Small Things Can Make Your Life Easier
If you’re living alone past 60, there are a few things that become more difficult for you. Whether we like to admit it or not, the world is not designed for the ease of older adults, but your home can be. Here are a few simple changes you can make to your home to make retirement a little easier.
Lever-Style Door Handles
Those traditional round door knobs might look pretty, but they are definitely not designed for arthritic hands. As you age, grabbing and holding on to things becomes more difficult, making such doorknobs a hassle. A lever-style door handle is more convenient, especially during an emergency.
Smart Thermostats
Fiddling with the small dials and buttons on a thermostat can become more difficult as you age. Installing a voice-controlled smart thermostat that you can control with your phone is a modern solution to this problem.
Motion-Sensor Lights
As time goes on, having plenty of light in your house at all times becomes necessary to cope with decreasing vision. Motion-sensor lights remove the need for fidgeting with buttons and switches and make houses safer and easier to live in for the elderly.
Non-Slip Flooring
Like your hands, your feet also lose their grip as you age, so walking on slick tiles or rugs can become difficult, and even dangerous. Replacing them with non-slip vinyl or other textured materials or using non-slip mats helps avoid the risk of slipping and falling.
Pull-Out Shelves
If bending over is becoming harder, it’s time to install pull-out shelves, especially in lower cabinets. It is better to spend a few hundred dollars on installing pull-out shelving rather than spending it at the doctor’s office. Give your back a break and invest in making your life a little easier.
Hand-Held Showerheads
Something as basic as taking a shower can become increasingly difficult as you age. Overhead showerheads can be ineffective if you have limited mobility or need to sit down while bathing. Replacing them with hand-held ones easily reduces the effort and the risk, making daily showers more accessible.
Grab Bars in Bathrooms
Bathrooms are high-risk areas for slipping and falling, even for many younger people. Water and soap end up making bathroom tiles extremely slippery. If you have mobility and balance issues, having grab bars installed near toilets and inside showers is a worthwhile precaution to take.
Comfort-Height Toilets
Having a slightly elevated toilet seat helps reduce the strain on knees and hips while using it. For just about $150, you can reduce the pain and stress involved in your daily motions, make your home more suited to your needs, and prevent long-term damage to your joints.
Touchless Faucets
As mentioned earlier, gripping things becomes more difficult as you age. Using automatic, motion-sensor activated faucets in your kitchen and bathrooms helps relieve the strain of using them every day, especially if the faucets are rusted and unyielding. Moreover, it also helps maintain hygiene in regularly water-prone areas of the house.
Cabinet Lighting
Trying to find that bowl or spoon you lost in the back of the cabinet is difficult for most of us. Adding LED strips at the back of the cabinet can make it much easier. It’s economical, effective, and makes your life a whole lot easier.
Smooth Surface Countertops
Having quartz or granite countertops that are non-porous and stain-resistant helps maintain the look and hygiene of your kitchen. Although switching out kitchen counter tops can be expensive, it’s a useful investment in your comfort and health long-term.
Decluttered Entryway
Your entryway sets the tone for the rest of your house. Having a wide, open entryway wth benches and lots of hooks helps keep clutter at bay and avoid tripping and falling. It also increases accessibility for you if you need to use walkers or other mobility tools. In this case, investing in a few Costco hooks can help prevent major accidents.
Automatic Blinds or Curtains
This is especially useful if you have high windows or heavy curtains. Moving them to let natural light in every day can turn into a chore. Automatic blinds are another one of those investments that make your home a more welcoming, accessible place for you.
Stair Treads or Runners
Staircases are another accident-prone area for most houses. Every year, about three million seniors have to visit the E.R. due to fall-related injuries. You can reduce the risk of becoming one of them by using stair treads or runners to provide more grip.
Widened Doorways
Reduced mobility and flexibility are one of the biggest things we have to tackle as we grow older. Having wider doorways for our rooms is a small change that can go a long way in helping with it. It is a simple way to provide more access when using mobility devices or carrying things.
Keyless Entry Systems
Home security systems nowadays have sophisticated code and fingerprint-enabled locks that make keys outdated. Gone are the days when you have to fumble through your keys to find the right one. Having such systems makes your home safer and your life easier.
Lazy Susans in Cabinets
Another simple change that makes reaching into cabinets and shelves easier is to install Lazy Susans in them. Having it in places like your spice drawer and pantry can help avoid ending up with pasta that’s three months past its expiration date.
Built-In Shower Seating
If standing in the shower gets too difficult and you opt to get a little chair or stool, adding a built-in seat might be a better option. It provides a safe, comfortable space for you to rest your legs and back without the risk of slipping off.
Wall-Mounted Storage
Installing eye-level wall-mounted shelving can help avoid having to lift heavy things or excessive bending. This is especially useful if you live alone and don’t have people over often who can help you with day-to-day tasks. Installing such shelves is also relatively easy and inexpensive, making it ideal for most people.
