be coming by to help out and I didn't want them to see my messy house...could it be a control issue for you...possibly...but look at it as a positive...you are preparing for surgery...getting all your ducks in a row...organize your clothes...get stocked up on household products like TP, laundry soap etc, because you will not feel like shopping after surgery!

If you feel like you are having issues like you did when you were anorexic..talk to a counselor...prevent the issues before the come up.

I will keep you in my prayers! Take care

I am going crazy stessing about my house, I have this weekend left and a long list of things that I don't think I will have time to finish, I think my reason for the cleaning frenzie is the also the fact that I know people will come over to help out, and I don't want to be sitting there boared and looking at all the things that need to be cleaned but can't.
Your not alone....just hang in there!

thanks all, I went out today and got lots of new bedding for my "nest" lol.. got me some slippers and a robe so I don't show the whole world my butt.. had a good day and will resume my cleaning in the morning. things are starting to look pretty good.. I must say..