Practical resources, tools, and adaptations that support everyday activities, comfort, and independence.
Opening jars and bottles has become one of those small tasks that quietly reorganizes a kitchen. Nothing dramatic happens; things just take longer, or require a second try, or get postponed until later. After a while, certain containers stay unopened because the effort feels disproportionate to what’s inside them. I noticed a bundled set of…
A Pineapple Corer tool peels, slices, and cores pineapples with minimal use of a knife. We love fresh pineapple, but don’t love using large, sharp knives any more. Could a pineapple corer work better than a knife for older hands?
When I began hearing the talk about the bad effects that prolonged sitting has on our health, I looked for ideas to decrease the time I spend sitting every day. I finally settled on the FitDesk.
I used an arm peddler at the gym years ago and remember thinking it was harder than it looked. I remember getting a pretty good arm workout on it. So when I came across under-desk peddlers while looking for exercises I could do to tone my upper arms, I took a second look.
There’s no shortage of expert guidance about what older adults should eat. I’ve read it, bookmarked it, and nodded along. But knowing what’s recommended and actually preparing food day after day aren’t the same thing. As I’ve gotten older, the challenge hasn’t been understanding what’s considered “good” food. It’s been the effort required to turn…
My daughter gave me my first Magic Bullet more than a decade ago. At the time, I wasn’t sure what I would use it for. It seemed too small to matter much, especially alongside bigger kitchen appliances I relied on. It didn’t take long to change my mind. The Magic Bullet isn’t a workhorse like…
One of my favorite small appliances stopped working last week after decades of service. My faithful Presto Salad Shooter had shredded its last carrot. I felt as if I had lost an old friend.
I used to dread juicing citrus fruits. The simple twist of a lemon or lime on a manual reamer brought sharp reminders of arthritis in my hands. What was once a small, everyday task became a source of hesitation, and sometimes, skipped steps in recipes. When my daughter sent me a small electric citrus juicer,…
At a recent doctor’s appointment, my blood pressure came in lower than expected. My doctor suggested I start checking it at home. I wasn’t sure what to expect — would it feel like a chore, or would it actually help me understand my health in a new way? I realized that home monitoring isn’t just…
Watching TV together can be tricky when two people have different preferences for volume. I noticed it with neighbors recently: he liked the volume loud and uninterrupted, she preferred a moderate level so she could answer the phone or rest her ears. For them, as for many households, the standard approach — cranking the volume…