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Products that make your life easier?

Shoshana

Northern USA
Messages
6,035
Location
Northern USA
I can only read a few of these great ideas at a time

(with entertaining comments that i enjoy, included in each one ;) )

so will come back to this excellent thread at other moments.

I just want to summarize, what I got so far....
is that SUshi has "stray vegetables" running around in her frig, :D

Pat has great info on all things food, :)
(Is the pump hard on the hand gripping/squeeze?)

and Kristen is having fun, chasing herself around her kitchen. :rofl:

Ands someone wears dark glasses, when she has company, :cool:
but hopefully ,
they understand and don't mind!
We wouldn't! :lol:
 

Shoshana

Northern USA
Messages
6,035
Location
Northern USA
@Ysabelle-S

I want to Thank you for that detailed explanation, of how that Echo product works, !! :)

and for all about, how it could possibly help many of us, who have not even considered it.

Now I feel I understand what it is, a lot better, than I did before,
which I do appreciate, very much.
All your effort you put into that, thank you! :thumbsup:


I have no comment on helly's post. ;)
I just have NO IDEA what to say about that one!
I don't know if it refers to an earlier part of this thread, or if it came out of the blue. :D
 

Shoshana

Northern USA
Messages
6,035
Location
Northern USA
On this same "Lifestyle" section of the Forum.

ahimsa has an excellent and detailed description of a useful product that I did use for many years,

A folding cane/stool, that you can use as a cane and then easily sit on, when needing to rest a moment, or wait on line.

ahimsa's excellent info post on it, is on the 1st page of Strawberry's topic posted,
titled, "Need Advice on Walker" or some similar subject words.
 

hellytheelephant

Senior Member
Messages
1,137
Location
S W England
Hi @Shosana - I know peeing is quite an embarrasing topic...but I got the idea from a blog on PR mentioning using a urinal bottle. I have bought it specifically for camping, but it could well be useful for anyone who is in too much pain/too weak to trek to the bathroom in the night,as is the case for me sometimes. Anyway- I will report back....:rolleyes:

Dark glasses are a good alternative for me when I have a visitor as it means I can open the blinds so they can enjoy the daylight without blinding me!
 

PatJ

Forum Support Assistant
Messages
5,288
Location
Canada
(Is the pump hard on the hand gripping/squeeze?)

An electric pump shouldn't a problem. I've never used an electric one but I think it just requires enough strength to hold it on the jar/container and push a button. The manual pump that I use it comes with a large top for an easy grip when pumping, and the lower portion is easy to hold. The main problem with a manual pump is the repeated pumping that becomes more difficult as more air is pumped from the jar. I haven't had problems with it so far, but if my arm strength declines, or my rapid muscle fatigue increases, or I develop arthritis, then I'll switch to an electric pump.
 

Shoshana

Northern USA
Messages
6,035
Location
Northern USA
@PatJ

Thank you so much, for your reply.

DO you think that the electric one would work with jars, as well, like the manual one you tell about, which does?

I appreciate these answers, very much!

I think I would need the electric type. But do have many (too many) jars. :D
 

PatJ

Forum Support Assistant
Messages
5,288
Location
Canada
@Shoshana, I've ordered a FoodSaver with the wide mouth canning jar accessory. I'll post a review once it arrives and I've spent some time with it.
 
Messages
58
f.lux- Changes my computer screen to warm light, so it's easier to look at and is less disruptive to my sleep cycle. It's free.

Light therapy lamp- I can't look at light currently, but when I was better, this type of lamp helped me wake up in the morning and provided endorphins.

Google spreadsheets- With my poor memory, it's how I remember people's names, where I met them, and what friends or family told me when I last talked to them.

Bagged salad- Saves time and energy on peeling and chopping. I put it on everything- including any unhealthy food when I don't have access to real food. It can be more expensive, but I almost always have a coupon for it. I guess the store's computer looks at purchase history.

Tuna snack packs, nuts, and natural apple sauce cups- They don't require refrigeration, are portable and have less added sugar than most protein bars.

Bed battle-station - All the necessities are in arm's reach from my bed. Most important is a 3 shelf bedside table. It has one shelf for lamp with food and water, one for medicines and hairbrush, one for books and notepad. I keep a change of clothes at the end of my bed for night sweats and extra warmth. Kleenex and extension cord at the top of my bed, garbage can beside. I'd like to get a grabber stick to close my blinds, then I'd be able to do even more from one spot!

Towelettes, hand sanitizer- If I can't get to a sink or shower, these are really useful for cleaning myself and the items around me.
 
Messages
97
Location
San Francisco, CA USA

ahimsa

ahimsa_pdx on twitter
Messages
1,921
I just remembered a very useful item for me - a headset for my phone. Without a headseat I could talk on the phone for maybe 2-3 minutes, max. My hand just can't hold the phone up to my ear for very long.

I can lift and carry things (e.g., grocery bags). But to hold something up for more than a minute, like a phone (especially a cell phone!), is quite difficult. It causes a weird kind of muscle ache. It's not like normal weightlifting ache. I used to lift weights (was on a split routine) so I know what that pain feels like. This weird pain is more like the ache from a tetanus shot.

At any rate, I recommend getting a phone headset whether you have weakness or get muscle aches from holding the phone.

If you have a landline you can either get a corded phone with a headset (I think they still make them) or you can get a cordless one. The base plugs in to the phone line and has a portable phone with a headset.

Plantronics is the brand that I have. Here's a link -

https://www.amazon.com/Plantronics-80057-11-Cordless-Headset-Phone/dp/B001GX6MJ8

If you use a cell phone, you can either use earbuds (which I find too difficult to insert quickly when the phone rings!) or you can buy a headset. Just make sure the headset jack is compatible with whatever type of cell phone you have.
 

PatJ

Forum Support Assistant
Messages
5,288
Location
Canada
I've ordered a FoodSaver with the wide mouth canning jar accessory. I'll post a review once it arrives and I've spent some time with it.

After using the FoodSaver with the wide-mouth canning jar accessory I can say that I like it and will continue to use it. I use it multiple times each day and haven't had problems other than minor issues listed in the drawbacks section below.

I have only used it to seal food in wide-mouth canning jars but it can also seal food in the included plastic storage container, and in FoodSaver plastic bags (two are provided with the unit).

I've spaced the points for easier reading.

Benefits:
* Food stays fresher for longer because much of the air is sucked out of the storage container which slows down food degradation. Note that non-dry food must be stored in the fridge to avoid botulism (which thrives in a moist, warm, low- or no-oxygen environment.) Also note that it isn't meant to replace pressure canning.

* It's lightweight

* It's easy to use - just place the canning lid on the jar, push the canning accessory over the top, then hold the FoodSaver over the hole in the top of the accessory and press a button to suck much of the air out of the jar in a few seconds. Then remove the accessory, add the screw top to the jar, and place in the fridge. To open the jar a spoon or other item is wedged under the jar lid to break the seal (but the jar and lid can be used again.)

* Much less physical effort is required than the manual pump I was using.

Drawbacks:
* The rechargeable battery in the unit will eventually fail. How long it will last will depend on how frequently I use it so I'll just have to wait and see how long it takes to fail.

* The wide-mouth canning jar accessory works well but takes some wiggling and force to pull it off the jar after the jar has been sealed. It might be a problem for someone with very little hand strength, or severe arthritis.

* There is no obvious way to tell how much air has been sucked out of the jar before removing the accessory and tugging on the jar lid to check for a tight seal. I rely on the sound of the motor straining, and/or length of time that has passed while holding the button that activates the FoodSaver. This isn't much of a problem but is worth noting.

* The recharging base is so light that it requires one had to hold the base while using the other hand to pull the FoodSaver out. If you can only use one hand then it would be possible, but more difficult to get the unit out of the base.

Comparing with a Pump-n-seal manual pump
* The Pump-n-seal is well made, durable, and should long outlast the rechargeable battery in the FoodSaver. If you don't have problems with excessive muscle fatigue, and want a more flexible jar sealer, then the Pump-n-seal is probably a better investment.

* A manual pump works in a power failure or wherever power isn't available. The FoodSaver will also work, for awhile, during a power failure due to its rechargeable battery, but I don't know how many uses it lasts for before needing a recharge (I just keep it in the charging cradle).

* The Pump-n-seal requires that a small hole is punched through the lid of a canning jar (using a pushpin), then a little plastic sealer is placed over the top. The FoodSaver uses the canning jar accessory to suck air out from under the canning jar lid -- no holes necessary. Both methods work.

* The FoodSaver requires less muscle strength.

* Both make noise. The Pump-n-seal is basically like a small bicycle tire pump with the associated wooshing, and sometimes squeaking noise as the piston moves inside the shaft. The FoodSaver has a little motor and pump, which is somewhat isn't very noisy, but I wouldn't call it quiet either. I doubt the FoodSaver noise would be a problem unless a person is especially sensitive to low-pitched repetitive sound.
 

Ysabelle-S

Highly Vexatious
Messages
524
@Ysabelle-S

I want to Thank you for that detailed explanation, of how that Echo product works, !! :)

and for all about, how it could possibly help many of us, who have not even considered it.

Now I feel I understand what it is, a lot better, than I did before,
which I do appreciate, very much.
All your effort you put into that, thank you! :thumbsup:


I have no comment on helly's post. ;)
I just have NO IDEA what to say about that one!
I don't know if it refers to an earlier part of this thread, or if it came out of the blue. :D

Sorry I didn't get back to you on this, but I've been reading the main news on the site rather than logging in, and have not caught up on notifications. I have my Alexa on now as it happens, playing my favourite online radio station - Ocean Radio Chilled. It's the kind of music that does not bother me, even if I'm in a more audio-sensitive state.

The Alexa is developing - someone on Twitter told me the other day that it can now read Kindle books (as opposed to audio books which it can already do via Audible). This was already available in the US, but is now available here. The voice though is the normal Alexa voice and she does have some odd pronuncations - mostly due to putting the wrong emphasis sometimes on a syllable. I think this has improved though. I've noticed her saying things slightly differently than at the start when I got her.

I do find the timer useful for not forgetting things that are cooking, or for setting the exact time. I think I've also used the timer in the past for taking tablets.
 

HowToEscape?

Senior Member
Messages
626
I've found that a robot sweeper turned out to be a necessity. Before that the floor wasn't getting swept fast enough to prevent us from steadily thickening.
It seemed like a ridiculous indulgence for a small space, but without it my apartment got steadily worse despite my efforts to sweep and mop, even using a laborsaving gimcrack (Swiffer).
 

hellytheelephant

Senior Member
Messages
1,137
Location
S W England
Exciting news! I am awaiting arrival of my unisex urine bottle..will keep you posted and hope to be adding it to this list.
It arrives and it works! I first used it when we stayed at a holiday park...and the loos were too far for me to walk. Have used it since during a flare up...and it has made it possible for me to go glamping again this Summer. Very good product- does just what it says on the tin!
https://www.completecareshop.co.uk/...s-and-bed-pans/uriwell-unisex-portable-urinal

Any questions pls ask.
 
Messages
1,082
Location
UK
I've found that a robot sweeper turned out to be a necessity. Before that the floor wasn't getting swept fast enough to prevent us from steadily thickening.
It seemed like a ridiculous indulgence for a small space, but without it my apartment got steadily worse despite my efforts to sweep and mop, even using a laborsaving gimcrack (Swiffer).

Awww i miss mine for the novelty factor. I had one of those a few years ago but mine was quite temperamental and would get stuck often and beep at me, which would force me to get up to reposition it each time. When it eventually died, i didnt replace it.

The best thing i ever got was my mattress lifter. Its an absolute god send being able to go from upright to flat at the push of a button. I'm literally changing it all day in accordance with heart rate or symptoms.

If i can't sleep (which often happens when flat as the blood floods my brain and wakes it up) I can sleep at a 40 degree angle. This starves my brain just enough to enable sleep :)

Also i have a memory foam mattress and an electric blanket on one half of the bed. Best of both worlds. I can either have heat for muscle pain or a nice squishy mattress if I don't need the heat :)
 
Messages
1,082
Location
UK
Its an electric hydraulic metal frame that sits underneath the normal mattress at the top third of the bed.

It was precribed to me by my occupational therapist a few years ago so I can't give a direct link for one but the photo below gives an idea of what it entails. Mines slightly different in that the frame slides out to accomodate a single or double bed and on one side it loops outwards to make a grab handle for climbing in and out.

The only annoying thing about it is every week the mattress starts sliding down gradually, so i've recently added a frame to the bottom of the bed to stop the mattress moving.

I couldn't live without this thing now. My health has been gradually improving ever since I started using it. It saves a tremendous amount of energy and turns my bed into an upright seat whenever I want.

image.jpeg