Making everyday tasks easier when you have arthritis
Description
As the pain from arthritis becomes worse, keeping up with everyday activities may become more difficult.
Making changes around your home will take some stress off your joints, such as your knee or hip, and help relieve some of the pain.
Your health care provider may suggest that you use a cane to make walking easier and less painful. If so, learn how to use the cane the right way.
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Make Your Home Easier
Make sure you can reach everything you need without getting on your tiptoes or bending down low.
- Keep clothes that you wear most often in drawers and on shelves that are between waist and shoulder level.
- Store food in a cupboard and drawers that are between waist and shoulder level.
Find ways to avoid having to search for important items during the day. You can wear a small waist pack to hold your cell phone, wallet, and keys.
Get automatic light switches installed.
If going up and down stairs is difficult:
- Make sure everything you need is on the same floor where you spend most of your day.
- Have a bathroom or a portable commode on the same floor where you spend most of your day.
- Set up your bed on the main floor of your home.
Other Types of Help
Find someone to help with house cleaning, taking out the garbage, gardening, and other household tasks.
Ask someone to shop for you or have your food delivered.
Check your local pharmacy or medical supply store for different aids that can help you, such as a:
- Raised toilet seat
- Shower chair
- Shower sponge with a long handle
- Shoehorn with a long handle
- Sock-aid to help you put on your socks
- Reacher to help you pick up things from the floor
Ask a contractor or handyman about having bars installed on the walls by your toilet, shower or bath, or elsewhere in your home.
References
Arthritis Foundation website. Adapting your house when you have arthritis. www.arthritis.org/health-wellness/healthy-living/daily-living/life-hacks-tips/adapting-your-house. Accessed July 24, 2025.
Johnson TM, Mikuls TR, England BR. Clinical features of rheumatoid arthritis. In: Firestein GS, McInnes IB, Koretzky GA, Mikuls TR, Neogi T, O'Dell JR, eds. Firestein & Kelley's Textbook of Rheumatology. 12th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2025:chap 72.
Nelson AE. Clinical features of osteoarthritis. In: Firestein GS, McInnes IB, Koretzky GA, Mikuls TR, Neogi T, O'Dell JR, eds. Firestein & Kelley's Textbook of Rheumatology. 12th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2025:chap 101.
Reviewed By: Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Clinical Professor Emeritus, Department of Family Medicine, UW Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
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