Computer Use from a Recliner Chair!

If you use a recliner that's all the way back until it's nearly flat, you'll need to use the methods outlined above for people who can't incline while on their backs. If you use a recliner that's partially reclined or not reclined at all, you can put a laptop on your lap, but keep in mind that a computer needs to cool off, so resting it on bedclothes that block the fan exhaust slots is a bad habit if you want it to last. Put it on a small square of Masonite or thin paneling.

The problem with putting a computer on your lap is that it's somewhat bouncy and unstable, it's farther from your eyes than most close glasses are set for, the Masonite board or other flat surface is a hassle, there's no place to put your work or trackball or a book, and you're straining your neck forward enough to make it uncomfortable. But these problems will melt away like ice on a hot griddle if you make a Styrofoam desk.

A Styrofoam desk is as wide as a plush recliner chair with padded armrests and it rests on this half-reclined chair's armrests when in use (usually with the leg rest up). It holds a laptop, your work (papers), a trackball, and even a book holder if you wish.

Some people get a nasty pain in the back during the process of recliner chair exit. They use the side handle and push themselves forward with their arms, but it's not enough.

There are spendy chairs that lift one out, but they're not for most of us. Someone can yank you out, but this is hardly a long-term solution.

There's a really cheap and effective solution for this problem that relies on a one-inch-thick, smooth, soft nylon rope attached to wall studs or ceiling joists via large, very-well-anchored eye screws. A two- to three-foot smaller rope is attached to the larger rope above the chair. The larger rope extends from one side of the room to the other, directly above the chair and running from behind the person to in front of him, sagging considerably in the middle. It's essential that the eye screws are firmy attached and the rope is firmly tied to these screws. It's also good to keep the lowest part of the larger rope two inches or more above the head of the tallest person living in the house, and to keep the lowest part of the smaller rope out of the line of sight of the sitting person�it could get annoying.

To exit the chair, the person lowers the footrest and grabs the end of the smaller rope and uses it to pull downward on the larger rope, and once the larger rope is grabbed, the person pulls himself up, hand over hand, as if he was climbing it. The arms, not the back, do the work of chair exiting.

The main drawback to this solution is aesthetic. But since the guy in the picture above is wearing white socks, we doubt that he'll find the ropes' aesthetics much of a problem!