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Tips for Daily Living
Index
Personal
For people with weak hands
Grooming
In the home
The yard
Travel
Personal
Tips for people with weak hands
Have trouble using those little plastic closures that come on loaves of bread?
Head to the dollar store, pick up a package of old-fashioned clothes pegs and laying the peg on its side on the counter, push the peg open with the side of one hand while sliding the twirled top of the bread bag in the peg with the other. Or, and dentists will hate me for this, bite the peg to open it and slide the twirled bag end into it.
Find cooking utensils too heavy for you?
Look for alternatives that were designed for other uses, but will fit the bill. For example, a cake icing spatula weighs a fraction of that of a regular spatula, but pushes and lifts eggs and pancakes just as well. Small pots and pans work just as well as big ones and save energy to boot. You can buy small plastic bowls forisingle portions that weigh almost nothing.
Can't lift a regular tumbler to have a glass of water?
If you like glass, you can buy clear glasses with handles. Wine glasses are easier to lift than regular glasses because you can hold the stem between two fingers cradling the bowl of the glass with your hand more easily. Glass also looks lovely on the table.
Can't grasp zipper pulls or pull them up?
A simple jump ring twirled through the end of a zipper will give you something to slip your finger through. This works for slacks, tops, winter jackets, purses, cosmetic cases, wallets and anything else with a zipper. Any hardware store should sell these rings in several sizes for about 25 cents each or look for a key kiosk in plaza.
Have trouble doing up buttons on slacks?
A simple strip of velcro will solve the problem. Just be aware of the fact that the hooked side can pull threads in underwear and lingerie or anything else it touches.
Can't get the tops off of drug bottles from the pharmacy?
Ask your druggist to put your prescriptions in bottles using simple snap off tops. He'll also cut pills in half for you before they deliver if you ask.
Speaking of cutting in half - a bar of soap is much easier for weak hands to hold in the shower or tub if cut in half. I use Baby Dove and can finally shower without dropping the soap.
Does you hand tire out before you get finished writing your name and address on all those raffle tickets you buy to help out good causes?
Put a pad of those little address labels every charity in the world sends you in your purse and just stick one on each ticket. Then all you have to do is add your phone number.
Can't pull up your slack because your hands are simply too weak to grasp them and you can't bend to lift them from the floor?
Try tying a long shoelace or piece of string to the belt loops on either side of your slacks. When you go to get up, put the string around your neck. As you rise, the string will pull your slacks up far enough to let you grab them.
Afraid you'll drop a urinal as it fills because it gets too heavy for your hands?
Tie a string to the handle and put it around your neck. As it fills and gets heavier the string will ensure that it doesn't fall out of your hands.
Have trouble doing up lace up boots?
Ask the shoemaker to put skate hooks on them. You'll have them done up in a flash.
Tying laces impossible?
Look in the stores for elastic laces. They stay tied and expand to let you put your foot in the shoe, but snap back into place to hold the shoe on.
Slippers hard to hold when you're trying to put them on?
Make a small hole in the back seam of the slipper and put a cord through it. Tie the cord into a double
loop pull that is long enough to get your finger through but not long enough to walk on. When you want to put on your slipper just dangle it by the cord from one finger, slip the opening over your toes, swing the slipper in place and pull on. It takes a bit of practice, but it beats waiting for someone to help you get your footwear on.
Can't manage little tabs on ice cream containers, soup boxes, etc?
Try a pair of needle-nosed pliers. They also work for stuck nail polish bottles.
Also a pair of scissors will open letters that tell you to "Tear Here" but never do. A small paper hand guillotine, the kind used in a darkroom, can be very useful in lieu of scissors to trim pictures from your computer, cut old clothing into rags, open mail, even cut open cereal bags.
Speaking of cereal - if you can't grip the box to hold it, try putting it in a plastic grocery bag to give you something to lift it with and grasp it by.
A string tied on small cupboard handles will give you something to slip fingers through. If you really want to get fancy, go to the local bead store and buy big interesting beads. Tie them on the handle with some clear fish line and you've got instant pulls. You can do the same with awkward small draw pulls. Fish line can be melted together to form a permanent loop.
Grooming
One of the best things an older person can have in their bathroom is a good magnifying mirror. When eyes no longer see things up close very well, you need to be able to see those nose hairs , yes, women have them too, chin hairs, blotches, blackheads, stray eyebrow hairs and dry flaking skin.
Young people can see your face clearly. Nothing makes you look older then an unkempt countenance.
In the Home
Walker bashing your shins? This is for users of walkers with wheels and a seat. I put foam pipe wrap around the horizontal bar below the seat located above the wheels in order to stop bruising my shin when I take a longer step than usual. Now, when I take too long a step, my shin bounces off the foam. An inexpensive solution. Tricia Mancuso, St. Catharines - Toronto Star
Have trouble getting up off the sofa? For a few dollars you can have a carpenter make a wooden frame that goes under the sofa and raises it as much as you need to allow you to get up. Many people like to get their feet up and actually lie down while reading or watching televison. A solid table with a good base will also help you get up. Think marble.
Cold feet? A heating pad at the end of the couch and the end of the bed, they sell extra large ones in all of the pharmacies, on the low setting, will heat up feet in no time. Usually you can turn it off after a half hur or so becasue your feet are warm and the surrounding cushions and/or bedding is also warm enough to keep your feet toasty.
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