April 3, 2015
I live alone so I cannot stay in my home if stinky garbage piles up on my patio. People would call the health department. After my stroke a neighbor took my garbage to the curb for a month. However, I do not want neighbors to think if they help me for a short while they have volunteered for life. Paying a nursing home
$8,000 a month is a really expensive way to get rid of garbage (
Genworth Survey of Long-Term Care). Here are adaptive devices that make me independent.
Garbage. I use
Hefty Ultimate garbage bags. They have an elastic drawstring built into the top of the bag which grips the top of the garbage can in my kitchen. I place the full garbage bag on the seat of a kitchen chair so I do not have to lean down very far to tie a knot in the drawstring with my teeth and sound hand. Once the bag is tightly sealed I kick it down my front steps without any spills. I put the bag in a rolling garbage can to take the garbage to the curb. I learned not to push the garbage can by tilting the can and rolling it on the wheels. The first time I did this I almost fell when the garbage can got away from me. By putting the wheels in front (see arrow) I can push it like a rolling walker.
CAUTION: I used to drag a cane in my hemiplegic hand so I could walk back to the house. Now my balance is good enough to walk back without a cane.
Recycling. My town recycles glass, metal, and plastic containers. The short yellow container I was given is too heavy and awkward for me to carry to the curb. The photo shows the
Devault Plant Dolly. Six casters under the dolly make it roll smoothly. To pull the dolly back to the house, I threaded a long strap through the central hole that is designed to let plants drain.
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