Home Safety Checklist for Aging in Place
If you are someone who is looking to age in place, it might be a good time to take a look around and discover areas of your home that may need some attention in order to enjoy all areas safely and easily in the years to come.
Things like adding handrails to the bathroom to help keep balance, creating wide doorways to ensure that a wheelchair can pass through easily, or adding a phone into every room for easy access can help make aging in place easy and convenient.
According to AARP, about 90% of older adults admitted to wanting to stay in their home and age there. So, what measures can you take to ensure you’re as safe as possible to do that? Below is a list of of ideas that will keep you in your home longer.
Bathroom
- A walk-in tub or shower
- Shower bench or chair
- Handheld shower head
- Grab bars in shower and next to toilet
- Slip-resistant mats inside shower and outside
- Booster toilet
Bedroom
- Bed risers
- Adjustable bed
- Grab bars next to bed and on the surrounding walls
- Phone next to bed
Kitchen
- Replace stove and appliances that have alarms to alert when still turned on
- Adjust the locations of appliances for easy reach
- Slide-out trays for cabinets for easy access
Furniture
- Declutter room to clear room and make it easy to move around
- Add lift chairs to help sit and stand that you can electronically control for safe sitting and standing. View our inventory here.
- Remove cords from walkways
- Add anti-slip pads under rugs
Lighting
- Easy access light switches, touch or voice activated lighting
- Lighting everywhere to brighten up room
- Night lights
Doors
- Lever handles to replace knobs
- Widen doorways
Stairs
- Check for sturdy railings
- Opt for carpet for your stairs
- Add a stair lift if you cannot get up the stairs easily. View our stair lifts here.
Entryways
- Add ramps over the stairs
- Add a cover for the walkway
- Replace any loose flooring, stones or concrete
Yard
- Raised garden boxes
- Automatic lighting for when it gets dark
This list might seem long, but start small. Make a list of the area that is most important to you (ie. the bathroom if you need the most assistance there) and aim to complete those first. Then, work your way down to other rooms.
Source: https://www.aarp.org/home-family/your-home/info-2021/aging-in-place-checklist.html