Some activities at home will be hard to do. You may need help from family and friends for activities such as cooking, grocery shopping, laundry, vacuuming, and driving. If your family or friends want to rearrange your furniture to try make things easier for you (e.g., arranging your kitchen appliances), let them know you’d like to be involved. If you aren’t able to have someone help you when you first get home, talk to your occupational therapist about ways and resources that can help.

Preparing Meals and Clean-Up

• Be organized for the task.
• Keep items you use often within easy reach.
• Use a long-handled reacher if items are out of reach.
• Slide objects along the countertops.
• Use a wheeled trolley or cart to transport items when your hands are occupied with a walking aid.
• Wear an apron with large pockets or attach a bag or fanny pack to your walker to carry things.
• Sit on a high stool when doing tasks on your countertop.
• Carry hot liquids in containers with lids.
• Use prepared meals.
• Balance your activity with resting often.
• Give yourself time to get around your home.
• You can find equipment to rent from places like the Red Cross, medical suppliers, or your local Health Unit.

Shopping

• Have a family member or friend pick up, deliver, or help you put away the groceries.
• Some grocery stores offer a delivery service for your convenience.

Laundry

• Have someone do the laundry for you. If this isn’t possible, bring a few pieces of clothing at a time using a bag or a wheeled cart.
• A reacher may make it easier to get laundry in and out of front-loading washers and dryers.

Housework and Yard Work

• You may do light housekeeping such as tidying and dusting.
• Arrange for a family member or a friend to do heavy work such as vacuuming, washing floors, sweeping, changing bed sheets, cleaning rooms, cutting the grass, and shovelling the snow.
• Remove loose mats from the floor to help prevent you from tripping.
• As your rehabilitation progresses, you’ll become more independent.