I am currently in the process of deciding what I decor I want in my bedroom. We have been putting off decorating and refurbishing my bedroom for the last couple of years because of the impact it will have on my M.E. That is the topic of this blog.
My room hasn’t been redecorated since 1997, I was 20 years old and engaged. EEEK! Yes, there has been a time when I wasn’t single, it was a very long time ago though! This was after I moved out of the parental home for the first time and had to move back in. I remember my fiance and I decorating my room and I smile when I remember wanting ‘squishy’ soft carpet that felt gorgeous beneath my always bare feet.
The ‘squishy’ carpet has long since worn away and the decor has looked (very) dated for a while – something I am very aware of now I sometimes have to hold Skype Directors meetings from BED if I am having a flared day. With everything going on health-wise, decorating my room simply took the back seat. My room is my sanctuary and is the only place I feel safe to ‘give in’ fully to my flare-ups, it’s where I get flat. To say that I have neglected my ‘sanctuary’ is an understatement. Not only does it need redecorating but I’ve known that my entire bed needed replacing for at least 5 years. My groaning back tells me that every morning as does the creaking bed frame that has seen better days. Unfortunately, my bank balance is what has prevented that from being replaced.
My entire life is contained within one 15 x 12 bedroom (and a bit of loft space) so I have cupboards inside cupboards and much of my bits and bobs are stuffed away from view inside an old wardrobe. An ex-boyfriend once described my wardrobe as being like Mary Poppin’s bag, EVERYTHING could be found in there! Bits fall out every time I open the wardrobe doors. But, it’s MY stuff and MY room. That’s why I haven’t felt an urgent need to overhaul my room…until now. The problem my family and I are having is trying to work out how to execute damage limitation with my M.E.
Clutter and being out of a routine are triggers for my M.E It’s enough of an issue when my room or Foggy HQ are a little bit cluttered, I’m not looking forward to seeing how it reacts to my room being torn apart and having bits rebuilt! I’ll be using our spare room for the duration of the refurbishment and that means MEGA clutter! The spare room has its own furniture. My daily necessities will be in addition to that. Boxes and bags piled on top of each other will be the norm for at least a couple of weeks. I can feel myself flaring just thinking about it. The energy I’ll be wasting just looking for stuff I need……can I cry now?
Then there’s odour sensitivity. Yes, my M.E. is even having an impact on the type of paint we will be using. Our decorator has suggested using a non-oil based paint that has less of an odour, but it takes much longer to dry. As a family, we’ve had to weigh up which would be worse for me. The length of time or the smell. We decided minimising the smell would be of greater benefit to me. I am allergic to the smell of our tumble dryer (no one else can smell anything but the odour causes my eyes to stream and I choke/cough…a lot)….so the chances of me not being allergic/sensitive to the non-oil-based paint are not very high!! Paws crossed, I’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Decorators and builders are noisy. That’s a fact of life and I am well aware that I can’t expect them to work in complete silence for over 2 weeks. They will be knocking down walls, ripping out windows and generally ripping my room apart. None of which can be done quietly. Add to that chatter and a radio and I am going to struggle to have any peace and quiet – the spare room is next door to my room so won’t be a replacement sanctuary while the work is carried out.
There may also be health benefits from having my room overhauled. The carpet underlay has disintegrated and leaves a layer of dust post-vacuuming (it gets sucked through the carpet), I often wonder if this adds to my sinus/allergy problems. The floorboards creak VERY noisily (underlay has perished and is causing issues between the floorboards…apparently) and cause my noise sensitivity to flare every day, those will be sorted during the refurbishment too so BONUS! In addition to that, my double glazed window surround has also perished and there are issues with the brickwork, there is a suspicion of damp. Hopefully, that can be rectified and if I do have any issues resulting from damp, they will go away sharpish!
The benefits certainly outweigh the inconvenience and guaranteed M.E flare-ups. Thank you Bank of Mum and Dad for this much-needed refurb, I’m sure they are very happy in the knowledge that a lovely new bedroom means I’ll spend even more time up there! The thing I’m most looking forward to? Another ‘squishy’ carpet!! I always walk barefoot around the house, much to the annoyance of my parents.
Love
Sally (and Foggy OBVIOUSLY)
xxxxxx