Do you have stairs where you live?

Yes, my house has a flight of stairs to the second floor and another, steeper flight of stairs down to the basement. I've never fallen yet and can use the stairs without any difficulty. However, at my age I do go up and down the stairs being consciously careful about it.
 

hollydolly said:
I found rather than carry a large laundry basket downstairs precariously now..I just take every items or couple of items that need washing downstairs to the washing machine and use that as a laundry basket... instead..IYSWIM
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Thanks for the tip, @holly! I've also tried splitting the large laundry basket into two (separating the white clothes from the dark). The house has a chute where you can throw your clothes in it and they land in the laundry room, but that gets messy. Some clothes land behind the washer/dryer! Another option is to buy one of those washer/dryer units (one on top of the other) and wash the clothes upstairs. Things to think about.
 
seadoug said:
We have stairs in our home and I take them every day to go to my home office. When I am no longer able to climb them, our master bedroom is on the first floor so I will just close up the second floor.

I learned there is actually a syndrome called "Bungalow Leg" that affects people who don't have stairs in their homes. Go figure.

Why a home with no stairs can give you 'bungalow leg'
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Thanks for sharing that interesting article, @seadoug! I agree with it! "Use it or lose it"
 

My house is tri-level. There are 6 steps up and 6 steps down. I use large canvas bags for laundry and just throw it down the stairs. Coming back up with it folded in the bag it can be carried in one hand freeing the other to hold on to the rail.
I used to climb a nearby mountain (more like a big hill) once a week. Going up was OK but coming down became too hard on the knees and I gave it up at age seventy something.
 
Born_To_Lose said:
This house I live in now is all on one floor. My first one story house. I have never fallen on any steps, but I have had issues with balance. My ears were checked and I had an MRI of my brain. No tumors, thank God, but no doctor has an answer either.
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Try one mile Bike trail walks this summer. With 2 adjustable hiking poles. We have them.
 
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Babs2u said:
My house is tri-level. There are 6 steps up and 6 steps down. I use large canvas bags for laundry and just throw it down the stairs. Coming back up with it folded in the bag it can be carried in one hand freeing the other to hold on to the rail.
I used to climb a nearby mountain (more like a big hill) once a week. Going up was OK but coming down became too hard on the knees and I gave it up at age seventy something.
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Downhill is done best at a crossing angle with great hiking trail grip sole boots. .
 
Jazzy1 said:
If so, did you ever have any falls or injury from your stairs?

Do you think you are healthier because you get more exercise having to go up and down your stairs?
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We have stairs but we also put in a wheelchair lift to the upstairs deck and that has paid off. My wife hasn’t fallen on the stairs but could and has face-planted twice: once when stepping off a curb outside and once at home in her studio tripping over some uneven concrete in the flooring. She is using a walker nearly all the time and the elevator too.
 
I have full stairs. The bathroom is upstairs so I use them often. Then stairs to the cellar. Furnace and washer and dryer are down there. I always have at least one hand free going up and down. Very careful now that I'm older. I put in grab bars for the cellar stairs too. I've fallen a few times when I was younger usually because I was in a hurry.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
I was a visiting nurse. Some of my patients had large two story homes. But they were living only on the first floor, since they couldn't climb the stairs to their bedrooms. I can't tell you how many had beds in the living room. That was decades ago, and when I got my home, I made sure it was all on one floor. Now, that I'm in a wheelchair, I'm glad I made that decision.
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My house is two stories, but I have a master bedroom with ensuite bathroom downstairs, along with the living room, dining room, kitchen and guest's half bath. I do go upstairs occasionally. When I got this house, I had it in my mind that a bedroom downstairs was a requirement. But one-story house just seemed too one dimensional to me. Plus, my second floor gives me a view of the citiy, mountains, the greenery and the sky. So I enjoy my space upstairs as well, as long as I am able to climb the stairs. But nowadays you can install a moving chair or mini elevator to go up and down the stairs anyway. It's not cheap but it's doable.
 
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palides2021 said:
Thanks for the tip, @holly! I've also tried splitting the large laundry basket into two (separating the white clothes from the dark). The house has a chute where you can throw your clothes in it and they land in the laundry room, but that gets messy. Some clothes land behind the washer/dryer! Another option is to buy one of those washer/dryer units (one on top of the other) and wash the clothes upstairs. Things to think about.
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I sometimes refer to the flight of stairs in our house as the laundry shoot because, if the laundry basket is very full, rather than try to see around it whilst going down the stairs, I let the basket tumble down on its own and pick up the clothes at the bottom.

It takes me about ten seconds to scoop up the clothes and put them back in the basket. I figure it's worth the effort to avoid the risk of falling, coming down the stairs without being able to see where I'm putting my feet.

I've never been able to come down a flight of stairs without looking down to see where my feet are. Other people can do that, I know. Anyone else have that issue?
 
Medusa said:
I sometimes refer to the flight of stairs in our house as the laundry shoot because, if the laundry basket is very full, rather than try to see around it whilst going down the stairs, I let the basket tumble down on its own and pick up the clothes at the bottom.

It takes me about ten seconds to scoop up the clothes and put them back in the basket. I figure it's worth the effort to avoid the risk of falling, coming down the stairs without being able to see where I'm putting my feet.

I've never been able to come down a flight of stairs without looking down to see where my feet are. Other people can do that, I know. Anyone else have that issue?
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I've done that , but not with the laundry basket..I got rid of that years ago... but with a clothing bundle.. if I've got other things to take downstairs as well, then I'll often just throw the clothes to the bottom of the stairs..usually bedding...
 
Jules said:
Around here, houses without steps sell almost immediately. The buyers are seniors.
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same here.. they are the most sought after type of housing, particularly bungalows... they will fetch much more than their true value because of the great need for them

Hambledene-e1611229983711-655x450.jpg

2 years ago when my DD returned to the UK she bought a Bungalow, she paid top dollar for it... there was 33 (if I remember rightly) prospective buyers....,all offering over the asking price
 
Yes, stairs to the basement. And steps outside. No problems at all. But I did slip on an icy hillside this year, as I posted about a few weeks ago, and now I have to answer "Yes" to the stupid question "Have you fallen in the last year?" that I get prior to every doctor visit. I always have the feeling that someone is just itching to get me in that wheelchair and then roll me into the nursing home.
 
Medusa said:
I sometimes refer to the flight of stairs in our house as the laundry shoot because, if the laundry basket is very full, rather than try to see around it whilst going down the stairs, I let the basket tumble down on its own and pick up the clothes at the bottom.

It takes me about ten seconds to scoop up the clothes and put them back in the basket. I figure it's worth the effort to avoid the risk of falling, coming down the stairs without being able to see where I'm putting my feet.

I've never been able to come down a flight of stairs without looking down to see where my feet are. Other people can do that, I know. Anyone else have that issue?
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Thanks for sharing that, @Medusa!
 
Judycat said:
I have full stairs. The bathroom is upstairs so I use them often. Then stairs to the cellar. Furnace and washer and dryer are down there. I always have at least one hand free going up and down. Very careful now that I'm older. I put in grab bars for the cellar stairs too. I've fallen a few times when I was younger usually because I was in a hurry.
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I’d already put in a railing on the stairs we use most often but not caring what it looked like I used PVC with a diameter of about 1.5 inches. The tactile feel is much better ensuring no slipping.
 
Capt Lightning said:
I've never fallen, but I have tripped where the stairs turn at the top. The stairs are about 120 years old and I think that the treads are narrower than modern stairs.

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it's the same with my stairs, the tread is so narrow, really you have to turn your feet out like a duck to stop slipping off the edge... I learned this after a couple of falls.. I do also have a bannister each side
 
I tripped over a dead branch while blowing leaves last fall,
Almost nose first into the hills bank by the lower roadway.
I managed to break my fall with my arms. Then rolled due
to the hill. Shook my head and shook off the shock of it all.

Needless to say that lil branch got broken up!

That hill down to the lake isn't quite a cliff but I think of it as one.
Having the home up on the level gives it 12 months usage due
To Ice and Snow Winter days. It is a 2 story, mostly inhabited
Spring thru late fall. It develops bodily conditioning there.
Spend most of my days out in the large garage, projects etc.

I fished a lot years ago, now not so much. Golf is recreational! ... :coffee: ...

Having a home down by the Lake shoreline means mostly parking
and walking down hills for 1/4 mile. Easy slip n fall hazards.
 
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hollydolly said:
it's the same with my stairs, the tread is so narrow, really you have to turn your feet out like a duck to stop slipping off the edge... I learned this after a couple of falls.. I do also have a bannister each side
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I could accept a chairlift in up coming years for the upper part of the lake homes steps. Risers are 6 steps and turn, left 6 steps going up.



IMG_0970.jpegA very safe design.
 
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