7 Ways to Make Your Home Age Friendly
As you age, it sometimes gets harder to do routine things such as move around your home with ease. Luckily, you can start planning while you still have the flexibility and energy to make your home, or the home of someone you love, more “age friendly.”
There are simple ways to give an elderly loved one ease of mobility or prepare your own home for a time when you may need extra assistance. By making your home age friendly, you are also opening up the possibility of staying in your home longer if you need care due to an injury or illness.
Here are seven ways you can make your home age friendly:
- Rethink the Shower
Stepping over a step into a tub may be more difficult as you get older. One way to make your bathroom more accessible is by refitting your shower or bathtub to be a walk-in shower without a step. You can even go a little further and add non-slip pads to the flooring of the shower and bathroom.
- Grip Bars in Every Room
Having the ability to hold onto something if you are unsteady can prevent an injury-causing fall. By installing grip bars throughout the house in places where there may not already be something to hold onto will help you or your loved one have peace of mind that there is a mechanism in place to regain your balance if there is a feeling of unsteadiness as you walk around.
- Enhance Outside Pathways
Over time, outside pathways and sidewalks can become cracked and crumble. This can cause a fall-hazard to anyone, but seniors are most at risk of an injury if there is not a smooth pathway into their home. Make sure that the entryways to the home provide an uninterrupted surface for an easy walk into the home.
- Stair lift
If you or someone you love is at risk for a mobility issue that may leave you in a wheelchair, you will need a stair lift if you have multiple floors in your home. If you know that moving up and down the stairs will be difficult for you, it’s important to install a device that can help give you ease of mobility to move from one floor to another.
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Make Shelving More Accessible
As we age, it gets more difficult to walk up stairs and use tools such as a stepladder to reach items at a higher level. One way that you can make your home more age friendly is to put all important, everyday items in shelving at a lower level that is easily reachable.
- Appliances and Gadgets Should be Age Friendly
Ensure that you or your loved one can read all instructions, numbers, and buttons on appliances and gadgets—including kitchen appliances, computers, cell phones, and remotes. These days, it’s very easy to find large-print gadgets that can be read with more ease by those who may have limited sight capabilities. Make sure your home is equipped with the appropriate size appliances and gadgets for the person who will be using them the most.
- Create a Warm, Pleasant Bedroom Space
If you or your loved one will be spending quite a bit of time in the bedroom, make sure that the room is well lit, with appropriate temperature controls, and that it is a positive, happy space. It is less likely that someone will suffer from unhappiness if they are comfortable in the space where they spend most of the time. Maybe this means bringing in fresh flowers, or positioning the bed to look out the window. Perhaps this even means changing bedrooms to another room in the house. The most important thing is that the room is providing optimal comfort.
Making your home more accessible and comfortable for home living as you age can help keep you and your loved ones at home longer. If you need at-home healthcare and caregiving services, please contact us. We can help give you peace of mind by providing top care for you or your loved one in your own home.
References:
Pile, T. (2017, January 31). Top 5 tips for keeping senior care costs low. Retrieved March 21, 2017, from https://www.aol.com/article/finance/2017/01/31/top-5-tips-for-keeping-senior-care-costs-low/21704206/
Steps for Converting a House into a Senior Friendly Home. (n.d.). Retrieved March 21, 2017, from https://www.seniorliving.com/article/steps-converting-house-senior-friendly-home
