My Accident - Part VIII

Another thing is write down a list of things you need people to get or do for you around the house when they come over. I remember my aunts physical therapist saying just ask people to do one thing so they won’t feel burdened if someone happens to stop by. People want to help but sometimes time is limited or they don’t know what to do when they visit you. Make it easy for them by having a list then when they come they can feel like they helped you but was not overwhelmed with tasks to do that would make them think twice about coming over again.

The most important things for me was garbage and recyclables taken out, mail brought up, water plants and one load of clothes taken away to be washed. If you have a washer and dryer that is golden. I can’t begin to tell you that you should be so thankful for that. Even if it is in a place like the basement that you can’t get to at least someone can throw a load of clothes in while they are there and once it is in the dryer it can stay a bit until the next person comes. In the situation that we are in we can’t worry about wrinkles in clothes. I always have to think twice when using too many clothes items because when will they get washed and they pile up. Make sure that you have a couple of large plastic garbage bags and a couple of medium garbage bags for easy access near the garbage container. There is nothing worse than smelly garbage that you can’t get out of the house. My aunt brought these scented garbage bags and they worked out great.

Both a cousin and a friend said they would take all my clothes and I avoided that one and I told them I wanted to spread the task of helping me around. This again lets them help you without regretting that they have all this extra stuff they have to do along with their own stuff. You don’t want anyone to feel overwhelmed and overburdened.

I also needed some of my craft supplies closer to me and that was a huge help. Or getting things up high and you can’t reach it. When the aid was here the most important things was washing my hair and changing the bedding. This one did the dishes for me, took out the garbage and brought up the mail. But personal care is needed to keep the aid. They are not housekeepers but some don’t mind helping out. Another essential thing that I would not think of was pants with wider legs. For me being in a cast I needed a few pants that I could slip over the cast. I cut a couple of exercising pants but you don’t want to have to cut up your pants. So one of my friends went to a second hand shop and got a couple of pants that I could use with wider bottoms. She got one man jogging pants that worked really well.