OS ways and Poor Health

pollyanna_26 · 13 September 2016 at 11:51AM

Off to the garden just wanted to say Hi and welcome to AOT and LL lovely to see you both .
I am in the vacuum dilemma at the moment I can't lift Henry without comeback . He is kept upstairs as only bedrooms and stairs are carpeted but oh those stairs ! I have considered the painted treads and papered risers my eldest daughter did but wonder if they would be slippy .
I for one would welcome any who have lightweight and or cordless vacs to give their feedback .
I forgot to mention earlier the weather study input is on a daily basis but it is stressed you can miss when days are bad .
polly

Larumbelle · 13 September 2016 at 11:52AM

lessonlearned wrote: »

For me the biggest help was to have a serious declutter and trying to adopt the principles of minimalism. I have still got a long way to go, especially in the kitchen. I need to buy some "magic corners" for the base units and some pull out baskets. Hoping to organise that in the next couple of weeks.

I agree wholeheartedly! I had to get rid of a lot of my belongings when I was made homeless. Thankfully I managed to get my furniture/white goods stored by the council, and friends took things like clothes and books, but anything that wasn't truly essential or truly loved had to go. But now I am settled again, I don't miss anything, other than the stress of never having enough room for things, never being able to keep on top of the clutter, and never being able to find what I'm looking for! An awful lot of what I thought I 'needed' I haven't felt the need to replace. I wouldn't say that I am a minimalist, but I think my new philosophy is that if I have more stuff than I can store in an organised, accessible way, then it is too much for me and will be time to have another cull.

[Deleted User] · 13 September 2016 at 11:53AM

kittie wrote: »

...Being small, I have always known how to move heavier things, like bags of compost. I roll into my 2 wheeled wheelbarrow from the boot and move that way. I also `walk` larger heavier things, I can move a lot of things that way...

Hello,

I have one of these for my large garden (although I have the bigger size).

http://greenfingers.com/product.asp?dept_id=200348&pf_id=DD11154D

I have mobility issues (rubbish left leg) and prolapsed discs in my back and fused bones in my back also and so the trolley is great. I load all my tools into it, put in a trug for the weeds and sometimes my cat sits in there too as I pull the trolley around the garden working.

The sides unpin and drop down also. I have had mine quite a few years and although it is now battered looking it is still going strong.

[Deleted User] · 13 September 2016 at 11:57AM

Larumbelle wrote: »

... but I think my new philosophy is that if I have more stuff than I can store in an organised, accessible way, then it is too much for me and will be time to have another cull.

Totally agree.

I find that too much stuff actually weights me down. We are quite good at not having too many things, but it still starts to mount up quickly.

After doing another major de-clutter over the last few months and a re-organisation of things we have cut down the time it takes to clean the whole house by 1 hour!

[Deleted User] · 13 September 2016 at 12:14PM

Things we have done to help me include:

- Low wheelchair threshold for the french doors into the garden so no big step to get over.

- Hand rails near the front and side doors to help when it is icy getting in and out of the house.

- A new worktop oven. We have a large double oven low down and being tall it can be hard to bend down and take things out. So we bought a new drop-down door oven which sits on the worktop and it is great (just made a loaf in it this morning).

- A plastic basket which hangs on the pipework of the shower to hold shampoo etc. No need to bend down on the floor to reach thing any more.

- A walk-in pantry. We have lots of windows, doors and a fireplace in our kitchen so nowhere to fit many cupboards. So the best thing to do was to put in a large corner panty. We recently re-did the shelving and I can now get all of the food and almost all of the cooking pots and pans in there. Instead of having to bend to reach anything I can open the door wide and 'lunge' forward on my good leg to reach things as everything is easy to find and see.

- We use a lot of remote control switches for lamps so no bending to switch them on just leave the remote in easy reach and use this instead.

[Deleted User] · 13 September 2016 at 12:34PM

Shropshirelass wrote: »

...we avoid crowded places because he gets around so slowly, and the stick gets in the way, we wouldn't dream of traveling by train anymore. ..

I often use a stick and have even tripped over the damn thing! Also, I have some folding sticks so they can be stored out of the way when at the cinema etc:

https://www.switchsticks.co.uk/store.asp/c=6

Also, do you know that you can book easy accessible seats near the doors on trains and there is other help available too:

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations_destinations/disabled_passengers.aspx

Last time we went to London (and even though my husband was with me) when getting off the train, on both the journey there and back home, a fellow passenger carried my small case off the train for me as soon as they saw I needed help. I didn't tackle the tube though - we used taxis instead.

Also, John Lewis were great when helping me to buy a lightweight, small, wheeled case. I wanted to make sure that I could cope with the bag handle in one hand and the walking stick in the other. The sales lady spent ages taking all the cases off display for me so that I could try them out.

pollyanna_26 · 13 September 2016 at 12:55PM

Kittie Lovely to see you .

I don't think Kittie will mind me mentioning her wonderful thread on the over 50s forum a lot of really useful information over there about adjusting to changing circumstances .
Welcome Spider very useful advice . Thank you .
Larumbelle I keeping meaning to mention your bullet list . I will print it off and put it somewhere visible , thank you .
Clutter is a problem . What once seemed loved possessions can become a hindrance when we become less able to do everything . I joined the kondo thread last year posted a few times and never went back. So many have changed their lives by following the plan but I am doing it my way for the moment and a doing the most urgent areas first . Books in particular are hard I have a small lifetime of them . I have tried ebooks but they don't bring me the joy of real books . I began to donate large amounts to charity a few years ago but am still trying the letting go of many . Logic tells me the information in the non fiction ones is available all over the net but sentiment argues back .
I know it is impossible but I often wish mse had drop in centres for books , craft stuff etc where people could choose what they like for free and those who donate could take comfort in passing things on to a good home .
polly

maddiemay · 13 September 2016 at 1:08PM

Shortish post as I am on hols and hate typing on tablet! Thank you so much Polly for starting this thread. Will introduce myself properly when I get home, but do want to shout the praises of my G tech k9 cordless vac and hand vac, it is a lifesaver. Have hairy dog so does need emptying every use but it is so easy to do. Works on carpet and hard floors automatically and so easy to use, even on a weak bad pain day.

Larumbelle · 13 September 2016 at 1:54PM

pollyanna_26 wrote: »

Kittie Lovely to see you .
I know it is impossible but I often wish mse had drop in centres for books , craft stuff etc where people could choose what they like for free and those who donate could take comfort in passing things on to a good home .
polly

I donated most of what I got rid of to charity shops, so I took comfort that it would raise some money for a good cause and probably make someone else smile because they got a bargain. Not quite the same, but still, some good came of it. Now I am a little more aware of furniture projects, Salvation Army etc I would donate through them where possible, but it is frustrating because I know us thrifty types can do well with stuff that these people have to reject. I'm thinking things like a load of CFL lightbulbs that nobody was allowed to accept because of insurance, leftover paint that nobody round here distributes since the local Community RePaint closed. A lot goes to waste that wouldn't have to.

Something else that has always got me, is that so many households all buy a ladder each, a drill, a lawnmower, carpet cleaner.. stuff that most people need from time to time, but not all the time. There should be a library for stuff like that!!! I know there are a few of these about now but when an organisation I am connected to looked into the feasibility, insurance, premises etc made it too expensive to do without some funding, and they couldn't find anyone who would support a scheme like that.

On the plus side, something I have heard we do have round here is a time bank. Those who might want a hand with household tasks, this might be something to look into and see if there is one in your area?

PS Pollyanna I'm glad the list was useful

pollyanna_26 · 13 September 2016 at 4:33PM

Maddie may Than you for mentioning the Gtech I have dithered back and forth for months between that and the Dyson cordless and have had opinions on both on other threads I have been going towards the Gtech but am still not decided . Like others here spending has to be justified as I am a pensioner on a low income and travel costs and other medical related spends take a large chunk out of the budget .
The roomba mentioned by Kittie is a good idea but can't do stairs .Recently Shark have brought out a range of vacuums with a five year guarantee which seem very highly rated . One has a light lift away pod for stairs so if anyone has experience of those I would welcome your views . As another option I could keep using my beloved little Henry whose little face makes me smile on the bedrooms and opt for a hand held but both the gt and d have mixed reviews on those . This is a daft thing to be dithering over but I can only do it once .
Enjoy your holiday and thank you for taking the time to post

polly

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OS ways and Poor Health

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