Kids pushed me to “age-proof” the house a bit

PoundNoteCollector

PoundNoteCollector

New Member
Turned 70 this year and my grown-up kids suddenly decided my house is full of hazards I apparently can’t see. We had a bit of a laugh about it, then sat down and worked out a quick, low-budget way to make things safer and more convenient for me.

No builders, no ripping walls out – just sensible little additions and swaps that I can actually live with. So far it’s been surprisingly practical. If anyone’s thinking along the same lines and wants to know what we did, feel free to message me or say and I can jot the ideas down.
 

PoundNoteCollector said:
Turned 70 this year and my grown-up kids suddenly decided my house is full of hazards I apparently can’t see. We had a bit of a laugh about it, then sat down and worked out a quick, low-budget way to make things safer and more convenient for me.

No builders, no ripping walls out – just sensible little additions and swaps that I can actually live with. So far it’s been surprisingly practical. If anyone’s thinking along the same lines and wants to know what we did, feel free to message me or say and I can jot the ideas down.
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I turned 70 myself this year... and I'm relatively fit and young for my age .. but I had already prepared several years ago with safety measures...

Shower and bath rails.. screwed into the walls not suction...

No slip rugs especially in the kitchen or top of the stairs...

I wear slip on sketchers around the house instead of backless slippers.. so as not to slip out of them.., backless slippers, shoes, crocs, flip flops etc are all a disaster waiting to happen.. especially going up or downstairs..

2 bannisters either side of the stairs..rather than just one ..

I have a very high step down from my kitchen back door to the garden, so I bought a Half step.. ..

I have lower lumber issues and I found by going down the high step , it was jarring my back... so I got the half step, I;ve had it for years now.. and it really made a big difference..

71y-Rstk-Bpk-L-AC-UF894-1000-QL80.jpg
 

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jujube said:
What we did for my mom when she started getting unsteady was put grab bars everywhere she had to turn a corner, inside and outside the front door, and all over the bathroom.

She absolutely refused to give up the throw rugs and mats, though. There's only so much you do ......
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My brother uses bricks in a former bookshelf, so she can hold that while walking from her chair to the toilet and lol he put an elastic on the door, so it closes automatically and the cold doesn't come in. Handles, bars like you have with ballet. She can't wash her hair. We did it yesterday. Bought a plastic thing you can blow up and it works like what a hair dresser has. Worked great.
 
Those grab bars in the shower or above the bathtub are indispensable. When I first moved in, I loved my brand new stall shower (they did a lot of upgrading when they put the condo on the market), but the shower didn't have any grab bars. I got the local carpentry guys here immediately and ordered one bar to be mounted vertically. I stepped out of the room for a few minutes, and returned to see them drilling holes for it on the wrong wall! The shower had a sliding glass door, but to enter and exit on the side where they were putting the bar, I would have had to climb over the toilet!

I politely pointed this out (yes, really!) and they asked if I would like a second bar on the opposite wall (the correct one.) I started to say no, but then thought, "Why not?" so I got two bars. They didn't even charge me for the second one.

This was ten years ago, and I have loved having two safety bars in that shower ever since. Sometimes you are facing the other way, even if you don't use the bar to get in or out of the shower. It's certainly an additional safety jmeasure. I recommend it to everyone.
 
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