My 5 favourite kitchen gadgets that might just make life a teeny bit easier!

As highlighted in my previous post, we use activity analysis to think about the ways a task could be made easier. A lot of the time, using equipment is the easiest way adapt the way in which a task is done. Equipment takes the pressure away from us and our bodies needing to do 100% of the work, making it A LOT easier. It reduces energy expenditure and recovery time. Meaning we can be doing other fun things!

When Googling equipment that can be used in the kitchen, it’s safe to say it’s a bit of a minefield! Which ones are good? Or bad? Which will help me in the way that makes the task easier? There’s just so many gadgets out there!

Over the last 10+ years in healthcare settings, I’ve seen, used and provided a lot of different pieces of equipment. I like to think my equipment armoury is quite vast. Which is why I thought I’d put together a list of my 5 favourite bits of kitchen equipment. Of course, there are loads more out there. But this will give you an idea of where to start.

I’ll give you a run down of how each bit of kit works and how it can reduce energy use.

Perching stool

A great energy saving tool! Who wants to stand to do a task when we can sit? For those who aren’t able to sit for the entire task, this stool gives the option to easily alternate between sitting and standing. Or to just perch, and take the weight off your legs for a time. We know that standing for any prolonged period of time consumes so much energy. Sometimes, if we entirely stand to make lunch, we’re exhausted by the end of it. And then we don’t actually want to eat the lovely meal that we’ve created. Instead, we want to curl into a ball and recover from making it. Adding a perching stool into the mix, conserves energy. That energy can be used seeing friends that afternoon and not making friends with the sofa all day.

Top Tip: If you find your knees hit the cabinets. Try opening the cupboard door and popping your feet on the bottom shelf!

Dycem Reel

This unique material provides grip to any surface without it actually being stuck in one place. It can be used in many different ways. You can create a non-slip surface to place a chopping board on top of. Or use it as a gripping tool when shimmying open a jar. It can be cut to your desired size, meaning it can be used for various jobs around the kitchen. If we’re not having to constantly concentrate on holding the chopping board still. Or putting all of our energy and strength into opening that one jar. We can put that reserved energy to better use.

Slow Cooker

The beauty of this piece of equipment is in the name itself. It means we can slowly cook our dinner instead of having to do it all in one go. Whilst writing this blog post, I actually have my slow cooker on and cooking dinner for this evening. I prepped all of the vegetables last night. This morning all I had to do was turn the slow cooker on and throw all of the ingredients in. Other than the odd stir, I can go about my day; write this blog post, reply to emails, put the laundry on, watch a bit of tv. At the end of the day, I’ll have a lovely meal to eat, with pretty much no effort! The slow cooker has done it all for me. I have spent very little energy making a meal.

I would’ve been tied to the hob for hours without a slow cooker. Later on, I’ll have the energy to enjoy the meal and do something meaningful that brings me joy. My number one energy saving tool, that I recommend to everyone!

Plastazote Tubing

This thick foam tubing can be cut to size and placed around cutlery for adding a built-up handle. Meaning that ‘death grip’ is (hopefully!) no more! You can easily add or remove as needed. So the knives, forks and spoons in the drawer can still be used by everyone in the house. It means you haven’t got to carry around adapted cutlery when going out for dinner. Just pop a tube of plastazote on what is provided. The magic of this tool, is that the energy you would normally put into that death grip is eradicated. You can use the extra energy to hold a conversation after dinner, instead of being too exhausted and needing to go straight home.

Swedish Fix It Food Preparation Board

I’m not going to lie I have never come across this piece of equipment before. After a quick Google refresher of the equipment that’s out there, I found this, and I think it’s absolutely genius! It is designed to enable the user to cut, peel and grate food one handed. However, I think it perfectly lend itself as a piece of equipment to reduce energy usage as well. The large clamp on top of the board means you haven’t got to concentrate on holding larger items. Whilst the smaller spikes are there for smaller items. This means you can put the energy into chopping ingredients, but not holding them still. Hopefully making things a little bit easier. After all, making the task easier is the main aim of pieces of equipment and gadgets.

And those are my 5 favourite kitchen gadgets that make life just a little bit simpler! Hopefully, this has given you a short insight into the types of equipment that are out there. As well as how they work and how they can be used to conserve some energy.

If you have any questions about equipment or you’re not sure about which aids will work best for a job, then please email me at melanie@jboccupationaltherapy.co.uk or book in for a Freestyle Appointment for a chat.