Y'all know how I am in the kitchen, right? During the work week, I probably spend less than 30 minutes altogether in there, but on most weekends?
I practically have a cot under the kitchen table to sleep on. I try to remember to SIT! DOWN! whenever I can - while peeling or slicing or whatever - but usually the angle ends up being awkward or something...so I pretty much end up logging anywhere from 10 to 14 hours on my feet in the kitchen at least ONE of my precious, fleeting two days of glorious, catch-up-on-everything weekend. Sometimes BOTH days, when I've got enormous quantities of garden output to process or something.
And then I wonder why my hip and back hurt so $&#%*#ing much on Monday. GEE I WONDER WHY.
I had been looking at those "professional gel mats" that suddenly started showing up everywhere, but had shied away from the $70 - $149 price tags. (Go figure.)
How much could it REALLY help, anyway? Maybe some nice $5-10 gel inserts would be just as good. (They are not. Mind you they don't HURT [for the most part, except when the fit is so bad in the shoes that they throw my entire body off], but they are NOT a cure for being on my feet way too long at one go.)
A while back, Costco had these mats for (if memory serves) $15. I circled them about three times before finally deciding that for $15, it was worth a try.
Oh.
My.
GAWD.
When this wears out (which it will, all too soon - it really wasn't designed for the heavy use I'm putting it through), I am SO investing in the biggest, most industrial gel mat I can find.
I'm already watching for sales, yo.
My Monday Morning joint pain is so much better (well, with a little seasonal adjustment for the cold / damp weather, which tends to add some Owie Points regardless), and even better, my weekend use of pain killers (aside: I only WISH they ACTUALLY killed it...not to whine or anything [warning: whining ahead!] but I am HEARTILY tired of the achy-joint thing!) use is way, way, WAY down.
Which makes me happy in a hundred ways.
Thank you, Cheap Little Floor Mat. You are one of my favorite little things. I will mourn when you go to the Great Floor Mat Hereafter.
6 comments:
You might also want to look at the more rugged rubberized mats at Lowes or your friendly neighborhood restaurant supply store, The way you use your kitchen you're probably going to want something professional grade to stand up to the use. The mats for workbenches aren't as cute and stylish (large black squishy slabs) but they're bigger and sturdier.
So glad it's helping! I won a set of interlocking floor mats (they look like ones in a children's play gym) that I forgot about until I needed something to block a large scarf on. Then remembered them again when I went for a two day on-your-feet-forever event that had a concrete floor. LIFE SAVERS. (I was confused by the woman next to me who wore 3" pointy-toed boots to this event thinking she'd be on that concrete... How in the world did she stand that long?)
If it saves you pain, it's worth it! Go for the good one next time around. If it's too boring-looking you can always knit it a mat cozy. :-)
I'm glad those things work, I may get one, not that I spend nearly as much time in the kitchen as you do. I know what you mean about sitting to do anything in the kitchen - the table is too high, and I can't get the stool close enough to the counter. I have an extra wood TV table - I need to try that, although it's a bit small. But cheap enough I could do some customizing if needed.
I also have a stool with wheels and a seat like a tractor seat that my SO bought me that is ferociously great for working at the counter. Don't ask me wht it is so much better than a tall chair or any other stool I have ever had, but it is. Those mats do rock and even the expensive pro ones are worth the doough.
We have the mats at the store and it really helps. Also, that's why I switched to Z-coil shoes when I make fudge. You might give them a try. Lastly, I just found OmegaKrill and it's the bomb for helping with inflammation. WAY, waaaaaaay better than ibuprofen. And no fish-burp-back. I love that word, or word-set. I am envisioning a T-shirt with a logo of a fish burping backwards and a big red circle around it with a slash down the middle. Don't pretend you aren't following me, here, even though this sounds like the writing of a lunatic.
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