Wall of text incoming, sorry, I get anxious trying to explain myself and I ramble 😅
My specific situation is that I have serious trouble organising myself (planning and acting on plans) due to mental health and I am chronically exhausted. I’m on disability because of these and some other issues.
I can’t find affordable loose-leaf tea in any store nearby. Ordering something I need regularly online is difficult because I need to remember that I need to do it and then also do it. I know it sounds weird to someone who doesn’t have that problem but it’s just far easier to just go to one supermarket, once a week, and get all the stuff that I’m going to need (and even that isn’t easy when you’re exhausted simply from existing). Add to that decision fatigue where I get thoroughly overwhelmed by the sheer number of options when online shopping - I actually like having just a handful of options because it makes deciding a lot less exhausting. (I also wouldn’t know where to get affordable tea online that isn’t amazon and I’m trying to avoid that but that’s a different topic)
It’s not the manipulation of tea bags that’s difficult for me, I fortunately don’t have problems using my hands other than being clumsy because I don’t pay attention.
Tea bags:
get tea bags
put tea bags in thermos
pour water in thermos
throw tea bags out
drink tea
wash cup
done
I do actually own a tea infuser ball and a reusable tea bag and there’s more steps involved, including having to clean them. I used each a couple of times and then I just couldn’t do it anymore because the thought of going through these steps was overwhelming.
measure out tea
try not to spill half the tea all over the counter causing more work (!)
put tea bag in thermos
pour water in thermos
take out tea bag
clean tea leaves out of tea bag, thoroughly, because tea leaves cling to the bag
clean the bag of tea residue
hang bag up to dry
What ends up happening is that I just want to drink my tea and even the maybe 5 minutes it would take to clean the thing are too much. So I leave the used tea bag lying somewhere, I forget that I have to clean it, and it takes me days to remember - worst case scenario is the tea starts getting mouldy in the bag. Even if I remember, I can’t work up the energy to clean the thing so I postpone it (and don’t drink tea in the meantime).
Sidenote: I have a Huel subscription because if that package didn’t arrive like magic on my doorstep every two months, I regularly wouldn’t eat anything but toast for days because everything else is more than two steps and thus too much.
I know it’s not like anyone is asking me to run a marathon and I feel silly just typing all this. I’m the first person in line to chastise myself because I just have to pull myself together a bit and stop being lazy and get over myself and I have the hardest time accepting that I am ill. If tea bags ceased to exist tomorrow, I suppose I could deal. As it is, they are a small thing making one small act a little easier, adding to a bunch of other small things that are inconsequential on their own but make small acts a little easier so I can feel like half a person.
Not sure if it helps, but i use frenchpress for this reason. The dipping spoon type is really easily spilled when putting tea leaf in it, while the french press one is just one big mug. Washing process is also pretty easy.
Wall of text incoming, sorry, I get anxious trying to explain myself and I ramble 😅
My specific situation is that I have serious trouble organising myself (planning and acting on plans) due to mental health and I am chronically exhausted. I’m on disability because of these and some other issues.
I can’t find affordable loose-leaf tea in any store nearby. Ordering something I need regularly online is difficult because I need to remember that I need to do it and then also do it. I know it sounds weird to someone who doesn’t have that problem but it’s just far easier to just go to one supermarket, once a week, and get all the stuff that I’m going to need (and even that isn’t easy when you’re exhausted simply from existing). Add to that decision fatigue where I get thoroughly overwhelmed by the sheer number of options when online shopping - I actually like having just a handful of options because it makes deciding a lot less exhausting. (I also wouldn’t know where to get affordable tea online that isn’t amazon and I’m trying to avoid that but that’s a different topic)
It’s not the manipulation of tea bags that’s difficult for me, I fortunately don’t have problems using my hands other than being clumsy because I don’t pay attention.
Tea bags:
I do actually own a tea infuser ball and a reusable tea bag and there’s more steps involved, including having to clean them. I used each a couple of times and then I just couldn’t do it anymore because the thought of going through these steps was overwhelming.
What ends up happening is that I just want to drink my tea and even the maybe 5 minutes it would take to clean the thing are too much. So I leave the used tea bag lying somewhere, I forget that I have to clean it, and it takes me days to remember - worst case scenario is the tea starts getting mouldy in the bag. Even if I remember, I can’t work up the energy to clean the thing so I postpone it (and don’t drink tea in the meantime).
Sidenote: I have a Huel subscription because if that package didn’t arrive like magic on my doorstep every two months, I regularly wouldn’t eat anything but toast for days because everything else is more than two steps and thus too much.
I know it’s not like anyone is asking me to run a marathon and I feel silly just typing all this. I’m the first person in line to chastise myself because I just have to pull myself together a bit and stop being lazy and get over myself and I have the hardest time accepting that I am ill. If tea bags ceased to exist tomorrow, I suppose I could deal. As it is, they are a small thing making one small act a little easier, adding to a bunch of other small things that are inconsequential on their own but make small acts a little easier so I can feel like half a person.
Not sure if it helps, but i use frenchpress for this reason. The dipping spoon type is really easily spilled when putting tea leaf in it, while the french press one is just one big mug. Washing process is also pretty easy.