everybody.

It's Nancy May with another episode of Doing it Best with Eldercare Success.

Well, of course you're doing it best.

Why would you want to do it any other way?

Before I start this episode, I want to give a shout out to a gentleman

who shared a comment in Apple podcast.

I don't have his name.

It was just a handle, but you'll know who it is if you're listening.

And I want to say, thank you so much for your comments and for sharing

with others that you know as well.

His comment is, I'm a disabled middle aged man who is a caregiver

to two aging relatives, one with a rare form of dementia.

The host is gentle, kind, and encouraging, and knowledgeable,

and the information presented makes a big difference in our lives.

Thank you, and enjoy your day in paradise.

Well, whoever you are, I want to say thank you so much for sharing

your comments and your thoughts

and for your enjoy your day in paradise.

You know what, every day can be a good day, especially when we

make it an Eldercare Success Day.

On that note, if you do not have the book, How to Survive 9 1 1 Medical

Emergencies, I recommend that you do.

There are tips that will save you money, which every caregiving family is

challenged with at some point, how to get better help in the ER, and even how to

get discharged faster, and a lot more.

It's not just about 9 1 1.

It's about getting the care that your loved one deserves.

And you do too, because peace of mind and peace of heart is

something that we all deserve.

Now let's jump into this episode.

this week, I'm talking about how to be more creative in finding new

tools to make your caregiving easier.

And every day better for those that you love and care for, too.

Over the years, I learned that shopping for things specifically marketed to

caregiver needs can get expensive.

Many are overpriced, break easily, or don't serve our purpose as well.

So, somewhat out of desperation, I started thinking a little differently,

with every store I entered, for whatever reason it might be, even Harbor Freight,

Petco, or my favorite ice cream store, which, down in Florida, is Papa Clyde's.

I just love their Everything Chocolate Chunky

Moose Tracks.

Yum.

But I digress.

Here's what I mean, and here's how you can start doing this too.

Start by keeping a small notepad or using a note taking app on your phone

of all the physical and emotional challenges that you're facing in

caring for your folks or a loved one.

This will build your, what I refer to as, aha mental note when

you're walking into any particular facility, no matter what it is.

Every shopping trip can be an adventure and create solutions

to many of your problems.

Every time I went grocery shopping, not just for milk or bread or things that I

needed at home, But even thinking about the things that mom and dad might need

to make their life a little easier, I walked down the aisles thinking, hmm,

can I use this for something else?

For example, ice cream store or grocery store.

If mom and dad are just not eating or wanting to eat because it's

boring, you're sitting there, you're watching television or they're

sitting there and watching television and every day is kind of the same.

It's hard to get excited about a meal that just doesn't excite you, right?

So, ice cream cones might be a way to actually spice things up.

You know, you don't have to have spaghetti on a plate.

You could have it in an ice cream cone, top it with a

little cheese, and munch away.

All right, it might get a little sloppy, but who cares?

That's what a sponge is for.

Or a napkin, even better yet, garbage bags that smell good.

Now, all right, garbage doesn't smell so good.

And Lysol smells even yuckier, in my opinion.

but garbage bags that smell like lavender, that's kind of interesting.

And especially if you're disposing of incontinent products.

Now back to food, palates change with age and sometimes our parents will prefer

things that are sweet, sugar is not always the best thing, especially if you're

diabetic, But sometimes they actually prefer spicy things over sweet things.

You can figure that out pretty easily by just testing a few changes on

their dinner plate or breakfast plate.

They might like jalapeno Cheerios.

You never know.

Now if you're in Lowe's or Home Depot or even Harbor Freight, here are a

couple of things to think about too.

Walk down the aisles and think about grab bars.

Yeah, they have grab bars.

Some of them are not actually particularly safe.

So make sure that the ones that you have at some kind of grip mechanism

in the back, usually a little texture, the slippery things don't

work so well, or the bars that don't have texture on them may not work

so well, especially in the shower.

pleasing, putting hands on a slippery bar that have no texture

with soap on them can be dangerous.

Just be careful.

Remember that when you go into Home Depot and look for grab bars.

Getting up and down stairs can be tough, especially just that

little lip from the garage into the kitchen or into a pantry area.

You can get ramps at Home Depot or Lowe's that are designed for mechanical devices.

Ideally, you want those ramps to have some sort of cushion Or something

that your feet or your parents feet are not going to slip on.

The metal ramps are not so good, but if all else fails, get a piece

of carpet, glue it down to that ramp and make sure that they don't

slide off or you don't slide off.

If you don't want to spend money on a ramp because they can get expensive, There's

nothing like a couple of 2x4s to give support, especially one down the middle,

And a big flat piece of particle board.

You can paint it to look pretty, or like I said, tack down carpet.

It works perfectly.

And don't forget microwaves and other devices in Home Depot or Lowe's.

The reason why I mentioned that is because if you have a gas stove or an electric

stove in your parents home, and they're just having problems with neuropathy or

forgetfulness, The best thing you can do is to make sure that those are unplugged

if mom or dad are there by themselves.

give them a small microwave and show them how to use it.

let me tell you a quick story about an electric oven that my mom

and dad had in a care facility.

One day, I go visit Mom and Dad.

I came down from the north to the south, and yes, I called myself the

Wicked Witch from the north, because I would fly down, visit Mom and Dad,

always smiling, and usually stir up a little trouble for the caregivers,

or I wouldn't say the caregivers, but the facility management, who tended

not to think too much about safety.

I don't think they even thought about ramifications of a lot of things, although

they were one of the better places in this area where Mom and Dad lived.

Pretty doesn't always mean good.

In any case, what was happening on this trip, I learned, is that Dad was storing

straw baskets on top of an electric stove in Mom and Dad's apartment.

Now that's fine if Dad didn't bump into the buttons that were on the

front, not on the back of the stove.

By the way, if you do have an electric appliance, please make sure that you buy

one or have one with the buttons in the back, so that they don't accidentally bump

into them if they're going to use them.

So, I see that Dad stored these drawer baskets, collecting creamers and sugars

and anything else he could find, including little crackers for Mom, Who really

didn't feel like going down to the dining room to have a meal three times a day.

I get it.

It's alright.

But, my concern was that Dad didn't really know his way around a kitchen.

So, a small efficiency kitchen.

He would bump into things, turn around, not even knowing that he

had twisted a knob, or bumped his hip on a corner and got in a bruise.

That's okay.

I loved it anyway, Dad, and I still do.

But my concern was what would happen if he bumped into those

knobs and the stove turned on.

Oof, Could You Imagine, Cooked Mom and Dad, Alright, so

that's a little too graphic.

On that afternoon, I marched down to the general manager's office and just

inquired about their liability insurance.

and then proceeded to explain what had happened.

Within seconds, the maintenance, I have to laugh here about this one, but truly,

within seconds, the maintenance department was down there unplugging that stovetop.

Honestly, I hope they checked in every other apartment too, because

it wasn't just my folks that were dealing with that, I know.

I'm pretty sure that there were others in their facility that were

dealing with similar challenges.

so other things that you can find either at Lowe's, Home Depot, or Harbor Freight,

or any other kind of fix it store, are wall outlets, now I'm not talking about

the 3D wall outlets that you might put a light in, or something like that,

But I'm actually talking about the physical plate that goes onto the outlet.

There are some that actually have little tiny lights that are light sensitive,

and there's no need for a nightlight.

There are three little lights on the bottom, and when the lights are off, they

light up and show your way down the hall.

I love those because there's nothing to bump into, nothing to fall off the wall,

you know, like a nightlight or something like that, and could get broken because.

You never know, wheelie walkers smash into things, glass lights can shatter

and cause all sorts of problems.

But those little light plates are a gem.

I love each and every one of them.

And then finally, well, not finally, but it's just another

way to think about things,

Is the no hands needed waste basket.

I love those.

You just wave your hand over them, the lid goes up, and pop, in your garbage goes.

Whatever that might be, We as caregivers rarely have a free hand.

so I love those no hands needed waste baskets.

These are just a few things to get you thinking differently the

next time you walk into your next neighborhood retail establishment.

It doesn't matter what it is.

Like I said, Lowe's, Home Depot, The Grocery Store, Or even

your favorite ice cream store.

There are lots of ways to think differently about solving problems

that you're dealing with every day.

and my guess is that you might even come up with a few brilliant ideas

that can be shared here with others.

If you do go to EldercareSuccess.

live and leave a message for me.

There's a little button on the side that says leave Nancy a voicemail message.

You can leave a voicemail or just leave me an email and say, Hey Nance, here's a

tip that I found blah, blah, blah store.

It might help others.

I'll share it here on the show and I'll mention your name too.

Why do we do this?

Because, I'm pretty sure that you want to be in Eldercare Success.

I do too.

And finally, If you like the show, please let me know.

You can do it on any of your podcast listening platforms,

and on eldercaresuccess.

live.

Sharing is caring.

It can be your gift to somebody that you know, a friend, a family member, or even

a stranger, because it's my gift to you.

Be well, stay well, and we'll see you soon and hear you soon.

Bye bye.