Coping with tea, coffee and sugar canisters

SheilaM

Hi. I've got osteoarthritis in most of my joints, which I can live with at the moment, but I struggle with things like tea, coffee and sugar canisters because my thumb joints have just about collapsed and I can't stretch my thumbs far enough to get a canister off the shelf! I found one set of rectangular ones, but I've had them for years and they are looking decidedly second hand now. Trying to replace them is almost impossible because the trend is for round canisters, which are no use to me at all. Just wondering how everyone else has got round this problem?

Chris_R

Hi @SheilaM

Welcome to the online community,so glad you are posting and asking questions about cannisters and how prople have got round the problem of opening them with arthritis in the thumb joints and a lack of stretch to get your hand around them to open them is very frustrating i know i have the same problem in a small way

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/living-with-arthritis/your-home/here is a link that may help

https://community.versusarthritis.org/discussion/55581/coping-with-tea-coffee-and-sugar-canisters

Hope these links do help in some way.Please keep in touch and tell us how you are getting on and do talk to others on the forums, everyone is helpful and understand what you are going through.

All the best Christine

stickywicket

Hi Sheila.

I have longstanding RA and OA and my thumbs just lie acRoss the palms of my hands. I find there's no substitution for trying before buying but I'll just give you a couple of ideas.

1. The canister type. Square with a loop on top of the lid that you can get your fingers through.

2. Mine is round with a big knob on the top of the lid. I hug the caddy to me like a long lost friend😊 with one hand and pull the knob with the other. It works for me.

Good luck.

Arthuritis

@SheilaM it’s worth looking at the links @Chris_R provided as I found a number of things there to help me prepare for what is to come. The OXO appliances seem particularly well thought through. In addition you could look at this google search under “arthritis kitchen containers” to see if there is something that would suit you.

I found the OXO & John Lewis containers looked the most promising, and the flip tops. I dislike the pushdown airtight containers with flaps too narrow for us to push or pull.