I do laundry with the help of 2 cheap pieces of equipment I bought at Walmart. My washing machine is so deep that to reach all the clean clothes, I have to dive into the machine with my hips resting on the rim and my feet dangling in the air. So I use tongs designed to handle food to reach the bottom while I keep my feet on the floor. To keep frustration from ruining my success, I keep these tongs in the laundry room where I can grab them without hunting for them.
My dryer is so deep I have to lean down and stick my head in the dryer to reach all the dry clothes. To prevent a fall I put a cheap folding metal chair in front of the dryer. Sitting an a chair when I reach for clothes in the back eliminates a fall hazard. I keep this chair folded and propped against the laundry wall.
I try not to feel smug because I did not buy high-priced adaptive equipment from a medical catalogue. homeafterstroke.blogspot.com
I use BBQ tongs to do the same. I, also use them to reach laundry in the back of the dryer. I keep the tongs on top of the dryer -- always available to use. That way, you could do away with the extra step of the chair business. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm using chairs to help me reach stuff too. My most common use of a chair is to see what is in the fridge and try and get a hold of it. I actually should use your tong suggestion to reach some of the items at the back or the very bottom of the fridge while I'm sitting in the chair!
ReplyDeleteI'm finding that because of the post surgery hip restrictions I have the least reach with my sore right side hip so I am tending to stretch a bit more to my left side and hence using my weaker left hand more. That hand still tends to drop more things, especially when I am extending out. Drop that item and I am back to the problem of how to get stuff off the floor.
Go ahead and feel smug. And proud, for figuring out how to do what you need to do, and not spending exorbitant amounts of money doing it. Well done!
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