We’ve found a cheap roll of matting has many uses and has become a great travel friend. When we are at home we have everything set-up and easy to use but it’s amazing when you travel the issues that arise. It’s certainly resulted in us needing to become quick and clever at finding solutions. A couple of trips ago Hubby bought some cheap matting to solve an issue we were having with BJ’s portable toilet. It turns out the matting has been versatile in a few situations so we thought we’d share how a humble, and cheap, piece of matting may help when you next travel.
THE BAREFOOT WONDER
BJ can’t wear thongs (flip flops) so he’s always in a pair of runners when he has shoes on. In summer these are hot and fiddly to put on and off so we are happy for BJ to embrace being barefoot a lot of the time while he’s on holiday. That’s all good and well until he needs to transfer out of the car onto hot concrete.
A square of matting placed in front of BJ’s door and wheelchair is the perfect solution to gravel and hot surfaces.
It’s particularly handy for beach wheelchair days (clearly placement is key – someone missed the mark above!).
SLIPPERY BATHROOM FLOORS
We find the drainage in some hotels isn’t so good and water goes everywhere! I’m so conscious this is a slip risk when we walk BJ out of the bathroom. A non-slip mat is perfect for this situation. We use a longer piece for this.
UNDER EQUIPMENT
BJ has lots of extra movement associated with his cerebral palsy and we find on tiles, his portable toilet can move around a bit. We use a square of matting which goes under the feet of the toilet chair stopping this issue.
Hubby bought this matting at Aldi for around $15. It was sold as a yoga mat – the roll of matting is lightweight, fits in our suitcase rolled or flat and now we have a piece permanently in the back of the car. I imagine Clark Rubber would have similar matting (for our Australian families). For our overseas readers, YogaAccessories 1/8” Lightweight Classic Yoga Mat and Exercise Pad – Black
SEATING
BJ sits well now but when he was younger he slipped all over the place if he sat on a regular chair in a restaurant or even on a leather lounge.
A small square of matting can stop this slipping.
MEAL TIME
Sitting up to the table and joining in a meal is social, confidence and skill building. With the amount of movement BJ has it’s hard to keep the plate in place.
A small square of matting can help in this situation and keep the plate more stable.
This thin matting can be found in supermarkets for a few dollars.
AT HOME
I can’t finish this post without sharing my home bathroom tip. One of the best things we’ve bought for our bathroom is a thick piece of matting to put beside the bath. BJ steps in and out of the bath with assistance and it used to be a dangerous affair. Water seems to always find its way on to the tiles and they become so slippery. As I run the bath each evening I put the mat down ready.
This piece of matting was $15 from Clarks Rubber and has been money well spent. Although not a travel tip I feel compelled to share it.
Each Tuesday I’ll be sharing a travel tip on Facebook and sometimes on the blog. Make sure you’re following us on Facebook so you don’t miss out. And if you’ve got a travel tip, I’d love to feature it. I’m particularly keen to get some tips from power chair users as we don’t travel with BJ’s power chair. You can email your tips to me at [email protected] or message me on Facebook.
We use the “dicem” or matting on leather airplane seats to prevent our daughter from slipping on her seat, too. We use it atop her wheelchair tray to keep items in place.
Fantastic post! I have linked to it on the wheelchairworld.org equipment page http://wheelchairworld.org/equipment/ so that other wheelchair using travellers can read your experiences. This page also contains equipment tips from power wheelchair users as well as manual wheelchair users which may be useful to you!