One-Handed Living

Written By Tammy Lowe

(Previously called One-handed Homesteading)

Preparation Is Preferred!

On a homestead, the work never truly stops. Whether you’re sick, injured or operated on, animals still need care and land still needs attention. In a perfect world, we’d always have advance notice before an injury or surgery - but as homesteaders, we know that animals, weather, and daily life don’t always give us that control.

If you do know ahead of time that you’ll be having surgery on one hand - and that your other arm will be your only reliable one for months - there are many things you can do beforehand to make recovery safer, less stressful, and more sustainable.

This blog post is a working draft of ideas to help you prepare, adapt, and protect both your body and your homestead during a long one-handed recovery. I’ve done extensive research on daily life with only one hand and the you tube search bar can be used to visualize specific tasks like tying a shoe. For your convenience I will try to add buying links to products as I mention them. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Online shopping saves me a LOT of time and energy that I can use on gardening and homesteading instead!

Mindset: Prepare, Don’t Panic

Get your mind ready for surgery as much as your body.

Expect things to take longer. Build margin into your days.

View challenges as information, not failures - each problem you discover ahead of time is one less you’ll face while injured, tired, and in pain.

This is not the season to expand: don’t add animals, start chicks, or take on new projects that require two hands and that you’re solely responsible for.

Your mindset matters as you go under anesthesia as well: see 4:55 timestamp https://youtu.be/7EWtoCm4c5c?si=pHu74z16ypb-i4d1

Decide surgery timing, if possible. I decided that since my recovery would take 4-6 months, January was the best time for me - no garden building, tending, protecting or harvesting. Short, cold days also compressed the poultry keeping work and it was easier to find helpers in the winter.

After surgery, try to rest yet don’t assume your family can carry on with everything unsupervised - and exactly how you would do things. In addition to outdoor chores, remember the cooking, baking, laundry and cleaning. Asking for and accepting help is NOT a weakness, but a strength and a sign of humility. People who love you want to help but usually don’t know how! Tell them, ask them, thank them. Look for things to be thankful for and ruminate on those things - not on what you can’t do.

Practice Living One-Handed (Before Surgery)

Practice really is everything. Try a full day doing as much as possible with one hand. Work up to several days in a row, then rest that good hand.

Practice:

  • Morning and evening chores

  • Feeding, watering, and securing animals

  • Showering and getting dressed

  • Cooking and washing dishes

  • Sleeping positions (chair vs. bed)

  • Using speech-to-text features on all devices until you are skilled at it - texting, emailing, taking notes, blogging

  • Driving, getting in and out of vehicles - including four wheelers and tractors. Consider creating steps or a box to get high enough to enter and exit safely using one hand.

Take photos, make notes, and use speech-to-text to record weak points.

Pay special attention to balance—it’s easier to fall when you don’t have an arm to catch yourself!

Safety First

Do NOT operate heavy equipment while on narcotics. These jobs should be delegated or postponed.

Do NOT operate equipment that requires two hands. If you push it in post op recovery time, you’ll wreck the surgical work and it may take twice as long to recover! These jobs should be delegated or postponed.

Prevent falls by:

  • Improving footing on steps and porches

  • Training animals and children to respect personal space

  • Slowing down and removing trip hazards

  • Installing and using railings and shower grips

  • Using a glove with rubber grips on your good hand

  • Carting supplies around using a wagon in good weather and a sled in winter and/or a 4 wheeler

Simplify and Streamline Your Homestead Systems

Anything that’s currently “annoying but manageable” will feel magnified when you can only use one arm and will also make things more difficult for farm sitters or helpers which can put your animals and land in jeopardy and cause anxiety before surgery - not good for healing!

Fix it now. Infrastructure to Review and Improve:

  • Enclosures and fences

  • Gate latches (especially those requiring twisting or lifting)

  • Feed buckets and bins

  • Water spigots and hoses

  • Tarps, wires, guide ropes

Smart Adaptations

Use pulley systems for lifting

Use wagons in good weather and sleds in bad weather.

Store feed in locking metal cans right where animals are fed - protecting from mice yet enabling easier access at feed time like these https://amzn.to/4qvf1to

Fix freezing hose issues before winter

Animals, Kids, and Helpers

Dogs and cats may be very curious about casts and bandages and ice packs with strings. I had a nerve block so after surgery my whole arm - including fingers - was heavy and numb and in a sling. I slept in an armchair in the living room and asked to have the cat down in the basement so he wouldn’t be nibbling these fingers I couldn’t feel! Treat and voice train animals ahead of time.

Train dogs to:

  • Wait

  • Come when called

  • Get off / lie down on command

  • Go to bed, go to kennel

Start your day or waking period giving them lots of attention and play time. Eventually, they’ll go do their own things but if you put it off, attention-seeking behaviors can escalate!

Find time-spenders you can give your dog while she’s on a dog bed on the floor near where you will rest in the daytime. These items are good for catnaps or snack or med grabs or human potty breaks. We use a standard kong with a small amount of peanut butter(no xylitol) inside. We also use what we call “cheesebone” which is a kong bone with four openings. https://amzn.to/461yavg We smear a 1/4 piece of cheese slice inside the openings. She has a few Retriever Snuffle Plush Dog Toys from Tractor Supply that have four pocket slits sewn in and we fill those with kibble. We also give her bone sticks in a Bully Bone holder https://amzn.to/4cl6wNz . I only give these to her after cheerfully saying “on your bed!” so she’s associating her bed with high value items.To fill them I hold them in place by laying a cast iron skillet or the weight on my bad arm on them.

Use long leads and tethers at doors and porches and choose clips you can operate one-handed. Drape leashes over a shoulder while clipping and reinforce the wait with a cheerful voice and treat reward or wait until your dog is laying near you to secure him more easily. Maybe your dog loves to run freely through the backyard, but does he ALWAYS, CONSISTENTLY come when called? If not, attach a long lead to make YOUR life, health and recovery easier. Maybe reward her with new toys or treats so she associates tether lines with pleasurable things.

Get their energy out - even on a lead, even with just your one hand. They will settle down more indoors, get into less trouble and sleep better at night. My 6 month old puppy loves chasing snowballs I can make with one hand - and without ME moving around a lot. She also loves chasing and retrieving empty milk jugs and Gatorade bottles as I empty them(remember to hydrate!). Even several bouts of tug out on a lead can help burn off extra energy.

Use pet kennels when you are wanting a deep, restful sleep. Knowing that your pet is safe and secure lets your brain settle easier.

Practice using a squirting water bottle effectively for cats to prevent jumping where you don’t want them. Arm elevation prevents swelling and cats may be strongly drawn to any pillows or elevation tools you use. Have a basket of cat friendly toys near your resting area to toss to them or use when they come near.

Livestock

Fortify fences, shelters and structures. Fill dips and holes in the land that are trip hazards and where water collects and mud forms. Consider moving animals closer to the house while you recover. Consider installing temporary and/or electric fencing or constructing fenced pathways linking barns and stables to pens and paddocks for YOUR benefit (our your helper(s)) in their management. Include aerial protections for your poultry and consider wing clips before your surgery. If animals free range, train them to come when called and/or when treat bags/buckets are rattled. There’s nothing wrong with temporary restrictions while you are healing and you can always restore freedoms after you are recovered.

Feed and water - keep it simple and use vessels that can be filled from the top and easily dumped with one hand. Protect your good hand from cold, heat and water. A lined rubber coated glove can help! We use these https://amzn.to/4aLh5r5

Wheelbarrows and straw/hay bales need two hands but a wagon or sled on a rope can be pulled with one hand. And if square hay bales are stacked high enough, they can be snagged and tipped into a wagon, sled, four wheeler or tractor bucket. Tie scissors with a haystring and secure with a carabineer to the transport vehicle. This is true for feed bags as well. If you can store them a bit higher than a wagon or sled it's possible to slide them onto a transport device. I like my Gorilla Cart https://amzn.to/3LsBTui

Our homestead is small so we go pick up supplies from Family Farm and Home. Most big-box farm stores still have curbside pick-up so take advantage of this by ordering online and allowing them to load your vehicle for you.

Again, big jobs will need assistance and DON’T operate heavy EQ when on narcotics!

Kids and Grandkids

  • Like pets, start your day or waking period giving them lots of attention. Eventually, they’ll go do their own things but if you put it off, attention-seeking behaviors can escalate!

  • Create safe play areas away from doors and steps

  • Teach basic chores they can help with (with supervision) - including laundry and simple meal prep

  • Explain what’s coming in age-appropriate ways

  • Make it a game: pretend you can’t use your arm and problem-solve together. Kids love to help and feel more involved and invested in this way.

  • Use baby gates, playpens and closed doors to secure young children while you rest. (No kids in cages….lol).

  • A List of Age-Appropriate Chores for Kids 2 to 18

Hiring Help or Recruiting Volunteers

If you can hire help, do so early. If not, consider volunteers from your community who want to learn homesteading skills and/or trade labor for eggs, meat, milk, herbs, fresh produce or processed foods

Best Practices

  • Train helpers before surgery

  • Show them exactly how you do things - consider showing them and also sending them video of the chores

  • Supervise initially and check in periodically

  • Consider installing cameras for remote supervision and peace of mind

  • Be kind, but firm about expectations - your land and animals are important

  • Plan to be awake and alert and respond immediately if/when your helper(s) calls or texts with questions

  • Put pay rates, expectations, emergency contacts, and contingencies in writing

  • Have more than one backup person

  • Communicate, communicate, communicate - never assume “they’ll figure it out”

  • A List of Age-Appropriate Chores for Kids 2 to 18

  • Kids on the Homestead: 57 Age Appropriate Chores to Keep Everyone Busy

Clothing and Footwear

Footwear

  • Slip-on boots that are sturdy

  • Long-handled shoehorn like this that comes in many colors https://amzn.to/4c4Dz8L

  • Crocs or sturdy slip-on shoes for town trips

Clothing

The rule of thumb for top dressing is bad arm first and then good arm/head hole first for undressing. Remember: if you can get your arm in, you must also be able to get it out! (Ladies, bras are optional but here's a tutorial in case you want to :) https://youtu.be/N8NzJSFZDs8?si=G2fc8fYX43NslyRb

  • Coats and jackets with hoods and roomy sleeves and hoods help pull coats on and keep them in place. While coat or is hanging up by it’s hood, try: good arm in, hood on head, adjust bad arm coat shoulder and flip unused arm of coat over the bad arm and tuck into place. A hood string can be tie wrapped twice and a single loop made that is then wrapped through and pulled tight with your teeth and good hand. Keep dressings and casts tucked under the coat in bad weather to stay dry! It’s best to NOT use the bad arm at all with animal care - to prevent infection or further injury - so tucking arm in is an additional safeguard.

  • Consider shawls, vests, or ponchos versus outwear with sleeves.

  • For men especially: modify an old jacket by opening a seam near the bottom of the sleeve for cast access

For bottom dressing, it’s easiest to do when sitting on a chair or even the toilet - if your balance is good. For ease in quickly using the restroom, I recommend the loosest, most comfortable bottoms you can wear - with no snaps or buttons. For women, it’s even better if you can wear summer dresses or nightgowns (with or with out undies). Hydration is crucial before and after surgery and it make take longer to safely reach the restroom. Keeping spare clean clothes in the bathroom can help protect dignity.

Helpful Supplies and Tools

Everyday Aids

  • Rubber garden glove (increase grip). Tip: use your teeth to hold the cuff while pulling it on.

  • Large sharp pointed scissors - for easily opening packaging

  • A collapsible reacher hand to retreive anything fallen - without bending - or in high places - without using a stepstool.

  • An old sling purse or baby sling to carry around the house, garden or land with: snacks, water bottles, used dishes, pet treats, notepad and pencil, reading glasses, seed packages, pruners/scissors, etc.

Bathroom & Personal Care

Plan how you’ll cover casts or bandages for showers. Remember you’ll want to keep your surgery area dry! Dry the outsides of those coverings before removing them after the shower, then hang them to finish drying completely. I like using the 32” version of this cover

Practice using your teeth to hold towels or washcloths if needed. Dry your back by tossing a towel over your shoulder and onto your back, then press your back against the wall.

Consider lowering hand-held shower heads/hoses to a height that is easier to control where water flows

Bathroom supplies that help. These can be purchased, installed and practiced with before surgery:

  • Pump-style shampoo, conditioner, body wash, hand soap

  • Long-handled body scrubbers

  • Shower grip handles to make entering and exiting easier. We use these: https://amzn.to/4bM7QsO

  • Adhesive mount clamp for holding hand-held shower wands at lower heights for easier access. We use these: https://amzn.to/4aaRlVO

  • Water proof speakers that can synch with our phone - for uplifting music and/or podcasts. Or a waterproof radio. Music is good for our brains and mental health.

  • Wall mounted mechanical toothpaste dispenser. This is very helpful to me and there's a spot to dispense both kid and adult amounts https://amzn.to/4kukZc3

  • Mounted paper towel holder - this can hold two rolls of toilet paper and I hung our metal one up high on a window frame - originally for puppyproofing!

  • Hair - we aren’t looking for perfection, just presentability to ourselves in the mirror. It’s good for our psyche and for healthy recovery. I did get mine recolored before surgery and only wash it every 3-4 days which makes the color last longer. (Showers are still daily, lol)

    • Yes, you can wrap your hair in a towel - it will take more steps. They do make a hair turban https://amzn.to/4qxJ3wf that can be used by bending forward and gathering hair into the wrap like this: https://youtu.be/Vg3BxBY8Les?si=_BsEtta5DCMnfzIE

    • Hot air brush for drying, styling and straightening hair - using it is clumsy at first but you can get better with practice. It gets very hot so decide what heat proof area you’ll place or hang it when finished.

    • Clips for securing hair - ponytail holders may be a two handed job unless you try one of these techniques https://youtu.be/c-7ISHn_G-g?si=SVB2MI9NI68TwBhT

  • Aerosal deodorant - it’s almost impossible to use roll-on or stick by yourself. Don’t freak out about the ozone layer right now - this is a temporary solution to maintain hygiene - which is good for your recovery.

  • Dry erase markers to write on bathroom mirrors: directions, love notes, reminders, last pain pills taken and next dosages, any questions thought of during bathroom breaks

Food and Household Prep

Practice:

  • Washing dishes one-handed. It’s easier in a large bowl or dishpan. Remember you’ll want to keep your surgery area dry!

  • Using speech-to-text

  • Using delivery and shopping apps

  • Using pump-style hand and dish soap

  • Using chatGPT for questions and/or solutions to homestead problems you run into

Reminder - try to rest yet don’t assume your family can carry on with everything unsupervised - and exactly how you would do things. In addition to outdoor chores, remember the cooking, baking, laundry and cleaning. Asking for and accepting help is NOT a weakness, but a strength and a sign of humility. People who love you want to help but usually don’t know how! Tell them, ask them, thank them. Look for things to be thankful for and ruminate on those things - not on what you can’t do.

Consider obtaining tools and supplies that make one-handed kitchen work easier: adaptive cutting boards, can openers, knives, food choppers:

Also:

  • Batch-cook and freeze easy meals ahead of time

  • Chop and freeze fruits and veggies you use regularly

  • High natural fats and proteins aid in digestion and healing

  • Practice cracking eggs with one hand - like a chef!

  • Preserve by-products you’ll want during recovery like bone broth and soups.

Household Matters

  • Put bills on autopay and/or pay ahead if possible. We pay ahead on utility bills and no companies have complained!

  • Pull out cash in small bills to have on hand as needed, ie: babysitters, pet sitters, farm sitters

  • Get emergency contact lists together - on paper - and post in several accessible places. Yes we have ICE contacts on our phones, but other people may not have the same ones. Include people who will help with the land and livestock.

  • Tell someone at your church about your surgery. Ask to be placed on the prayer list and/or meal trains.

  • Make a will and living will and assign durable power of attorney to someone - for health decisions

  • Consider assigning a trusted person as a POD on bank accounts. This stands for “Present On Death”. This allows immediate access to bank account funds if you die - for anything needed immediately on the homestead. Accessible funds are not held in probate and can be used for bills, food, chilcdare or anything else this person deems needed. Without a POD, funds may be tied up - including debit and credit cards!

  • Find childcare for the day of surgery and for recovery periods. Often, you aren’t told what time to report to the facility until the day before! Most healthcare facilities discourage bringing children into waiting rooms. Remember there are many other patient companions waiting for their loved ones as well - so be considerate. This is where deciding the time of year can make a difference. If they are in public school, you may be able to find people to get the kids to school and pick them up afterward and/or use latchkey services. If you know your family is in town during certain times of the year, you might adjust your surgery season.

  • Switch phone security to a slide lock instead of a password to save typing

  • Add a phone holder to the back of your case - to make one handed usage easier

Health Preparation

Eat whole, nourishing foods before and after surgery. High natural fats and proteins aid in digestion and healing. Hydrate well!

Tell your physician about any herbal or natural supplements. You’ll likely need to stop some before surgery. Example: garlic can act as a blood thinner and may need to be stopped about a week before surgery (confirm with your doctor). Consider checking with chatGPT as well.

Have laxatives and/or stool softeners on hand - natural or from the pharmacy. Pain medicines are often narcotics and can slow your digestive system to a crawl.

Driving and Transportation

WHO WILL DRIVE YOU THERE, STAY DURING SUGERY AND DRIVE YOU HOME? This is NOT a solo venture so don’t put this part off. It doesn’t have to be the same person(s) for each role but healthcare systems won’t do surgery without a companion.

Fill gas tanks and do all necessary vehicle maintenance before surgery.

Practice

  • driving with one hand.

  • getting in and out of vehicles.

  • securing and removing belt buckles to avoid the annoying alarm dinging - signalling belts not being worn

Consider:

  • Door-frame assist handles

  • Step stools

  • Truck running boards

  • If you’re usually a passenger, test transfers ahead of time

Weather Planning

Plan for:

  • Snow

  • Ice

  • Rain

  • Wind

Ask yourself: Can I safely do this one-handed in bad weather? If not - fix it now.

Question: Hello, has anyone had a trapezectomy been able to ride horses again after recovery?

My Response: My surgery was 1/30, soft dressing 1st week, hard cast 4 weeks and my cast was removed on 3/12. There are many motions that are very painful and others that are very stiff. My fingers are still puffy and tingly but not numb. Going to hand therapy twice a week for an hour.

Everything you do would need to be thought out and you would need to plan lots of extra time to do them. What might be challenging: saddling, cinching, harness and lead clasps, rein work, hoof picking, hose/water nozzle changing, getting into/out of boots, pulling zippers, zippering coats, pulling riding pants on and off. I can't see a way to lunge on a long lead with flags/whip behind or ahead.

Can't use a 2 handled wheelbarrow, but can use a wagon. Can fill a haybag if stretched over a trashcan first, but tying the rope knots with one hand would be challenging.

Cold weather: Can't glove over a cast but a sock may work. Would need a platform for mounting if in a cast and the ride bumping may increase pain by agitating nerves. CanNOT get a cast wet/dirty or it needs replacing.

Final Thoughts

Slowing down doesn’t mean failing - it means adapting.

Every weakness you uncover now is an opportunity to fix it before surgery, pain, sleep deprivation, and frustration set in. Preparation is one of the most powerful tools a homesteader has.

This is just a starting point. Add to it as you learn, practice, and refine your systems—because resilience on a homestead is built long before it’s tested. If you’ve got suggestions or found any of this helpful, write me and let me know at thelazynotherngardener@yahoo.com (Use speech-to-text ;) )

Tammy Lowe
Previous

Practical, Positive Protesting
Next

Vitamin D Is Crucial!