My Hygge-Day Cart

 One of the issues with EDS or any chronic disease, is the finite energy we have in a day. Getting dressed takes energy. Making meals takes energy. Getting in & out of a bath takes energy. And unlike a normal person, my energy is acutely limited. Some days I have a little more, and that's when chores get done. Other days I stay in my PJs and do little more than plan the next week's menus and make appointments. There is an amazing article that describes this energy juggling perfectly, RIGHT HERE.

Counting spoons is mentally exhausting. After decades of counting I tend to have a good idea how many spoons I have for the day by lunchtime, but things still happen. Some days I just need to get things done and "steal" my spoons from the next day, and as my body continues it's slow downward spiral I am spending more days than I'd like to admit, confined to the sofa. 

These down days, when even getting dressed takes more energy than I can manage, I try to think of as hygge days. Hygge is described as "a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being." So rather than feeling sorry for myself, I enjoy quiet activities that give me something to look forward to, rather than dreading my enforced days of rest.

To keep many of the things I'll want on hygge days at hand, I have put together a pretty little rolling cart that can travel from bedside, to sofa, to reading chair. As my needs change I'll need to update what's on my cart, but for now it's streamlined towards being able to get a few things done, and quiet restful activities I can do when my arthritis/pain/migraine/tummy/lack of energy is in full grumpiness.

On the top shelf is: my journal Bible, my current devotional books, my current recreational reading, and my journal.

I also have a small caddy for my planner and planner stickers, various pens, pencils, and Crayola Twistables, and sticky notes.

There are also my reading glasses, a microwaveable lavender-stuffed heated owl stuffie, my tea "sippy cup," (unbreakable and spill-resistant) ginger mints, lemon drops, and a pair of LED candles.

The middle shelf holds my colored pencils and brush markers, and hand lotion. I also have my new watercolor pencils, a set of coloring books, and the family binder here.

The family binder is where I keep to-do lists, shopping lists, weekly menus, cleaning schedules, holiday ideas... I like to think of it as my portable brain, because if it needs to get done or is a project in the works that requires more room than my tiny portable planner, it's in the binder.

The middle shelf also holds three small canisters, and in these are: my Gelatos, washi tape, pencil lead & sharpener, eraser & scissors, lip balm, inhaler, and my tablet's charging cord.

The bottom shelf holds a super soft throw blanket, my neck pillow, two pair of fat fluffy socks, and an itty bitty pushpin board I can use as a portable war room.

The war room still exists within the master bedroom closet, but that is slowly becoming a sound studio for my daughter. I am also finding that I do most of my praying first thing in the morning before she's awake, and don't want to wake her up rustling about. So this tiny pinboard now holds my current prayers wherever I am, rather than stuck to the wall in the closet. I've even brought it out to pray in the garden a few times!

As my needs change, I will need to update what's on my cart. There will likely come a day when it holds more medical supplies than coloring utensils. But for now, this is everything I need to keep from going stir-crazy, while learning not to resent spending the time my body needs to rest and heal itself.