War on household items: putting my lupus joints at ease.

Why is this bottle of jelly my new nemesis?


 


Because it's so hard to use! This squeezable bottle of jelly and I had it out earlier this week, when it took every ounce of strength I had to squeeze out enough jelly for one sandwich. It seems the suction causes unbelievable resistance, which prevents the jelly from coming directly out when the bottle is squeezed. I could barely muster up the strength in both hands to force the jelly to make its way out of the bottle and onto the bread. And my joints weren't even aching this week!

This doesn't mean I'm going to give up on Welch's. Our family is evenly divided between Welch's grape, and Bonne Mama's Strawberry Preserves. But I will not make the mistake of buying Welch's squeezable bottle again. It's only jars and knives for this arthritis-friendly family from now on.

But just so that we don't dwell on the negative here, let me point out the multitude of arthritis-friendly packaging that is available today. I find that shopping around for the easiest-to-maneuver packaging makes a big difference. Generally speaking, I think squeezable options tend to make things easier, but as mentioned, the above seems to be an exception.

Here are some of my favorites:

I think this


is easier to use than this



And both of the above are still better than using this:







I also think these




are a lot easier to handle than using something like this


primarily because the plastic ziploc containers are so much lighter. Glass is always heavier, and where my joints are concerned, heavier is never better.

I also like this



over this
Image result for bar of soap

because it can be hard for me to wrap my arthritic hands around a bar of soap.

It's not just time and energy that's saved when it comes to choosing easy-to-use household items. When my joints don't mesh well with packaging, I'm held back from daily tasks. And that makes me feel weak, dependent, and not very self-sufficient. And who doesn't want to feel self-sufficient when you're brushing your teeth!

Now - for one last example, because I've always thought these were so difficult to use:





and because I think these are easier to use

Image result for round zipper pulls


than these,
Image result for ykk zipper pulls

I created these:




(You knew that was coming!)

Any packaging of household items that make your daily tasks easier? Feel free to comment or email, and have a great weekend!





Comments

Unknown said…
I am finding myself relating and laughing at the same time more and more often. The questions at the rheumy were always do you have difficulty opening this or dressing yourself... it was a joke to the nurse reading the questions to me because I used to always so no and none... still hard though because back to the you don't look sick or look great! I never thought of the loop zipper, thanks for the idea!
Sara Gorman said…
If we can't laugh at those questions (or our answers) at the doctor, then we're in trouble, right? :) thanks for sharing. So glad you're following along!

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