Items That Make Life Easier With RA

The best purchase I made before Christmas was a cover for my new phone. With no cover it didn't take long before I dropped it - it felt so heavy and slippery and hard to hold. 

Then I found this cover. You don't even have to ask people to smile when you pull out your phone for a photo.

Look at the hand friendly profile. The beak acts as a slip-stopper.




The next place I shopped was Lee Valley, an online and real life woodworking and hardware store. I love it when I find things that let me easily do what I want to do.

 These forceps (technical name is 'label removing pliers') were only $3.50. It's so hard to pull many of the interior covers and safety seals off of products. No one advises you to use your teeth on those obstacles.

With these locking forceps it's easy  to get a grip and peel them back. They'll also be good for vitamin bottles.





Twist ties and cables also drive me crazy. These are larger and easy to use as well as looking very cool and visible. Thin wire ties are so hard to open, even to find the starting point.

I also liked the idea of making my own magnetic handle.  I bought some magnets that are threaded and screwed them into a handle that was sitting around. This should make it easier to open metal drawers with awkward pulls.

All in all these were very rewarding purchases, including the grater with the big handle and good angle.

You can find an interesting project about devices and strategies that make life easier at Rheumful of Tips. It's been a lengthy project from Auntie Stress and covers a lot of territory.

Here's a post from me about resting splints and here's another about the best knife ever.

And another with more helpful ideas.

Ideas to Spare Your Hand Joints - You'll Need Them For a Long Time

Here are a few things I use to save the joints of my hands and fingers.    I also have a collection of things that might help some day and others items that are useless and rather silly.

I collect water bottles that are easy to hold and easy to pick up without looking while I am driving. This was one of my best finds though ecologically bad. Here I am in Canada and we are shipping this water in from Ireland. It amazes me that any company would find that economically feasible. But it's good for me - all of those indentations give me a good grip. And also I am far less likely to drop it. Now if only the lids didn't keep rolling under the car seats...

I have actually worn one of these out since I first got diagnosed. I almost feel that I can open anything with it. For pop bottles, pickles (lie -I never open pickles) fruit juice and everything else I use this as an opener. This jar opener even works to pry up the vacuum sealed lids on mason jars of soup.

This is just a plastic sleeve that I have heard called a nobby.  It makes setting the dryer a lot easier.
Sometimes you don't realize how much strain you are putting on your joints until you make it easier.  These can be used on any knob or dial.  They are a little stretchy but you might need help to put them on the knob the first time.

Turning keys in a regular lock can be tough when your hands are sore and weak. Opening my front door has always been a problem for me.  I used to use the metal split ring on my keyring but it is MUCH easier using this keyturner.  I even bought another to use for the washroom door at my office.

If you would like to see more tips Auntie Stress has been posting 1 per day for the last 355 days.  What a lot of work that has been Marianna!  http://rheumfuloftips.wordpress.com/