Keeping on top of chores

[hiriki]

Hey all. I was debating whether to post this but any advice I haven't thought of would surely help, so here I am.

Like surely many of you, I struggle with mental health. Recently one of my tiels passed away quite suddenly and it kind of caused a spiral of not wanting to do anything--my living space was an absolute wreck. It still is, but I'm managing to chip away at it...

Yesterday I did my long overdue cage deep clean. It was pretty bad, and made worse by the fact that even my regular daily cleanings had become lazier and not quite daily so much as every 3 days. Now that the cages are clean I'd like to keep them that way, and I'm just wondering if anyone has any ideas of ways to stay on top of cleaning, even when mental health is not so good.

Bonus points for anyone who knows ideas of how I can clean my walls--when I moved in the drywall was unpainted and I just moved my birds in anyway, but my lovebird has the messiest poops that she consistently aims at the walls and all of my birds flick chop. Idk what to do lol. If I scrub it peels up the white "paint" on the unfinished drywall...

 

[Jcas]

(Hugs ❤️) Even for those without mental health struggles, most people hit a point from time to time when we are so busy, stressed, or depressed that normal chores get pushed to the side or just seem like “ too much.” A few months ago, my beloved horse passed away quite suddenly and my initial reaction was to keep constantly busy and doing something to distract myself; until the depression hit and I felt more like, “ why bother? What does it really matter?” I have a lot of animals so not taking care of them was not an option. My motivation when I hit that point is to keep a daily checklist. I write it down in a place I look at frequently. That way, it’s always in the front of my mind. Then, with each task I accomplish, I cross it off! Personally, I get a little mood boost with every item I check off the list. Sometimes, if I really need help, I’ll break it down into very small steps. Such a list could even break down to such small tasks as: get up, get dressed, water ( each)birds, feed ( each)birds, clean (each) birds, etc. That makes it really easy to start crossing things off! As far as bird poop on bare drywall, short of painting it or nailing up a sheet of plastic, I’m afraid I don’t have any great ideas!

 

[Greenhouseparrots]

Hey all. I was debating whether to post this but any advice I haven't thought of would surely help, so here I am.

Like surely many of you, I struggle with mental health. Recently one of my tiels passed away quite suddenly and it kind of caused a spiral of not wanting to do anything--my living space was an absolute wreck. It still is, but I'm managing to chip away at it...

Yesterday I did my long overdue cage deep clean. It was pretty bad, and made worse by the fact that even my regular daily cleanings had become lazier and not quite daily so much as every 3 days. Now that the cages are clean I'd like to keep them that way, and I'm just wondering if anyone has any ideas of ways to stay on top of cleaning, even when mental health is not so good.

Bonus points for anyone who knows ideas of how I can clean my walls--when I moved in the drywall was unpainted and I just moved my birds in anyway, but my lovebird has the messiest poops that she consistently aims at the walls and all of my birds flick chop. Idk what to do lol. If I scrub it peels up the white "paint" on the unfinished drywall...

I'm going through a similar problem as you, though none of my birds have died.

I have celiac disease and a bit of a traumatic childhood which affects me quite a bit sometimes, plus I get drained easily due to the celiac and ongoing nutritional problems so my care of the birds isn't always the best it can be. I'm in between jobs at the moment (just waiting on the paperwork so I can start my new one and my notice is done on my old one) so I actually have time to clean and sort all the mess from the last three years. Over the years I've come up with a few ways to keep on top of the mess and the demands of the birds so I'll try and help.

Wooden floors have been a lifesaver but if you only have carpet then you can get a plastic protector wrap that sticks to the carpet and will protect it. This makes any mess easier to clean up.

Cage coverings the hang down the back of the cage or a tapestry hung behind cages protects the walls a lot. I also only feed my birds inside their cages so the mess is contained. I'm planning to get some plastic wrap that supposedly sticks to your walls without damaging them as well once I do a deep clean.

Seed nets have also been a lifesaver, but make sure you get fabric ones that won't allow anything through. They catch the majority of debris falling out of the cage (seed, poops, feathers) and keep it in one area for easier cleaning.

Easy to clean toys. Not everyone will agree with me but the majority of my birds perches are dowel perches in their cages purely because they're so much easier to clean and fit in the cage than the natural ones. They're all different sizes, lengths and widths so my birds feet aren't being harmed, and I have many natural branches for them outside of the cage where they don't get pooped on as much. I used to have purely natural branches but they were getting filthy and I was needing to clean them so often and it just wasn't going to be possible.

Outside time. One of the biggest ways to reduce the mess is to have a space outside for them. I have a greenhouse that I converted into an aviary so they can go outside and the mess they create is less hassle to clean because it's outside. Before that I had a cage that could go outside and they went out there as often as I could het them out. You have to somewhat supervise them even if you live in a safe place but even if you take them out only whilst you're outside it will help reduce mess. I have cats where I live but they don't bother with them at all for some reason, perhaps because they don't look like the garden birds they're used to and make noises that are very unpleasant (my conures warning call is horrible). I also have crows which I feel like would attack if given the chance but they don't care for the birds either, even though my conures love them.

Air filters help reduce the dust the birds create and I've noticed a difference since getting one. You don't have to replace them every few months either as they'll still collect dust long after that, you just have to hoover the dust and then they last longer.

As well as those, the usual planning a schedule will probably help a bit, but I find that reducing the mess created goes a long way

 

[hiriki]

Thank you both! Sorry for not responding earlier, I've been lurking but not posting much this week.

I'm considering looking if I can get like a custom printed notepad with daily to-do list items on it (that would be fun--just tear off yesterday's page and today's to-do list is ready to go for me to cross items off!) Failing that, if no such item exists on the market (lol) then maybe a white board. I've tried using white boards before with mixed success but it might be just what I need right now. I have a to-do list on my phone, but it's so easy to just dismiss notifications and ignore it, I think having an actual real world list to cross items off would help immensely.

As far as limiting mess goes, I do think adding a fabric liner to the sides/back of my cages is a good idea and one I've actually been intending to do, but I had plans of taking measurements and sewing something but of course a task like that just keeps getting put off . Maybe I'll just buy some Queen size sheets and pin them up. It might look messy but if it fits, it fits.

The outside time suggestion is one I sincerely wish I could integrate, but... timing isn't the best (I live in the midwest USA and we're heading into a chilly fall season), and the logistics for that has always been difficult for me. I don't have a cage I can wheel outside, my cages are flight style cages and very large AND they're on a different floor from the front and back doors. So even if I could navigate the halls with them the stairs would be a non starter.

I bought a travel cage that's very nice quality intending to use it to transport birds outside for some time in the sun but my birds want nothing to do with it. And honestly I don't blame them too much, even if I did manage to get them in the cage and take them outside there's no larger enclosure outside for me to release them in, so they'd be stuck in a travel cage outside anyway. It might be fun for 30 minutes and then I'm sure they'd be tired of it.

At any rate, you've both given me some really good ideas to roll around in my brain. I can report that staying on top of chores has been easier this week when my little birdcage corner doesn't look quite so disgusting--the deep clean has improved morale significantly lol.

 

[hiriki]

For context, this is the bird corner:

There's nothing in the picture for scale really but it might help give some context for what I meant by "big." Quick note, the GCC in the house cage on the cabinet is a temporary measure, I have a bigger cage set up for him but haven't moved him yet.