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A lot of joint replacement surgeries are done as outpatient procedures, so chances are you’ll be doing your recovery at home. When you arrive home afterward you want to only concentrate on resting and doing any exercises your doctor has advised you to do. (Here are some for knee replacement, for example). The best gift you can give your future self is to have your home ready in advance.

Clear the clutter: A clean home is great to come home to, but it can also help you avoid tripping on objects left out. Plus, putting your home to rights means you won’t have to hunt for things later. When you have everything in its proper place you’ll know exactly where they are with minimal effort.

Choose a centralized location: For the first few days, you’re not likely going to want to move more than you have to. Setting up a place in your home where that’s possible doesn’t take very long. You’ll want a soft surface (couch, bed or reclining chair), access to a bathroom, and various sources of entertainment (tv, books, crossword puzzles, laptop, etc.). Take stock of your home and see if you can choose the best place all on one level.

Stock up on supplies: A table, nightstand or tv tray can house a lot of important things you’ll need without you having to get up and get them. Some ideas of post-surgery supplies are eyeglasses, phone/cellphone (and charger), television remote, tablet or laptop, books, tissues, medications, bottles of water, snacks.

Grocery Shopping: Keeping in line with the above, you want to make sure you have a lot of bottled water to keep hydrated. You’ll also want to invest in some non-perishable snacks like nuts to keep by you and munch on throughout the day. See if your grocery store offers pre-made meals that only require some heating to prepare. While frozen microwavable meals are an option they don’t tend to be as nutritious as ones that the grocery store pre-makes themself, so try for those first.

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