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
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!
and because I think these are easier to use
than these,
I created these:
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
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
than these,
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!
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