I'm starting another list of Helpful Hints, please post.
Drinking WATER BOTTLES: tHAT First twist is hard so I have my husband open all my waterbottles, slightly, so I don't need to get a pliers to open them!!
JARS & packages come with so much, plastic wrap, safety seals, etc. it is hard to open most of them with my weak fingers, so as we unload the groceries my husband opens them first. There's always something, the pull top tuna cans, ugh.
Keep sissors, a pair of pliers, etc. in the kitchen to help when packaging gets tough. Ask someone to help!
CAR SEATBELTS are behind me so I have to turn and pull the strap with both hands (my shoulders, hurt the next day if I'm not careful
A pair of needle nosed pliers are a must as well.I have one that may or may not be useful to those outside the UK.
I have just taken delivery of my grocery shopping from tesco.com. I logged on yesterday teatime (about 5.30pm) booked a delivery slot (12-2pm today) and went shopping! I chose all the heavy stuff and bulky stuff that it's tricky to carry. It arrived at 12.30 delivered by a cheery man. I have put the fridge and freezer stuff away and will put the rest away one bit at a time throughout the day. Everything I chose was delivered, I asked for no substitutions but had the facility on the website to select alternatives just in case. I received loyalty points (and spent some) and special vouchers to give to schools who can exchange them for computer equipment. That is my storecupboard and freezer shop for the month plus fresh stuff for a week or so, I'll buy more fresh stuff at the shops every week until it's time to stock up again. It's a fab service - prices are store prices and you get all the offers that are available instore, the delivery charge varies, £3.99 at the start of the week, £4.99 at the end and £5.99 at the weekend. My loyalty vouchers usually pay the delivery charge. Food shopping used to wipe out a whole day - now I can carry on with pottering around and enjoy my day!
I am a convert - now I can buy as many big bottles of water and pop as I like without worrying how I will carry them!
KT
I use a water brand that comes in a sports type top..no twisting involed. Also since I live along I don't have someone to open things. I have a black and decker jar opener for the jars..it works great. Mu Krups can opener is one of the brands that can open cans with those pull tops. I've had it for years and wouldn't trade it for anything.
There are several larger metro areas here in the states that have grocery delivery. It was wonderful when I lived someplace I could take advantage of it.
KT~ In the States we have services like that. I think Albertsons does it and PeaPod for sure does it. Some local groceries offer it also.
Helpful hints. Swiffer products for cleaning. I have the Sweep n Vac for my tile floors (works great for those with shedding pets) and the Wet Jet. It literally cuts sweeping and mopping time in half and the pain and agony in more than half. Both are light weight and easy to use.
I put flour, sugar, coco, etc. in those cute cannisters you can keep on your kitchen counter. The extra I keep on a shelf in the pantry where I don't have to reach for it.
Disinfecting wipes are great in the bathroom. I can wipe down everything easily (I have teenage girls with makeup mess and sticky hairspray everywhere) and it cuts down on the elbow grease you have to use to clean the bathroom.
If you can keep your med bottles out of reach of children I ask for the easy off caps or flip my caps upside down so it is easier to get them off.
If anyone has any suggestions on getting those coffee filters seperated I sure could use them!!
Yes Gramma about 10 yrs ago I bought one of those permanent coffee filters from K-Mart that has a gold screen. It has survived all of these yrs and goes through the dishwasher also.
to separate coffee filters keep a piece of rubber shelf liner in the container. I have pieces of the mesh type shelf liner all over. I open jars with it separate coffee filters, open the garbage bags. its great each piece is only about 6X6 but boy it works well..I even use it to pick up eggs in the morning when my hands dont work. I have a piece by the baby's changing table so I can grab diapers out of the container when they are wedged in.
I also use it for its intended use lining shelves so when my glassware slips out of my fingers it doesn't break on the shelf.
A few other hints.. If we arent going anywhere I keep the baby (17 mos)dressed in just sleepers. Hes' clean, dry and warm and runs all over . I save dressing him for when we leave the house.
I've taught the kids, even the baby, to clear their own dishes. The 4 year old makes her own bed, we have a minimum of toys and kid "stuff" so the clutter is way way low. I follow the "flylady" system (except for the tie shoes) so I never feel overwhelmed by the housework. If I have a bad day its ok, since the house is basically clean, losing a day wont hurt it.
In fact the best hint I have is pare everything down. I own maybe 4 pairs of shoes.. we have a small small closet and it is no where near stuffed.
I use swiffers and have no carpets so I dont need a big heavy vaccum..
The cats eat on a counter in the laundry room so I dont bend over.
I always thread my car seatbelt across the steering wheel when I get out so I dont have to twist to get it when I get in.
I have 2 medicine boxes each one is one of those 7 day things with slots for morning noon, afternoon and bedtime, I fill them the same and keep one upstairs and one downstairs, so If I am too fatigued to do the stairs I wont miss my meds.
I use freecycle so I hardly ever have to go to the dump, people will take just about anything, including old magazines.
CRUISE CONTROL!! how could I forget that. makes driving not just bearable but fun again. my toes are so painful and my knees lock up, but with CC I can ease the strain on my legs/toes.
grammaskittles, good idea for separating any paper type stuff is to buy a few of those rubber finger things from an office supply shop. Stick one on your thumb and one on your forefinger and it should be easy to separate coffee filters, magazine pages, book pages, freezer bags anything that requires fine finger skills. Alternatively you could dip your fingers in the honey pot and try that....its sticky....Drink filtered water instead of bottled water. The chemicals from the plastic bottle leech into the water, making it toxic (sometimes the water is stored up to 2 years before it's sold), and it takes 5 gallons of clean water to manufacture one water bottle, which exacerbates the water pollution problem. Where I live the tap water is healthier, but anyone can use a Britta and they're cheap.Hi All,
On the subject of water, I drink tap water as we have good quality stuff here (the Uk has a tap water league table and we are near the top), I also think it tastes nice! I keep it in a jug in the fridge and when I finish a drink and take my glass back I fill it from the tap to refill the jug - simple! We have a water cooler at work and some people fill bottles or large glasses from it but I stick to a small glass which makes me get up from my desk every so often to re-fill and also have a stretch etc!
I am about to re-do my bathroom and have been inspecting fittings to see how easy to clean they will be. Me and my partner wandered round the shops looking at how "fussy" the base of the toilet and basin are - no dust traps please! I am going to have a bath-shower mixer tap on the bath so that it's easier to rinse out the bath and a cabinet rather than shelves (also less dusting). If anyone has any other suggestions I'd be grateful!
KT
Thanks to all of these wonderful hints. I started a new topic about the seatbelt, and not letting the strap retract behind the seat. Drape it over the steeringwheel. Brilliant, now if I can just remember to do it!!Helpful things for me: Velcro tennis shoes, front-hook bras, and my heated mattress pad (with dual control so hubby doesn't toast). On the subject of water, keep fresh lemons on hand always, add a couple of slices to each glass or bottle - it is s great way to help the liver detoxify from whatever meds we are on. If liver enzymes are elevated, milk thistle is an inexpensive, benign remedy, too. Hugs, Pat
I like to keep water in the fridge too - with lemon in it, just because it tastes good. DIdn't realize it was actually good for me!
For hard to open bottles and jars, I have some lightweight garden gloves that have little plastic dots all over them, great grippers. I keep one in my suitcase too, so I have one when I'm stuck alone in a hotel and can't open something.
Need to look for one of those krups can openers. What a great thread!
Thanks for the idea about the rubber things for the fingers to use on the coffee filters. Several times I've placed two in the basket.
I use the swiffer wet clothes in my bathroom. It's very small and it's good on the floor. Don't have to carry that pail and mop.
As for opening cans, I can grip with my good hand and place the can against my bad hand to hold it in place.
The hardest thing for me is lifting. Can't lift anything over 8lbs and if I do, my shoulder, neck and hand will swell and throb. So I have the heavy stuff delivered or ask one of my neighbors to help me. If I can't, it will sit in my car until I can get my roomie to carry it for me.
I wear those super stretchy one size fits all knit gloves that have the dots on the palm side, easy to get on and the dots grip the door handle. I couldn't find new ones at the store this winter so I wear a green one and a purple one and all I can say is thank goodness they weren't two lefties.
Great helpful hints!!! I bought a new coffee maker yesterday (we needed a new one) and this one has the permanent filter that you just rinse out when you are done.
I love the ideas with rubber shelf liner!
bumping more helpful hints for new folki use an uno uno cofee maker that you put coffee pods in or tea pods that way i dont have to lift a kettle of boiling water.or if i do boil the kettle i only put in amount needed and not fill it.i buy milk in the large 3 litre bottles but get my hubby to transfer some into a 1 litre bottle, so that i can lift it.i use the george forman griller and microwave for most cooking.Spoons and tools with large handles. My son is always on the look out for things with big cushy handles. I also have a memory foam cover on my stearing wheel. I could not even begin to grasp that small hard thing underneath.Tinker, Glad you bumped this up. It's a great, helpful thread.
We just remodeled our kitchen, and my sweet husband was thinking of me the whole way through designing it.
All of our bottom cupboards are now drawers, instead of cupboards. Great big drawers that pull all the way out. Even pots and pans go in drawers now. It was impossible for me to get down and get something out of the back of a bottom cupboard.
If you want to do something in your present kitchen, they make the metal baskets, coated with a rubber-type material, that can be installed on tracks in your cupboard, and slide out just like drawers. We had those before and they are also a big help.
I agree that the Black & Decker jar opener is a wonderful invention. Also, got an opener by Campbell's, to open the ring-pull soup cans. Works on all cans of that type.
I put a long table, on wheels, in my laundry area. It's high enough that I don't have to bend over at all to fold clothes. Bending is very difficult for me.
Keep the hints coming!!
Are these Black and Decker jar openers the Boa Constrictor type? I bought aHi Gimpy. No, the Black and Decker is an electric appliance, that sits out on your countertop. You lift up the top part of it, put the jar in and press a button. Pickle jars, jam jars, that type of thing. I don't know how much mine was, it was a gift. But I think someone else said about .00. I just went and looked at the name. It's a Black & Decker Lids Off. Works well on Costco size jars, unless they are very tall.
Be well,
Nini