Regardless of whether you are full-time or part-time, direct or indirect, paid or unpaid, caregiving is challenging. These difficulties are often unseen by people on the outside but they are still incredibly significant.
Throughout this blog, we’ve discussed many different approaches for resolving specific problems. These include issues like caregiver stress, medication management, stubborn parents, finding affordable housing and reducing age-related muscle loss.
These are all important topics – but they’re often not enough. As a caregiver, you sometimes need more concrete solutions, things that take the strain off you and solve problems.
That’s where this post comes in.
We’re highlighting various tools and services that can have a tangible impact on your caregiving journey. The list is one we plan to expand on over time, and we welcome your recommendations in the comments section at the end of the piece.
We are an affiliate for many of these companies. This means we earn a small commission if you buy anything but your price isn’t changed at all. Being an affiliate doesn’t bias our views either. In fact, we specifically chose these companies because they are powerful and because they truly can help.
Tools for Safety and Aging Well
I’m always surprised at how much of a difference the right tools can make. Even little things, like a grab rail in the bathroom or a non-slip mat can dramatically reduce the risk of falls.
Other tools simply make the home environment safer or make specific tasks easier to achieve. You’ll often find that some items can make dramatic differences – even if you’ve never heard or thought about them before.
The following services are all good places to consider. There is some overlap in what they offer, but each has its own areas of emphasis as well.
Rehab Mart
Rehab Mart focuses on tools for rehabilitation but there is a strong emphasis on caregiving as well. Their products range from the simple to the complex. For example, some product areas include the following:
Wright Stuff
Wright Stuff focuses on independent living aids for all age groups and situations. Their products are often smaller and simpler than what Rehab Market offers, which can make them perfect for many situations.
There are many different areas to choose from – but some of our favorites include.
Elder Depot
Elder Depot has a similar approach to Wright Stuff, although their emphasis is on seniors only. Their site focuses on key areas of need that seniors or caregivers may face. These include:
Silvert’s
Silvert’s is an especially impressive company. They just focus on one area: Adaptive clothing and footwear.
Their products are all designed to be easy for people to use, regardless of difficulties. For example, clothing often involves velcro fasteners in easy to reach locations.
They cover many different types of clothing, including tops, pants, sportswear, outwear, underwear and accessories, for men and women. Their clothing tends to look good too, which is a bonus.
Honestly, they’re worth checking out for their selection alone. You’re likely to find at least a few items that would be helpful, even if you’ve never thought about adaptive clothing previously.
Meal Delivery and Meal Kit Services
Making sure that seniors get the food and nutrition they need is critical – but the process isn’t always easy. Relying on good recipes can help, along with ways of adding flavor and making sure meals are soft.
But, those techniques only work if you are living with the senior and have the time (and energy!) to cook meals for them.
Meal services are alternative options. Some of these deliver meals that are completely cooked, while others deliver ingredients instead.
There are many different options to choose from and they vary in terms of price, quality and precisely what they offer. But, they can all cut down the work involved in meal preparation. The meal kit services are also a fun way to ensure the senior can still cook for themselves – without them having to stress about shopping for groceries or bringing the food home.
Some of our favorite services include the following:
- Magic Kitchen. This service delivers frozen prepared meals that just need to be heated. The company has a strong emphasis on seniors and families. They also cover more dietary preferences and needs than most other companies.
- Bistro Silver MD. This is a meals service specifically for seniors. They cater for various diets as well, including diabetic, low sodium and heart healthy. There is a decent variety of meals to choose from, including breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.
- Hello Fresh. Hello Fresh is a popular meal kit delivery service. It delivers pre-measured ingredients, along with recipe cards. There are 15 recipes to choose from each week and multiple plans. The service doesn’t cater for many dietary needs – but it’s always possible to just leave out some ingredients.
- Gobble. Gobble is another meal kit service. Their selling point is that the meals take just 15 minutes and can be prepared in one pan. To do so, they heavily rely on pre-packaged sauces and similar options. But, the ease of cooking is a significant bonus and could be perfect for many seniors.
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