Shopping and living when you're wheelchair bound
Posted: Sat Nov 20, 2010 11:52 am
I have not one, but two plastic tubs in the size and shape of a 30 quart waste receptacle. The one in my room has a plastic bag inside it and is marked "Trash Only". The one sitting in the corner of the dining room is empty, marked "Storage Only: Not for trash - property of Viridian Development Corporation". It is so marked so other residents of this rooming house do not misuse it for that purpose; there is a public trash can (with a bag in it) in the other corner of the dining area. Except for my room, the rest of the first floor is open. Even the 1st floor bathroom has no door. That was my choice; I had the landlord take the door off the bathroom. Of course, the bathroom is attached to my room and is only accessible from my room.
That means there are only five doors on the 1st floor. Front door, back door by the upstairs, back door leading to the porch, door leading to the basement laundry and rooms, the door to my room and the door inside my room to my closet.
I take that "not a trash can" plastic container with me when I go shopping, because I can balance it on the footrest of my wheelchair and use it to carry home groceries and other supplies so I'm not overloaded. It will hold about the equivalent of two hand baskets a store typically has, and keeps me from overloading myself. But I need something; to quote Lazarus Long in Robert A. Heinlein's Time Enough For Love, this power wheelchair "has the cargo capacity of a postage stamp."
That means there are only five doors on the 1st floor. Front door, back door by the upstairs, back door leading to the porch, door leading to the basement laundry and rooms, the door to my room and the door inside my room to my closet.
I take that "not a trash can" plastic container with me when I go shopping, because I can balance it on the footrest of my wheelchair and use it to carry home groceries and other supplies so I'm not overloaded. It will hold about the equivalent of two hand baskets a store typically has, and keeps me from overloading myself. But I need something; to quote Lazarus Long in Robert A. Heinlein's Time Enough For Love, this power wheelchair "has the cargo capacity of a postage stamp."