Small tools that take the struggle out of everyday tasks.

The sweater is on the top shelf, the pill fell between the couch cushions, the laundry basket is on the floor and the back does not want to bend today. A reach extender is a stick with a gripper on the end that picks up what you can't grab from a standing position — no step stool, no twist, no call for help.

Look for: a gripper jaw with enough bite to hold a sock or a pill bottle, a shaft long enough to clear the top shelf you actually use, and a fold that fits in a hallway drawer.

Socks that won't stretch over the heel, buttons that are getting smaller, shoes that need a hand you can't quite twist into. Dressing aids are a small set of well-made tools — a sock aid that holds the sock open, a button hook that pulls the button through, a long-handled shoehorn — that turn getting dressed back into something you do on your own.

Look for: a sock aid with a rope pull that's comfortable in the hand, a button hook with a metal loop big enough for standard shirt buttons, and a long-handled shoehorn tall enough to clear a low-cut shoe without bending over.

Eating starts to feel like a project — the fork won't sit right in the hand, the plate slides, the jar lid won't break loose. Eating aids and kitchen tools take the grip and the leverage back: built-up handle utensils that fit a looser grip, plate guards that keep food from sliding, and jar openers that grip where the fingers can't.

Look for: utensils with a handle diameter you can actually close a hand around, a plate guard that fits the plates you already own, and a jar opener that works on the lids you actually buy — not just one size.