I think there are a variety of things that you might consider. Firstly with the weather we have been having, we have all had to work according to common sense in the heat. This means that our normal routines are not just changed because we want to, but the lack of energy , and the effect of having to do things at unexpected times doesnt help, plus I think we are all liable to be a bit tetchy, and notice things that irritate more quickly.
So hopefully we are now going to have a little more normal weather and be able to return to the routine that suits us. If you can leave it a few weeks , whilst you meander back to your more normal routine, you can then look round and see how things are ,in that norm.
Then the important thing is to see how your home feels to you. It is YOUR home and you do not need to make anything fit to someone elses ideas of what is tidy or practical. (Personally I have always wondered what the people who live in those ever tidy houses do in their lives. I always have music I am learning, books I am reading, poetry in mid work , and paintings half finished etc. How awful to have nothing to enjoy doing so that there is just a tidy house)
Then you could make a couple of lists. Firstly what are your basics that you must have done. So I would want to be clean myself, my clothes clean and ironed, the kitchen cupboards easy to use and the kitchen and bathroom kept clean. That doesnt mean you have to become a slave to a routine. Just that you look at what suits you, and then look at how much of a difficulty, or stress it is to keep the place at the basic level you want. If you look at that you will then be able to decide how much you can or want to do to keep to your comfort.
Then if you really want to try it in reality, you might try leaving your home, not kept up to the standard you want, by keeping to your basic clean clothes - not ironed - things left where they are easy to reach but not put away etc., You will then find out how long you can live like that, or how much it really annoys you.
Here I would say , it is how YOU like your home, not what you think other people expect , or some guilt model put on you by someone else. I have always been fiercely independant, and did not want to have anyone doing cleaning here, I didnt think they would be up to my exacting standards for what matters to me, and then they would wonder at the piles of things that I didnt mind it piling up and would be really annoyed if they tried to tidy it up.
But at the same time I was getting really uptight because my problems with my back etc I could no longer hoover under the beds and what I was able to do, ended up making my pain more, which could then stop me doing the things I wanted.
So, I have now found my best solution, and have a way of give and take that has worked for the cleaners and me and touch wood, we have worked out a pattern. There are two ladies, mother and daughter, and they come once a week, and work efficiently and quickly. They can turn the mattress over, remake my bed 4 times as quickly as I can do it now, bend down and hoover etc. I end up with a clean bathroom and kitchen carpets hoovered, kitchen floor and bathroom all cleaned and swabbed etc. Yes there are some things that they dont do as I would , and in the beginning I had to stop them "tidying" my book etc. They know what they are doing now, and I can ask them to go up steps, put new curtain hooks in, I make a note of things such as a big jar of beetroot, that now I find hard to open etc. This means that my basic requirements are covered, and all those infuriating things like pens, spoons and corn on the cob holders that have fallen into awkward spaces are sorted.
We have worked out our give and take, to suit us all, and if they have something like a drs appointment or whatever , I am easy about times or even days so long as they let me know. I also have a spare key , which now they have been coming for some time and I think are very trustworthy, and this is in one of those keysafe locks that they have a number for. This works both ways, as if I am out longer than expected, they can let themselves in and get cracking.
The biggest thing about this overall, is that I do realize that especially as my back is worse these days, that they enable me to remain independant, and live in the way I choose to, which is what matters to me. There may come a time that I will have to accept I can no longer manage, but especially given the health problems I am having at the moment, I know that the work they do is worth the money, but also it allows me to have things as I want, and it gives me a worth while way of doing things.
If you dont feel you need that constant weekly sort out, then I would have a chat with friends and perhaps your local council to find out which firms are known to do a good job, with those one off clean ups. . I am planning to have something like that when I am in the right state of mind and am making lists of what I want to do. So there are several things that I want to be removed and taken to a recycle place, and I have one very good dresser, that I want to put a big bookcase there as I am a book person. So I am also checking out other possible things I might want doing, in my own time and in my own way. That keeps you feeling in control, but I have already found once you start , you can realize that other things would be better changed. but it will be in MY time and as and when I am ready. I will not be letting anyone, family friends or whoever to make me feel guilty about the mess, or that I have to give up things that matter to me.
So I think that in the end you can find out what works best for you, and make your own choices now. Looking back over the last few months, I am sure I would have been really fed up if I was not able to sort things out at my own pace.
I am sure that you will have lots of good ideas for you to consider. Another totally different idea is to consider if you would think of perhaps letting a room to a student or a nurse at a hospital close by. You would not provide any thing for them, such as food or whatever, Rather the other way round, where you might offer a lower rent with an agreement for them to do a certain amount of cleaning each week, or some gardening. It is something totally different to think about, but I have seen this work with two different set ups. A friend wasnt able to do the physical work in her garden and it was making her miserable to see it going down hill. She ended up with a university student , who wanted to be off campus. They wanted to learn more about gardening and spent that year keeping the garden sorted, learning lots about propagating plants, the right time to prune etc etc. He has got his degree now and has gone off but keeps in touch and occasionally goes to see her. Anyway I hope that this might give you some thoughts on what you might try, and how you will choose your way. The best of luck
