Have you made any small home changes to make life safer as you get older?

CarriadAgain Have you thought of selling your read-once books? If they are newish and in good condition, there are sites that will buy them, and some that even give you bigger credits to spend or just take the money.

If your local library is being mean and unhelpful, write to the library service to complain, or perhaps offer to sell them to them at a discount?

Removed rugs and mats.
Changed the lounge floor to "posh" laminate, a quick mop is easier to keep clean. (looking at a lighter weight vac to replace my 35 year old Dyson)

Bought a long handle dustpan and brush and a longer handled duster to stretch and bend less, after a fall.

About to change the bath for one that has built in handles (not yet ready to give up the soak) to be able to pull myself up more easily. If you do not want to do this, you can buy some vacuum seal stick on ones that can then be moved as you need.

My kitchen units needed replacing in our 50s, and are higher and deeper than most on the advice of the older kitchen fitter - does help with less leaning forward. I had no idea how very much easier it made baking etc.

I've got double handrails for the stairs, wide, shallow steps at outside doors to reduce the step down/up. I've got walk-in showers with perching stools for toiletries or for later use when maybe can't stand as long. I've got various implements to open jars/bottles as my hand strength is declining. I use a trolley, a bit like an outdoor rollator, to wheel things around downstairs, it makes it very easy to transport mugs/plates etc. I also use it for my online shopping to take it from the front door to the kitchen - the driver will bring everything in but I prefer to keep them at the door.

No candles allowed.
Bought a cordless Hoover to keep upstairs.

I have got rid of the valance around the base of my bed after tripping on it.

Also we have wooden floors with no rugs and no pets to get underfoot!

We've added a shower room next to the ground floor bedroom. When we renovated the bathroom and cloakroom we installed taps with a single lever rather than a traditional tap head, same in the kitchen.
We did one more expensive thing which was to replace the dated and unsafe staircase, adding a couple of extra steps which means that the staircase isn't so steep - also a proper banister replaces the 70's style "plank" grip on the old one.

Cariad

Oh, I am sorry to hear about your library.

I read a lot, but we have a marvellous county library scheme. You can order books (for free), and they are sourced from all over the county.

So I never feel the need to buy and store books, if I fancy re-reading one, I just order it again.

I get lots of ideas from the GN Book Forum.

📕📗📘📙

I think getting rid of the heavy cooking pots and pans is a good idea, never liked Le Creuset anyway!

LOL LOL LOL - errrrrm....and I have 14 other bookshelves of books and a large bag of books as well elsewhere in the house.

I had a declutter before moving here and declutter a bit as I go - ie if I only really wanted to read the book once. I've had to buy a lot more books since moving here - as I had a system going with my last library where I could order any book I just wanted to read once (ie it was probably a new one on the market) and they seemed to virtually use my requests as their "buying list" and one of the assistants there commented one time "Oh I do like the books you order - I read them after you". But my current library refuses pointblank to ever buy any books at all that they've not got that I try to order (even ones I think will be pretty popular) and won't even order ones to borrow from the rest of the country (but only from Wales - errrr why?!!!). So I've never ever been able to get any book I want from them - not once even!!! Hence part of the book-buying....

I have intermittent weeding-out and then give away to any friends that want them or the local charity bookshelf set-up in Aldi when I'm in there anyway.

I've had to buy rather a lot recently - ie reference books on topics of interest to me - because there is so much censorship going on (including online) - so when I hear of a good book by reputable author/s I buy it quick. So I still have the information to hand whatever censorship goes on in the future. Then there's natural health books (started collecting them in the 1970s and the worse the NHS gets = the more of them I get - as I've often managed to cure my own health problems anyway).

A lot of books Cariad.

A chance to reduce them maybe? Just a suggestion.

Thinks - after all these comments re hard floors - and, oh well, emails going off today to a couple of firms I've looked up and asking for quotations for engineered wood flooring for my study. It's about 120 square feet (aka just over 11 square metres) - ie 2nd bedroom size and I think I'd be expecting a bill of around £1,000 - £1,200 for mid price range level flooring to do that. Maybe up to £1,500 if I choose higher-end stuff.

The thing I am wondering about is the ease (or otherwise) for them of having to deal with all the furniture etc I've got in there in order to take up the carpet and put down wood flooring instead. There's 6 bookcases full of books, a chairbed, a hefty great computer desk (solid wood) and I've got visions of me personally standing there holding the screen etc for my security cameras (didn't have that back when the carpet was fitted - but, having discovered JUST how often my neighbours were trespassing in my garden = I bought that security camera set-up and I think all the trespassing has finally stopped apart from a bit of my garden that got legally stolen off me by one of the neighbouring houses and there is the occasional bit of trespassing on that by them!!).

My 'hard floors' are mainly Karndean, couple are Amtico (which is much the same). These are not cold to walk on, seem to retain warmth from heating, the ones laid in bathroom and ensuite and kitchen are specifically for those areas are non-slip even when wet.

Very easy to maintain, I run my lightweight G Tech vacuum cleaner over them a couple of times a week, and use a spray mop for cleaning them. They dry very quickly. Only have one rug and that is in Living Room, and is stuck down with special tape. Does not move at all, Vacuum clean goes over this without having to press any buttons to change it between hard floors and carpets. It is all very safe, very easy to maintain, spillages of any sort are quickly wipes and mopped up.
Bonus that it all looks gorgeous also.

When I had my hip replaced, I had a second bannister fitted on the staircase. It wasn’t intended to be a permanent fixture but now I would not like to be without it. It’s particularly useful when I’m coming down the stairs. Another thing that wasn’t supposed to be a permanent fixture were the two suction handgrips I put in the en-suite shower. I bought them from a local disability shop and they have never let me down. We had our bath taken out and a lovely walk in shower fitted some years ago, but I rarely use that bathroom now. For some reason I find the space and the huge glass shower screen rather intimidating now that my balance is not that good. I have ditched the mat that was in front of the kitchen sink and the one in the utility room as I was starting to trip on them both. Ditto the mat at the side of my bed. There is nothing I can really do about my garden, which is an accident waiting to happen. I just have to be as mindful as I can out there.

I did get standing re-chargeable lights three years ago, I think I have eight. They are on auto sensor and light up my landing stairs and hall, as soon as I step outside my bedroom, or into my hall in the dark.

I put one in my en suite and one in my living room and kitchen. I can switch all my table lamps off in my living room and the auto light comes on so I can safely make my way to the door

I would put these high up on my safety list

New house for me in 2019. Bigger door to the downstairs cloakroom. I arranged quickstep hard flooring all over the house with sisal on the stairs. Sisal has a rough texture and is not slippery, even on the front edges

Ongoing is de-cluttering, just slowly and a bit when I see that it can be done

I had a perfect new kitchen in my last house, lots of drawers and shelves with doors that fitted onto worktops. Very expensive, I moved. I am doing my best not to spend on any alterations now

En suite is a few steps from my bed. Big shower cubicle with a non-slip floor. Grab handles etc not needed.

No trip hazards, not even outside. I have two rugs, neither rug slips. My big patio is all non-slip, even in frost

Well fitting non slip footwear for indoor use is an absolute must! I know a lovely pair of pretty slippers is nice but they always get loose, sloppy around the heel and have no support whatsoever. We both wear Skechers instead of slippers - a pair just for indoors.

We have no carpets anywhere.

Wooden floors in hall and sitting room, cushionfloor stuff in rest of house.

I get up in the night to go to the loo, and no, don’t find the floor cold. Easy to vacuum and wash.

I decided to have this flooring when a friend, who cares for her 96 year old dad, said Dad had had an ‘accident’ in the bedroom, and she didn’t think it would be easy to get the stain and smell out of the carpet.

Much easier to wash a hard floor.

We moved last year just before I turned 60 and future proofed as much as possible, the house has no steps up to the front or back door, is easy walking distance from the GP surgery and shops, on a good bus route and near a decent sized hospital with cardiac care and a stroke unit. We can also walk to the railway station easily.
We have a walk in shower in the en-suite and wide stairs which could accommodate a stair lift plus a wide half landing that can easily fit a chair for breaks half way up. Two separate reception rooms so one could be turned into a bedroom.
I’ve just had a new kitchen with eye level oven and carousel units in the deeper cupboard plus as many deep drawers as possible.
Floors are carpeted with decent thick carpets, falls are less likely to result in fractures if there’s a softer landing. We already have a cleaner and keep a vacuum cleaner upstairs and downstairs. children all live very locally and visit frequently. I had a key safe installed very soon after we moved.
I do appreciate how lucky we are to be able to afford all this and that I have the knowledge from work of what can cause problems eg never move to a remote village to a house with a spiral staircase in later life, however beautiful the house is!

My shower is in the bath so I have to climb in, so far so good but at 80 it is something I might have to think about in the future I m very lucky that I m still pretty flexible so definitely ok for now I haven’t made any other changes
I don’t feel I m at that stage yet or anywhere near it to be honest I m sure I ll know when I am

I ordered a stool similar to this for the shower when I had a broken ankle and still find it useful.

and a rail up the garden steps you may have a flat garden, unlike us!

A shower instead of a bath or as well if you have room for both (for visitors)

Deep drawers in the kitchen instead of cupboards - so much easier than scrabbling around at the back of cupboards.

Grab rails outside the front and back doors and a rail up the garden steps.

Avoid trailing bed sheets, fitted ones are best.

You could contact Care and Repair which is a charitable organisation helping older people stay in their own homes.
careandrepair-england.org.uk/
careandrepair.org.uk/ (Wales)

Thank you Caleo for the suggestion of none slip sliders for the shower.
I have just ordered a pair.
Madeline I like your advice regarding carrying a white plastic bag when walking in the dark.

I’m finding the stairs difficult now but am sure a lift, or even another rail, can not be fitted. My walls are timber framed and the old plaster is unstable. There are no bungalows I can afford and retirement flats cost far too much in maintenance charges.
So I’m stuck here and don’t want ugly additions like grab handles in my old cottage. I hate showering and can still manage baths.
I avoid my cobbled paths and have a handrail down the 3 front steps. Putting the rubbish bags out is also getting hard.