Sip. Rinse. Spit. Repeat.

 One characteristic of my apartment that isn't accessible (and is, in fact, very hard to find anywhere) is the bathroom sink. There is enough space in the bathroom for me to turn and face the sink, so I can look in the mirror and get into the drawers, but there are cabinets directly underneath the sink, so I can't pull up enough to reach and use the sink. 

So my solution to that for the summer is that I have a little "vanity" table in the corner of my bedroom, with a smaller mirror on a stand. My morning and evening caregiver-friends get a warm washcloth for me and prop my elbows on to the table so I can wash my face, and they put toothpaste on my toothbrush and bring it to me so I can do my own teeth. I like being able to do these simple tasks for myself. 

Since I can't reach a sink, I get two cups - one half-full and one empty - so I can rinse my mouth out after I brush my teeth. Early this summer, I learned that at the coffee shop close to my apartment, there's a stack of good quality paper cups on the counter, for people who want to get coffee to-go. So I got in the habit of taking two cups on my way out every couple of weeks and using these for my "sip" and "spit" bathroom sink substitutes. My friends label them so we use them appropriately, meaning for the same purposes every time. They hold up pretty well for several uses, and they are easy to dispose of. And when they wear out, they just give me a good excuse to return to the coffee shop! 

So there you have it, another day-in-the-life-of-Connie tip!