One of the first problems I encountered was picking up things that I had dropped on the floor. "Hey Marge" (my wife) grew old in a hurry, and I knew there would be times when I was alone and I would need to pick something up. The procedure I use was developed, as were most of my creations, with much frustration, failure and trial and error, but it is now quite a reliable method for me to use.
Get an old washer which is fairly large and drop it on the floor near the piece of paper you wish to pick up. Use a telescoping Mega-Mag Magnetic Pick-Up Tool which cost about $15 at Sears to slide the piece of paper over the washer. Then using the magnet pick up the paper with the washer underneath it. I made modifications to the handle of the magnet, not only to make it easier to use, but also for it to be more functional. I took a loop of Velcro and taped it onto the handle with electric tape both eliminating my problem of poor grip and also allowing me to pick up some cloth objects with the Velcro as shown in the last picture. Using a very flat piece of metal instead of the washer makes it easier to retrieve other items. If you look at the third picture you can see a very flat piece of metal on the end of the magnet. As I continued to use the Mega-Mag Magnetic I began to think a large piece of flat metal would be more functional. I had a friend cut a pan out for me that was 5” x 6”. The large pan works much better. Place the pan on an angle and slide it under what you want to pick up. At right you can see me picking up a jigsaw puzzle piece (I do puzzles to give my fingers exercise) and a dropped CD. The larger area make the pick up much easier. Coincidently, today while my wife was gone I removed my pizza, she had cut into pieces from the microwave and proceeded to drop it on the floor. Aha, the metal pan to the rescue! I may have not have passed the 5 second test, but I did successfully retrieved my lunch.
