A few easy ideas for making home life easier for a person with a disability, from authors Jane and Ron Hopkins:
• Pots and pans with large knobs or handles are easier to grasp. Choose handles that won’t get slippery.
• Plates with high rims enable people with limited dexterity to scoop up their food.
• Rubberized shelf liner or a wet towel can be used as a place mat to keep dishes from sliding.
• Flip-top caps on condiments, toothpaste and other products are easier to use than screw-on caps.
• Motion sensors make toilets, soap dispensers and faucets easier to use.
• Items are easier to reach on shelves than in closed cupboards.
• Spring-loaded clothespins can hold a book open for reading.
• Hooks are simpler for hanging clothes than hangers.
• Cheap bamboo back scratchers make great reaching tools.
• Key rings or binder rings can be attached to zipper pulls to make them easier to grasp.
• To turn lace-up shoes into slip-ons, lace them with narrow elastic cord from a fabric store while the person is wearing the shoes, and then tie the elastic in a double knot. The shoe can then be removed without untying the elastic.
• The curved blade of a mezzaluna knife makes it easier for a person with limited dexterity to use. If the person has use of only one hand, choose a mezzaluna with a single handle.
• A rope tied to a laundry basket allows it to be pulled instead of carried.