This time last year I wrote about all the stroke-related
clutter I’ve collected in my house. So I recognize the irony now of writing a
post advocating the acquisition of still more stuff. But a couple purchases I
made recently have really improved my quality of life.
I was making multiple trips to carry all my meal items
one-at-a-time from the kitchen and back. While multiple trips meant more
exercise, it wasn’t quality exercise. I was focused on not spilling my coffee
instead of posture and mechanics. I’d rather wheel my breakfast to the table in
one fell swoop and save my energy for quality exercise at the gym.
Since buying the food trolley, I have found multiple other
uses – i.e., unloading the dishwasher onto the trolley and rolling it around the
kitchen to put things away – same goes for laundry once it’s folded.
Vacuuming is even harder after a stroke: moving the cord and
furniture out of the way, wrapping up the cord at the finish – it is frustrating
and hard on my back. Sweeping can be good therapy, but it doesn’t work on
carpets and it’s exhausting. Enter my Roomba 630 – a relatively inexpensive robotic
vacuum. Last weekend, we had a dinner party. After being on my feet all morning preparing food, I was able to turn on my Roomba to clean my floors while I took a nap. I awoke to a clean house – rested and ready to greet my guests.
Vacuuming is really hard, does that robotic one really work?
ReplyDeleteYes, it works. Re: Barb's comment below. It sometimes misses area rugs because it interprets the edge as an obstacle. The only place I have area rugs is the bathroom. I've found a workaround for those, though. As the instructions suggest, you need to observe it the first time it works in an area so you can best prep the room. I love mine!
DeleteMarcelle, I got a really early Roomba, and it was wonderful on bare floors, but had a terrible time on the edges of rugs.
ReplyDeleteOne post-stroke Christmas my husband got me an electric broom and that is much easier to use than a vacuum cleaner; rechargeable, so no cord, and nothing to lug around. I can't detach the container of dirt/fuzz/etc, so my husband does that filthy chore. It's got different length wands, so you can use it on floors while you're standing or as a dust-buster if you made just a small mess.
Thanks for the update on your hiatus - have a happy holiday and best wishes for a great trip to Argentina! Ole' y Feliz Cumpleanos!
ReplyDeleteMy kitchen cart is priceless for all the reasons you mentioned. I totally agree about saving energy for the fun stuff.
ReplyDeleteGreat Post and nice article.Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete