Kitchen Tips and Tricks to Make Life Easier: Workarounds and Gadgets

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Food is love. Well, not really, but making delicious, nutritious meals for the people I care about is a tangible way I can express my love for them. The kitchen is my happy place.  I’ve always loved spending time there, from when I was young standing next to my grandmother in her little kitchen. I learned how to make Italian staples like meat sauce and lasagna, bread, cookies, and other sweets. Over time, my chronic illnesses and daily pain have limited what I can do on my own in the kitchen, but I’ve tried to find workarounds, gadgets, and other products to help me continue to cook and bake like I want to.

I use many of these modifications and products because of my chronic illness, but quite a few of these items would help just about anyone in the kitchen. Once I got started, the list of useful stuff in the kitchen got really, really long! It was so long, I decided to split it into two posts. This post covers general workarounds and gadgets. The second post here covers baking, cooking, and cleanup. Let’s get into it!

Workarounds and Modifications

Because of the injury to my back, I cannot stand for more than a couple of minutes at a time. I also have a lot of pain if I sit in a standard dining chair for too long, and it’s difficult to get up and down in that chair. Those issues make doing almost anything in the kitchen tough. My workaround for this comes in the form of a stool. It’s slightly taller than a regular chair, at about 24 inches, but not as tall as a barstool. I’m fairly short, and would never be able to get on and off a barstool. It was originally the Hubs’s idea, so I have to give him credit, and it has worked out really well.  

These are my stools, but not my kitchen.
My kitchen is slightly less magazine-ready.

The sort of in-between sitting and standing position is the perfect compromise. I can get up and down fairly easily, and I’m able to work at the kitchen table or at the counter with ease. The only thing my current stool is missing is wheels. Whenever I want to move around, I either have to push the stool around myself, possibly using up valuable spoons, or I have to recruit my sous chef, D, to move it around for me. A wheeled stool would help me move around on my own, though I would have to find one that either locks when it stops or is pretty stable when I’m sitting on it. I don’t need to drift aimlessly around my kitchen, victim to the whims of my stool. 

The other negatives to my current stool are that it doesn’t have a back, so I sometimes have issues with fatigue, though if I wear my back brace that is reduced. I also sometimes get a little sore from using the stool for too long. As I said, it positions me somewhere between sitting and standing, so most of my weight is on the very top of my legs, just at the base of my bottom, and that area can get pretty sore. It’s still better than the pain and exhaustion I get from standing, so I’m willing to deal with that for now. 

This stool seems like it might fit the bill, with wheels,
moveable armrests, and a wide height adjustment. 

This wheeled stool looks fairly nice. It has a back, wheels, and moveable armrests, but I would have to do more research to find out if it really fits my needs. 

I can’t bend over or stretch very easily. I’m also fairly short, so items that are high up are out of my reach. To help with this, I have a grabber tool. It easily helps me pick things up off the floor or from high up on a shelf. This model has a nice solid anti-slip handle with an easy-to-use trigger. It can pick up items as heavy as 5 pounds. It also has a rotating grabber, which makes it easier to use in tight spaces. It’s pretty sturdy too. I’ve had my model, which is no longer available, for well over a year with no problems. The new and improved version is made to be even stronger and more durable. 

This grabber set comes in a pair, making it easy to
 keep them exactly where you need them. 

Another workaround item I’ve recently found is this great three-tier rolling cart. We purchased one to hold all of D’s books for the school year, but it would make a great addition to the kitchen, or really anywhere you need a little extra storage space. It holds a lot! We had three or four large piles of books waiting for a home before we bought this guy, and it easily holds all of them with room for a little more! I was really amazed by it. The one I purchased has metal bins, which I think are pretty important for strength and durability. Some of the models at the same price point have plastic bins, and I just don’t think they would be as sturdy. I am probably going to get one of these for the kitchen. They move around on their casters easily, are easy to move with just one hand, and like I said, they hold a ton of stuff. They would be useful in a variety of different applications around the house. I’ve even seen them used to replace a bedside table. More storage and everything is accessible. 

These great little carts come in a 
variety of colors and are super useful!

The other biggest modification I’ve done is one of the toughest: asking for help. Yep, it’s hard to do, but ultimately, I would never be able to get anything done if I wasn’t willing to ask for help. My teen kiddo D and the Hubs are a huge help, and D has learned so much in the kitchen just by helping out and working alongside me. D is like my sous chef, and Hubs does a lot of the cleanup, leaving me the freedom to cook, bake and create without worrying about whether I’ll have enough energy to finish. 

Gadgets

In addition to my back issues, I also have psoriatic arthritis. My hands are affected quite a bit by it, so I’ve changed out some of the tools I use to make life easier. 

Oxo Good Grips is a brand I really love. The soft, non-slip, black handles can be found on many products. The way they came about is a really great story:

Sam Farber’s wife Betsey was having trouble using a standard vegetable peeler because of her arthritis. He saw an opportunity to create more thoughtful cooking tools that would benefit all people (with or without arthritis) and promised Betsey he would make a better peeler.

Part of that better peeler, as well as the other 14 OXO Good Grips products that were initially launched, was a wide, oval-shaped handle that was easy to hold and control, no matter the size or shape of your hand or the strength of your grip.

The material used for the handles is called thermoplastic rubber (TPR). It’s soft to the touch, stays non-slip even when wet, and is dishwasher safe. It also bonds well with other materials, making these kitchen tools very sturdy and resilient, and able to withstand years of wear and tear. (OXO Behind the Scenes)

The shape of the handles on OXO’s tools and the soft non-slip texture make working in the kitchen so much easier than it used to be. Some of the tools I really like include:

Oxo utensil sets

These tools are what I use the most when cooking. I have the nylon set, but they are available in wood and silicone as well. All three are good for preventing scratches in your cookware, and they all have that great OXO handle. 

Nylon Set

Silicone Set

Wooden Set

Spurtles

Another great set of utensils I use are called spurtles. Why the name? It’s not quite a spoon, not quite a spatula - it's a bit of both! There are spatula-type pieces and slotted ones, so they do a lot of different jobs. The difference with these again is in the handles. I’ve noticed the work surface is longer than the handle, so they have a little bit of a different feel to them. The Hubs loves using them. For me, they had a little bit of a learning curve, but once I got the hang of it, they’ve been really helpful. They’re good for getting into corners and really getting to the bottom of the pan. We have a set of silicone ones and bamboo. They work well as regular cooking utensils for flipping scraping, and stirring, as well as using them for spreading, scooping, and mixing. 

These bamboo spurtles look different
but work really well.

Oxo gadgets

Balloon Whisk

A balloon whisk is a great tool for whipping eggs, cream, or other ingredients. The shape of the handle on this one makes all the difference. Whisking by hand can be really fatiguing. You can hold this one a few different ways, and it always fits comfortably. It is also soft and non-slip. There is a stainless-steel and silicone-coated version. 

The stainless steel version is really sturdy
and holds up to tough whisking.

The silicone-coated version is great for whisking
sauces in pans because it won't cause any scratches.

This handle is a game-changer. 
It is so comfortable to hold in
a number of differnt positions. 

Peeler

This is the one that started it all! It has a soft, oversized handle designed for repetitive strokes and a comfortable non-slip grip, even when wet, which is really helpful when dealing with slippery fruit and vegetables.

The OXO tool that started it all.

Pizza Wheel

This pizza wheel is really easy to use. It has a pretty large stainless-steel blade, but its weight is well balanced. It does a great job on pizza, of course, but I use it for cutting quesadillas, focaccia, and even raw dough. It gives nice clean edges without dragging like a knife would. It has that nice large non-slip handle for ease of use, and a large thumb guard to prevent accidents. 

This pizza wheel can be used so 
many different ways.

Oven Mitts 

I’ve had some nice fabric oven mitts, but the one negative is that they get so dirty and if you get them wet the heat resistance basically vanishes. I also have some small silicone heat-resistant grabbers, but I noticed they protect my hands to a degree, but they do transfer heat after a little while. The solution to both of these problems is to combine them! Then you get the heat protection of a fabric oven mitt with the easy cleaning and water-resistance of a silicone pad. OXO has a great oven mitt that comes up a little way on the arm to help protect you even more. They have a non-slip diamond pattern on them to help with grip, they’re easy to clean, and even machine washable. 

This oven mitt combines the best
of cloth and silicone mitts.

Basting Brush

I’ve always been a little leery of regular pastry brushes. Natural fibers are always a little porous, and I use my brush mostly for egg washes or basting meats with sauce.  I really don’t want egg or meat residue sitting in my pastry brush. That’s why I have a silicone one that’s dishwasher safe. That way I don’t have to worry about any kind of cross-contamination. This one has that great OXO handle as well, and it’s long enough to even use for basting on the grill. The angled head keeps bristles off countertops too. 

This silicone basting brush
is easy to clean and keep clean.

Can Opener 

I’ve never had an electric can opener, so I can’t really speak to what’s best in that category. I have tried to find a good ergonomic can opener that doesn’t stress my hands. I prefer the can openers that actually break the seal on a can rather than cutting into the metal. The result is a lid with no sharp edges. I am a clumsy cook and have easily cut myself on a sharp-edged lid before. I’ve had a couple of different safety can openers, but the best so far has been the OXO Good Grips smooth edge can opener. It has an oversized side-wind mechanism that moves smoothly and a soft-grip knob and non-slip handles.

The ergonomic design of this safety
can opener makes the tough task of
using a can opener with arthritis
so much easier.

Jar Helper

Along with opening cans, one of the toughest things to do with arthritis in the kitchen is opening jars. Even a strong person can have trouble with stubborn jars! For jar openers, there are a few different options. I like this style with a handle.

This is my choice for opening jars. 
The handle gives my quite a bit of leverage.

It is designed for those with limited strength or mobility in their hands or wrists. I don’t have a ton of grabbing strength, so holding a lid isn’t the best way for me to open a jar. The handle gives me more leverage; I can even just hit the handle to loosen the lid. It locks securely onto lids via 3 sets of steel jaws/teeth, locking on by turning it in a clockwise motion. It has an adjustable mechanism that will fit any lid or cap between 1 and 3.5 inches in diameter. 

This style is good if you don’t have trouble with grabbing the lid. It’s basically just a piece of rubber that gives a little extra friction and grip for opening.  

This traditional rubber opener is good
for folks with no limitations on their
grip strength. 

This multi-functional jar opener set has a really interesting construction. I hadn’t seen this style before, but it has a nice design where you can use the handle as leverage. They have non-slip silicone handles as well.  The smaller tool also helps open pop-top lids and soda cans, which can sometimes be challenging. 

This mutifunctional set would work
for a number of different lids, but
won't take up a lot of room in
your tool drawer.

Thanks for joining me to check out all my favorite workarounds, gadgets, and tools for the kitchen. Don’t forget to check out the other half of my list here. Did you see anything that can make your life easier? Do you have any suggestions of things that I missed? Be sure to let me know in the comments. 

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