I know there have been a few other threads over the years discussing similar issues - many of which I've contributed to and/or learnt from but it's my turn to ask for help now...
I'm at my Mum's house - she's very frail, bent nearly double due to several back operations. Specific issue I need advice on though - the kitchen. It's a terrible layout anyway, cluttered to **** and with an old and very random set of knives, utensils etc, must of which are near useless.
Combined with the lack of leverage due to her being bent over, she's having real trouble chopping fruit, veg, meat etc (she's a good cook, she does eat properly and has a balanced diet).
However even I was struggling with the knives as I was preparing food. Ideally the entire kitchen contents needs binning and replacing with one simple set of plates, cups, utensils etc rather than the hotch potch of random (cheap/old) shite that's in there now but that won't be an easy conversation!
Anyone got any suggestions for decent knife sets and/or any automated veg chopper type gadgets? Not £££ either.
There is a range of utensils called Good Grip or something similar that have larger, softer grip areas and more leverage. I also found some useful items for my late parents to help open jars and tins, a large plastic clamp thing for jars and a tool that lifted the ring on tins and then was used to provide safe leverage to pull the lid off. We never had any success with electric tin openers, most too fiddly and some plain dangerous. Lakeland are good for useful gadgets and also your local mobility shops will have catalogues. Good luck!
A kitchen seat might be handy as well. Special ones with locking wheels.
Sounds like she could do with a occupational therapist assessment. A lot of stuff is available from councils
+1 for Lakeland and oxo good grips. Simple food processor might be good for chopping things like carrots. We also bought my MIL an electric can opener which seems to work really well for her.
Zwilings do a child’s chef’s knife which has a proper evil blade on it, but no point, an easy to grip rubberised handle and a shield for holding the veg with your other hand safely. Would that be of any use? https://www.zwilling.com/uk/zwilling-twinny-10-cm-childrens-chefs-knife-36540-101-0/36540-101-0.html
We also bought my MIL an electric can opener which seems to work really well for her.
Mum has one of those and it was total crap but - like much of the stuff in her kitchen - it may just have been a cheap one or from a charity shop. I had to break it loose after it seized solid onto a can midway through opening it.
Victorinox do good knives at reasonable prices, I'm not sure what you mean by a knife set but a cook's knife, a paring knife and a bread knife cover almost all needs. I'd be wary of giving my 87 year old mum anything too sharp though yours may be different. Suddenly introducing sharp knives to someone with a lot of habits learned using blunt ones is pretty dodgy imo.
As above, the Oxo Good grips range are comfortable to use and elder friendly and a grippy thing to help with jars and bottles is a good idea. I agree that a proper assessment would possibly be a good idea if she's open to it.
Victorinox chefs knife is a good shout. The Fibrox range is cheap (~£25), holds an edge and has a comfortable plastic handle with good grip. Add a paring knife and a bread knife and that's knives sorted.
Oxo Good Grip are also excellent, I'd also add a decent electric can and jar opener.
As your mum can't stand straight, a lower work surface height and a kitchen chair sound like a good idea - simple Ikea stuff would work.
TJ +1
proper seat/stool is very helpful, MIL got one after an OT assessment and it is really good. Its fully adjustable for height and angle, and very stable
We got a set of large grip cutlery but they went down like a lead balloon and have never been seen since.
MIl was very resistant to changing lots of stuff so we found one thing at a time worked best. Some things we just gave up on rather than create a stooshi by forcing it
+1 for an OT. My son has CP and it’s surprising the kit his OT knows about compared to looking yourself. Also anything with a “disabled” tag tends to have a hefty price tag so if it can be provided all the better.
With her grip strength issues, is slipping and cutting an issue? There are anti cut gloves to protect fingers you can get. My son had a chopping board that has little spikes to hold the food and a guide for the knife so you don’t need to have fingers near the blade.
He also has a fancy gadget a bit like an oversized thumb screw for breaking eggs without smashing them to bits.
I am sure you will but please don't forget to ASK and DISCUSS with your mother. I know you want to make things better and removing all the blunt knives, knackered tin openers and replacing them with good ones is probably a good idea but...
...when you get old and knackered yourself, you can feel that people are just taking over your decisions and doing things for you without considering you. Sharing the decisions with her will help with self dignity. The nearest MTB equivalent would be your partner suddenly deciding to go through all you bike clothing and throwing away most of it to replace it with what they thought you should be wearing without asking if you actually wanted them to do it.
It can feel a bit awkward, especially if they just keep saying "no, leave that, it is fine and I have had it for years, I don't want a new one etc" when you suggest replacing the 50 year old blunt knife with a broken handle and rusty blade (Yes, I have had that conversation)
Wca +1
Another vote for OT.
They really helped my parents out recently with a load of stuff to make their lives much easier.
Neither of them are good at accepting help but once they'd had a visit from an OT person they were very grateful.
My wife is a community OT, ask for an OT assessment, there maybe other things they can offer to help your Mam to keep her safe and happy in her home.
Old people love blunt, useless knives that they’ve had for years (ime). If it’s a super-flexible, semi-serrated knife with a poor-gripping part-melted plastic handle even better.
it might be possible to get a needs assessment from your local authority? Or an occupational therapist? (Wrote before I saw the earlier post)
from your description then lowering at least some of the kitchen worktops and getting suitable seat could help.
rise and fall work surface https://www.akw-ltd.co.uk/types/kitchens/activmotion-rise-fall-units/
Seats etc https://www.completecareshop.co.uk/living-aids/kitchen-aids/kitchen-accessories/perching-stools
knife- this will be tricky, but something like a sharp vegetable chopper? Either go full ‘weak wrists’ and get something with handles on either end and a chopping board that can hold things steady, or go for something like a Global vegetable knife that has a fairly flat blade that you can hold with the handle and put extra pressure on the ‘tip’ with the other hand https://millyskitchenstore.co.uk/products/global-knives-g-series-18cm-vegetable-knife-g5
and definitely what WCA said - unwanted and undiscussed ‘help’ can be much worse than none at all. This needs to be cooperative.
and definitely what WCA said – unwanted and undiscussed ‘help’ can be much worse than none at all. This needs to be cooperative.
To be fair, while my Mum can be stubborn and keen to "just make do" or push on through herself, this one did actually come about from her conversation.
She wants two really good knives - something like a paring knife and a serrated blade one - to replace what must be about 8 or 9 random flimsy blunt blades so there's progress.
My sister is due here in a bit so we'll try and put on a united front and and help out. She gets overwhelmed with information very quickly so any time she thinks "oh I could do with a new knife" (for example), she'll start looking online and be so overcome with the choices plus adverts, pop ups, distractions etc that she just shuts it down and forgets about it.
Thanks for the info on OT assessment, definitely one to look into.
Decent knife sharpener? No need to get precious about whetstones and the like with old knifes/knives (sp?).
or if you've got the time get the whetstone out and do an initial sharpening yourself. She gets to keep the ones she's familiar with but they start actually working.
I am sure you will but please don’t forget to ASK and DISCUSS with your mother. I know you want to make things better and removing all the blunt knives, knackered tin openers and replacing them with good ones is probably a good idea but…
As others have said, you need to let them make the decisions still. Have found with my mum that the key to getting her to consider moving stuff out of her tiny house with no space (which casues issues with my dad falling over the piles of stuff) is to get her to think who in the wider family might make use of it. And all the family are now conditioned to accept anything they are offered even if they dont want it - gets it out of the house and then can be disposed of.
Cnt help with knives, but a whiteboard (for writing shopping lists and things to remember) and one of those kettle things that boil one cup at a time were really useful, as was additional under cabinet lighting.
She wants two really good knives – something like a paring knife and a serrated blade one – to replace what must be about 8 or 9 random flimsy blunt blades so there’s progress.
Amazon have a Victorinox set (paring, serrated paring, blunt end serrated) for less than £12. That should cover most needs. I have way more knives than that but tbh that set and a cooks knife would be plenty. Though I'd maybe want a bread knife too!
I wouldn't suggest any brand like Global unless she's an enthusiast, and it doesn't sound to me like a sharpener would be of any interest - equipment maintenance seems low on her scale of priorities.
