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I'm trying to keep my meals simple.  I got a bag of vegetables (a potato,  carrots, celery, onion) from the bargain shelf for 99 cents. I cooked those vegetables and that's what I ate for lunch and the leftovers for dinner. I  was full! So for 99 cents I had 2 meals. (I actually still have some carrots, onion, celery left for other dishes.)

But I've also found that I can create really satisfying meals that use simple ingredients but don't feel simple.  I made a tray of enchiladas using things I had on hand and making a homemade enchilada sauce. It was a hit! Not expensive at all! So satisfying that my daughter made it for her family the next week. 

I think portion size is an important aspect of saving money and using resources wisely. I'm not advocating going hungry but my daughter and I have learned we need less amounts of food to still be satisfied.  One piece of chicken but maybe seconds on the cooked carrots (which are cheaper).Having one cookie instead of 2 or 3! 

A fruit salad seems more satisfying than one piece of fruit. 5 people at the table means 5 fruits cut up in the bowl. Everyone feels more satisfied. I'll put out a salad with homemade dressing to eat 1st while the rest of the meal finishes cooking (only when I get bargain lettuce or greens).  This starts to fill them up. Or a loaf of homemade bread & butter  or jam. I can make breads cheaply. They're more likely to be satisfied with smaller portions at dinner if I do that. 

I cut desserts in smaller pieces. I experiment with using less of an ingredient in recipes. Sometimes it doesn't work but often it does (less cheese  or less sugar or less nuts, fruit, milk, eggs,  etc).

May I have your tortilla recipe? Mine always turn out tough, even when resting the dough. 
Thank you! 

Yesterday I canned tomato soup. There was leftover soup in the saucepan so I ate it for breakfast....hahaha ...and lunch.

I've noticed with canning stews that the meat you use goes so much further and you put less in each jar with the vegetables than if you cook a stew on the stovetop for fresh eating. I try and do I jar per meal as my husband needs lots of calories due to his health condition.

The tortillas are a great idea Donna and the information about children having syrup,butter and biscuits ( scones here) resonated. I've often told folks you use less flour to make biscuits than a loaf of bread.  Same with pikelets.

We are opposite seasons so are in Autumn here. Today will be seed sowing day of Winter veg. I also went through my fridge and freezer and took out little open packets of this and that...coconut, choc chips, dates etc and plan to make up 1/2 baking  recipes to use them up.   Sticking with normal life is healthy for our brain.   Bless you Donna and everyone on the Forum.

Re-organizing the pantry is on my list of things to do. I’m trying a new household schedule since I have retired, which includes allotting time for deep cleaning a room weekly and for projects such as the pantry, closets, repairs, garden, painting and more. I did this to a degree while still working but it’s more organized and not as rushed now. I don’t officially spring clean since I do a weekly deep cleaning of a room or two, including windows, but there are things I do just in the spring like check a/c filters, make repairs to screens if needed, rinse the siding, that sort of thing. 

I am working to avoid food waste and cut down on portions, without losing nutrients and protein.

My mother-in-law thought no meal could be served without bread.  My mother didn’t serve bread at most meals because she lived through the depression eating a lot of fry bread ( her mother was half Native American) and she got really tired of bread as a meal and even having it with a meal as a tummy filler.  For the same reason my father refused to eat crowder peas. He ate way too many meals of just peas growing up in the depression. 

I’ll accept  my self- challenge to re-do my pantry by next post. Here goes!

Tara L, the tortilla recipe is 1 & 1/2 cups flour, 1/4 cup softened butter. 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 cup warm water.   I am using an Italian flour right now because I have gluten sensitivities.    The equivalent would be a mix of King Arthur bread flour and all purpose flour.  Or bobs red mill bread and all purpose. 

This recipe makes four tortillas the size of a flat cast iron skillet.  I knead it by hand until soft, if it is too sticky I add about 5 grams of flour.  I have started weighing my flour by grams and I am still experimenting with this.  This has made a nice soft tortilla.  You can go on Caputoflour.com and get their recipe.  It is difficult for me to give a recipe right now because I am trying to find flour that my body can digest without issues.  

Vegetables are incredibly versatile. Three days ago, I got two leeks for one euro. That's very cheap. One leek is enough to prepare dinner for three people.
I'm also in the process of restocking my supplies. Prices are going to rise sharply in the coming weeks, and we don't know how the world will develop. These are uncertain times—even in Europe.
Since I'm gluten intolerant, I need different foods. For me, legumes are a real treasure. I have a mill that I can use to grind lentils, peas, beans, and chickpeas. These flours are very versatile and make excellent substitutes for wheat flour. Even I can make pasta from them now.
So, my preparation also involves creatively developing alternative recipes.

I have been back filling my pantry a bit, especially when things are on sale.  I also am getting another sourdough starter going as when I went to use mine I saw a chip out of the rim . Since I could not be sure where that chip ended up, I sadly tossed it but have another one going now.  Have some seedlings started  - the tomatoes are under a grow light and look good.  I recently gave away some spider plant babies and used some leftover small plastic cups to keep them in some soil.  I realized that they were a great size to start seeds in so I that is what I will be going with - much cheaper than those things intended for gardening and they are only for a short time before the seedlings can be planted out.  

I was going to try my hand at tortillas so I would also appreciate your recipe...

Sara M, scroll back up and you will find the recipe up above.  Some of us were typing comments at the same time so the recipe is up above. 

I'm so thankful I found your blog...it's amazingly useful and peaceful to read at this time.  I feel myself calming and feeling more balanced just reading your words.  

My husband introduced me to biscuits and syrup.  His grandparents fed him this for dinner often when the pantry was bare.  Margaret,  I like your idea for fruit salad....what a simple but economical dessert.   

I'm in SE Missouri and looking very much forward to getting back outside in the sunshine.   Thank you for this wonderful blog!  it really helps the spirits. 

Tracy M, we are happy that you found us here. Welcome to the forum and I am happy that you have found a place to find calm. :)

When we had five children at home many meals were filled out with biscuits to fill up those bellies.  I made them so often that I think I could have made them in my sleep back then. 

We are no longer able to grow food because of health concerns so we gifted raised beds and pots to dear friends.  They always share produce with us in the summer.

We are working to get our pantry in better shape.  We did a big shop at Aldi this week and so far prices have not gone up.  I was surprised but I doubt this will last.

I've been eating my einkorn bread since I made it, and I haven't had any digestive issues. :) I'm not so sure about the Italian flour. I'm going to try it again and make some tortillas. Grandma Donna's yummy looking tortillas are too hard to resist! If I still have a problem with the Italian flour,I think it's because it's not getting the 18 hour ferment like the einkorn bread. Because I can eat bread now, my whole menu changed again! 

I lived a good portion of my youth with my maternal grands.   They were Hispanic.  No matter which meal we were having, certain foods were always on the table.  Those were handmade tortillas, pinto beans, and red chile sauce.  And several times a week, those were the whole meal.  They were so delicious and filling that I never heard anyone complain.  My grandma rolled SO many tortillas in her life that she wore through the gold of her wedding ring several times!     The jeweler would remake the broken part and it would be thick and sturdy....for a few years!  She also had no feeling in her fingertips because she only used her hands on the cast iron grill.  She made them every morning.  Her sister made them every afternoon.  If my Tia saw me walking home from school, she'd holler out her kitchen window and bring me and my friend a warm tortilla with whipped honey.  Yum!!

I needed a bigger pantry so I moved a metal shelving rack into one of my guest rooms. I do not heat that room much as the vents are closed and I keep the door shut. It has worked out really well and IF someone were to need to sleep in there they can fall asleep looking at all of my home canning.

I discovered that I made too many jams and jellies last year so the plan for this year is to just can the fruit that I get. 

We are getting together as a family this weekend to discuss gardening, who plants what and how much do we need. We really just stick to the basics for the most part. 

I like to fill out meals by offering a pickle plate and will offer olives on it when I have them.

I had to grocery shop today, they had 2# bags of carrots 3/5.00 so I bought them and shared with others, carrots last a long time in the fridge.

We do a version of Claras poor mans meal only using smoked sausage dogs as I can usually get them for the cost of good hotdogs. In the summer we add zucchini to the mix and it is so good. Leftover corn cut from the cob in it is so good.

My grandparents let us mix pancake syrup and peanut butter together and we ate that on biscuits, crackers, or bread.  They used alot of sorghum in place of the syrup as family made it on the homeplace. I love sorghum to this day. We keep bees so use honey mixed with peanut butter sometimes.

I don't really spring clean so much anymore as I clean one room really well every week and vacuum almost daily (pets) although I will be cleaning windows as soon as possible. 

I am so thankful for Spring! I noticed the wild onions are coming up, time for a baked potato with sour cream and wild onions on top.

Also, we went to Aldi and Trader Joe's today.  No price increases or shortages.  In our part of Kansas, gas is about 70¢ per gallon higher than last month.  I did buy about 6 extra cans to deepen my pantry.

i was spring cleaning a room per week, except now I have a cold. So next week, hopefully, I can get back to it! I already did the bathroom, but now I have 3 rooms left to do. Living room, kitchen, and bedroom. That should perk things up. I've never actually done spring cleaning before, but it feels good!

I was blessed to grow up in a multi-generational home. Both my grandparents lived through the Depression. My grandfather received a purple heart in WWII. They both taught me the importance of simple meals. Bread and butter with coffee, a tomato sandwich with a garden tomato, can be some of the most satisfying meals. A lot has to do with being grateful for what you have. I remember them making me brown sugar and butter sandwiches when I was hungry. Ooh, I loved those. 

My dad actually loved tomato soup spaghetti. You make the tomato soup with either water or milk, melt American cheese into it, and pour it over spaghetti. It's one of my favorite meals. 

I grew up in NJ where garden tomatoes are aplenty in the summer. My grandmother was an orphan in the 30s and was often placed on farms in Southern NJ. She had a horrible childhood fraught with neglect and abuse, but one of her fondest memories was making fried green tomatoes. She'd get so excited to make them with me when I was little. It was so nice to see her face light up about one of the few nice memories she had from her past.

Thank you very much. So kind of you to take the time and provide the recipe to me! I can’t wait to try it! 

Oh I'm glad you posted the tortilla recipe. I must try that!  I tend to keep my pantry pretty well stocked and up to date. I just cleared out my spices two weeks ago.  I don't really spring clean anymore, although I LOVED doing that!  My house is too big, so it's one room at a time, which I don't really do often enough other than vacuum and clean toilets and sinks and counters. The sheer amount of dust in AZ - and living in the boonies on top of it, is just horrific.  I cleaned out some window/screen ledges last fall, but after a rain it's all back. It's rather depressing because a good cleaning doesn't last long.  But actually I did change some curtains out for spring today, if you call it that here - it's 101 degrees as I write. It's way too early for this heat, and shuffled around some things on my bookshelves.  Heat makes me declutter big time. Anything heavy and dark seems to increase my body temperature, lol.   I do like to clean in the fall, when I can start opening the windows.  So I guess I'm a fall-cleaning person.  I miss my smaller home when it was so very, very clean due to the size.   I'm actually looking for more basic recipes.  I need heart healthy, but my husband is very picky. He hates soups, fish, pasta, tomato based anything, salads, beans, casseroles... I cook my healthy at lunch then eat less at dinner.  I tire of cooking twice and I'm so sick of eating chicken all the time. I don't eat beef much because it's outrageously expensive with horrible cuts. So if anyone has something simple, basic and not fried or processed... lol...

Although I can no longer eat beans due to colitis, I always loved beans and rice.  It is such a simple inexpensive meal and changing the type of bean or seasonings can make the same ingredients a totally different dish.    I really miss beans in my diet!

I keep cooked rice in the fridge and if I have a small dab of something leftover, I put rice in the bottom of the bowl, add the leftover and microwave for a quick meal.   I'm not fond of chunky soups because they are too salty.  However, half a can of soup over unsalted rice makes them more palatable to me plus stretches the soup for an additional meal.  Cream of whatever soup over rice can also be a complete meal.  A bit of leftover fruit over rice with addition of whipped topping makes a nice dessert.  

Ann E - your husband sounds like my late dh.  He didn't like pasta, anything tomato, soups, pudding (too runny so switched to tapioca which was too lumpy - no win situation).  Meat, potatoes with either gravy or half a stick of butter, corn or green beans or carrots or peas no other veg.  Every once in a while, I would remind him that he was not the only person living in the house and sometimes he just had to suck it up and eat what I fixed.  Also, he did not want me to cook cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower etc. due to smell and heaven help me if he found a piece of onion in anything.

I keep a box in the garage for donations and whenever I find something to donate out it goes.  When the box is full, I take it to a thrift shop.  I have the choice of three, one supports shelter for abused women, another homeless men and the third mentally handicapped adults.  I live across the street from a low-income senior/handicapped apartment complex so will often take any clothing there first.  If no one claims it, then I add to the box.

My dad was a picky eater, and I remember my mom trying to constantly adjust the food for him. I think that's why I have the attitude I have about meals. I make bread, tortillas, yogurt, granola, soups, and sometimes we have leftovers.  When I started having my food issues and my husband and son didn't, I showed them where the eggs were and things to put in eggs, sandwich fixings, and other basics, and told them to make their own breakfast and lunch, and I'd make dinner. I told them that if they didn't want to make something that they were welcome to go hungry. :) We are pretty genial and it wasn't a hard feelings thing. I did what I could to provide the basics and dinner, and after that I didn't have any time or energy for their tomfoolery! I told them that I would be glad to make their lunch if they would do my work in exchange. :) And sometimes they took that offer!

Hannah, spring cleaning is great!  I used to love helping my grandma.  She washed down walls, as well.  She was born in the 1910s so maybe that came with the generation.  My grandma had the most immaculately clean house that I've ever seen.  To this day.

Enjoy the fruits of your labor!!

Thanks to all who are sharing their memories. My parents went through the Great Depression as well, and my mother would never eat pancakes because she said they practically lived on pancakes during the Depression. She wouldn't even cook them. A couple of times a year, my father would cook them for us. That is the only thing I remember him cooking.

The idea of doing Spring Cleaning sounds intriguing. I have been highly disorganized my whole life, and my house shows it. I recently brought two carloads of stuff to the thrift store but there is still much more to go. I have been getting discouraged because there is so much to do and here you come with the idea of Spring cleaning. I think I will get a list online of what everyone does for Spring cleaning and try it out. Sometimes I also put on the Hoarder's show. Somehow watching/listening to it while I clean spurs me on. I only put it on when I'm cleaning.

Have A Great Day Y'all!

Becky Sue

Hello again from Brisbane, Queensland (Australia) - although I'm not a native of this area, having been born and bred in north Queensland on the great Barrier Reef - seems I'm stuck here now until the end of my days as with proximity to medical facilities and everything else which aren't available up north (they send you to Brisbane for any procedures that they can't do up there) so basically we'll stay here, I guess.  Not that we have a big need for medical things as yet but we are, in my case, almost eighty and in my husband's case, almost eighty-one.  We're still active and pretty fit so hoping we stay that way.

However we don't do much in the vegetable gardens anymore as it's getting too hard for us to cart water to and from, town water is very expensive and we only have a small tank and have to cart it in buckets to water things.  I have a few herbs in pots, a passionfruit vine and a couple of dragon fruit vines which have been bearing beautifully this year.  Winter here is our best growing period as it's way too hot and humid in summer but winters are mild so perfect for growing produce if we can.

I have a well-stocked pantry in the kitchen, but also some years ago I suggested to my husband that he could fill in the empty vacant area under the internal stairs - so now that has been enclosed, has a door, and shelving with a big "drawer on wheels" at the bottom that I can wheel in and out - this keeps things like spare clothes pegs, extra bits and pieces of cleaning products, and the sort of things you don't want mingling with your food supplies.  Another lower shelf holds toilet paper and things like that, with the several other shelving holding canned supplies, sauces, coffee and tea, tins of goods and so on.  I also have an old 1930's kitchen dresser where I store things like cereal.

We don't use butter at all, never have done, so cooking would use olive oil if necessary but we don't bake too much in the line of sweets.  I used to keep some butter on hand for visitors who stayed but they are few and far between these days.  When I did have butter I used to make it spreadable and double its size by a simple method of blending it up with a couple of extra ingredients.  I don't can things (not sure I know how to be honest as it's not something that anyone I know has done here) although I do make my own cleaners, dishwasher powders, Worcestershire sauce, onion relish and things like that.

I'm not going to panic about anything but on the same token all of this has just 'growed like Topsy'.  The world is in crisis at the moment.  Fuel here is on the brink of rationing and this country, large as it is with vast distances to cover be it by road or rail, we need fuel - and we don't have it.  Renewables are just a joke, they cannot possibly supply enough for what is needed now.  Industries have come to a standstill.  Add to that the shock of the stock market crashing drastically and a lot are feeling the pain, interest rates have sky-rocketed again and the cost of living going up and up as supplies are dwindling.

We're just age pensioners so reliant on that for our income - but we do manage, and just to-day have come back from a lovely three night stay up on the Sunshine Coast in an apartment overlooking the ocean - just bliss to settle the mind into calm after all the nasty happenings in the world at present.

Ann E My husband doesn't like chicken and I have Alpha Gal which an allergy to mammal meat and their products.  I like to batch cook.  I look for chicken marked down for short date.  I will put the pieces in a baking dish, skin side down if there is skin, add garlic, onion, carrots and sometimes potatoes, cover and bake in the oven at 350 until done.  If I have a lot of pieces I will freeze some.  I like salads for lunch and often add great northern beans or black beans and might have a handful of nuts if still hungry.  For my husband I like to find short date or sale meat and will fix pot roast in the presser cooker with onion, carrot and potato.  I also make pizza using soft tortillas, tomato sauce, veggie that are on hand, for him regular sausage  for me turkey sausage and top with cheese, regular for him and plant base for me serve with a green vegetable.  Even having the same thing almost, there is extra steps.  I seemed to be stomped on what to make different so like to see what others are doing to get some ideas.  He is not big on soups either.

I have been pondering the situation of finding balance in life for some time, now. I am not in good health and neither is my husband, yet we have a very large home and garden, plus fruit trees to maintain. 

Balance, for us, is looking more like hiring things done and living on less to pay for those necessities. Insurance, utilities, yard maintenance, food, everything is going higher and higher, while salaries and retirement stays the same. We are blessed to have what God has provided, always.

We have a large food storage as we have done this for over 30 years. However, now the foods I can eat are limited so we give and donate alot. My husband can eat anything, so he is enjoying the food storage. It has always been a blessing to have our 'grocery store' as our grandchildren called it growing up. We continue to buy items we use on sale whenever we find them and make sure we have them on the shelves.

I used to clean daily and did a three times a year deep clean, but it didn't require much because I stayed on top of cleaning daily. I can no longer do that and we each do what we can. Our daughter and daughter in love, both, hire the same lady to clean and shes does an incredible job. Apparently, she loves to clean and charges reasonably by the job, not by the hour. This is another aspect of balancing life as everyone ages. 

Our children and grandchildren are precious help and are always asking us how they can help, but we try not to ask unless it is beyond our capabilities, which is usually technologically. We are very grateful for their love and care.

 I have been thinking of using the time method of doing things in order to accomplish a small amount per day in areas that are weighing on me. I have never been great with that method as I have always wanted to do it all and keep it done. These days, small accomplishments have to suffice and that has required rethinking and reproggraming my thought processes.

When there are dietary restrictions it is more difficult to cook as they did in the past. The food was so much fresher, more nutritious and safer than it is today. Gardening is the best way to obtain fresher foods unless you are in an area with heavy chemtrails. If anyone has the space for a greenhouse, any size, that is another layer of food protection.

I appreciate this space, so much, that gDonna has provided for us to share and learn from each other. May wisdom fill each of us, discernment guide us and God always be our guiding light. 

LOL.  I'm glad by you and the other two ladies, I'm not the only one. It just gets tiring making the same thing, but I refuse to eat horribly.  But "thems is fightin' words" in telling him that he's not the only person in the house! Don't think I haven't thought of saying that.  But I also laugh at your half a stick of butter - yes, that would be him and anything and everything fried (which I won't do).  Veggies are out mostly. Peas and carrots are an absolute no and most others too. I'm actually surprised he's still alive the way he eats. 

CindyD W: 

That sounds like a good recipe, minus carrots as he won't eat carrots, potatoes are iffy, but I love this recipe and darn it if I'm not going to make it! :)

I think I'll clean something abnormal today. I'm in a spring cleaning mood. :)

Glenda -  What is "the time method" you spoke about in your post about cleaning?

All the aches and pains of aging really sneak up on a person, don't they?!  I've used several cleaning methods in my life .  It depended on jobs.  Part time, full time, or none.  But I've been home full time for more than 20 years and the difference is big.  In my 40s, I was using a modified Flylady routine and my house was always squeaky clean.  I power-cleaned the house in 2-3 hours every morning. Now?  It takes me aaallll day to do less.  I do another modified Flylady, but instead of cleaning the bathrooms non-stop, I clean a toilet and then do a sitting job for 15-20 minutes.  Then clean a sink and sit down to fold clothes.  I factor in some craft and reading time in there, but cleaning the 2 upstairs bathrooms could literally take me 7-8 hours!  But I have a bad knee and a bad shoulder and it's just way too much to do it any other way.  I do the zone cleaning and concentrate on one per day, but those tasks get skipped on occasion.  We do our best, don't we?

Debbie B:  I could have written your exact post. I too have been home full time for more than 20 years.  HUGE difference.  Talk about "Finding Balance"!  I do exactly what you do.  I have a horrible back with arthritis and some herniated discs on a nerve root (dead leg after a while) so I've had to learn to do exactly what you do.  I do something standing, then sitting, then I go walk, then I do something sitting, then standing and just go back and forth all day. If I work out, I can't do my walking. Everyday is a trade off of back and forth.  It's been a real learning experience, because I have the energy to do it all, but my back exhausts me if that makes sense.  So the toilet may be clean, but due to the location of one of them, I have to sit when done. If I bake, which is standing, then I need to go sit and fold  just as you do.  No more clean house in one day. And changing sheets on a king-size bed, darn well does me in.   The fact that Grandma Donna redid her whole floor a while back, makes me envious, yet sore just thinking about it.  I always thought stairs would keep me more in shape, but thinking of having to do that at this point would do me in.  Finding Balance is the perfect header for your post!

I’ve been working to simplify my pantry for awhile now.  I looked at that we were eating and how versatile the pantry foods are.  Now I don’t stock canned fruit, and only buy it if we need it for a recipe (such as pineapple upside down cake).  Instead, I store unsweetened applesauce, as we can eat it as is, use it in baked oatmeal, bake applesauce muffins and applesauce cake, etc.  I buy diced tomatoes and small cans of diced chiles separately instead of diced tomatoes, diced tomatoes with chiles, and diced chiles.

Yesterday I bought flour, olive oil, spray avocado oil, and honey, all normal pantry purchases.  We were using our annual certificate, so in addition to usual groceries we also bought almonds, pistachios, wild salmon, Manchego cheese, and a hunk of good parmigiano reggiano.

I think in addition to simplicity we also need to embrace flexibility and even imperfection.  We want to eat more whole grains, but they spoil faster than refined grains so we have to take that into account.  We don’t eat rice fast enough to buy 25# of brown rice because it will go rancid, but we can buy 25# of white rice.  White flour is very useful to have on hand and is less expensive that wheat berries.  Regular navy beans are $1.28 per pound from Walmart, whereas the least expensive organic navy beans I can find are from Azure standard at $1.81 per pound in the 25# bag.  Dried beans don’t carry a lot of pesticide residue.

Earlier this year I bought 16 pounds of butter at $2 per pound.  We don’t use much butter and that should last into next year.

Many of you have mentioned difficulties with wheat and gluten.  I had trouble for years.  I used einkorn exclusively for nearly a decade.  I did European flour.  I did USA flour but organic and with no added synthetic vitamins or barley malt (which is actually a great flour option for people who react to other flours, at a much better price point).  All of these things worked on symptoms, but weren’t addressing my main issues, which were gut damage due to IBD as well as nutritional deficiencies, especially vitamin D and magnesium.  I am not big on supplements, but I will take what my doctor says to take after doing testing.  With the IBD, obviously my body was damaging my gut, but I also learned that the more I limited my diet, the more sensitivities I developed.  Also, a lot of time it is added ultra processed food chemicals and not the wheat or other foods themselves.  As I have worked on healing, I have been able to add many foods back into my diet!  I can eat regular flour products and not worry, and I can buy flour with barley malt (organic Costco flour is from the same USA company I was buying from before, just with the barley malt added).

I do miss eating beans!  But my GI doctor says people with ulcerative colitis should be able eat beans when they aren’t in a flare and that my intolerance is something else.  I’m not sure I fully believe that, but whatever the reason, I still can’t eat them

Hi Debby B, yes we can only do what we are capable of at this point in our lives. I can totally relate to the amount of time and rest between chores. 

I am a person that likes to do the entire job at one time. Yet, as we age that is literally impossible. I have arteriosclerosis, fibromyalgia, late stage Sjogrens, osteoarthritis, pre-diabetes and, now, both eyes need cataract surgery. 

The frustrating thing, I think, is that I home cooked all our meals with quality organic foods;  we have bought range free beef from a rancher for a very long time, but I no longer eat beef, due to inflammation. I exercised, was very careful about my weight and knew the nutritional needs, as I have a Master's Degree in Nutrition.

I had an internist tell me that I would not escape my genetics regardless of how adamant I was about following a healthy diet, exercise and maintaining a healthy weight. I, honestly, didn't believe that until I found out, personally, that he was right. I come from a family with diabetes, osteoarthritis, heart problems, Sjogrens, and every death certificate, of extended family members, listed arteriosclerosis as a contributing cause or, sometimes, the primary cause of death. 

There are genetic markers and mutations that can determine if your body has inherited the possibility or probability of that disease.Genetic testing is sometimes ordered, by a medical specialist, if a repeat condition occurs. My daughter had repeated blood clots, so the doctor ordered genetic testing. We thought she would probably have the mutation as my mother and grandmother had blood clot issues, as did my great grandmother. I need to stop, as DNA and genetics is something for which I have a very special interest.

Debby, we do the very best we can with what we have to work with. There is no shame in that. We are in a precious time of life.That is what took me a long time to accept. 

What I deem a 'time method,' is simply working for whatever time that you think you can manage doing a job without pushing yourself into more pain than usual or setting you back for the next day. I tried several of the house cleaning programs, but nothing worked for me. 

There are days when I am so flared up that doing a minimal amount is all I can do or I will make myself worse and it will derail me for a more prolonged time. I prioritize jobs, according to necessity and need, then will put down the amount of time I think it will take to complete. A day can be broken up, as you have wisely mentioned, into work and rest. If I work for an hour on solid cleaning, then I might have to sit for 30 minutes or an hour and rest to recharge and regain some strength. Some days that hour is all I can push myself to do. It is slow going, for sure.

Thanks for asking, Debby. May your days be blessed with minimal pain and extreme joy.