Photo by Stéphane Juban on Unsplash
We are off to visit my mum this weekend. I can’t wait to get away for a few days. She lives in one of the prettiest villages in Wiltshire and we are never short of anything to do with the kids when we are there. She’s done a lot of work on her house recently. As she’s getting older she’s been adapting her house to make everything more accessible for her. I thought I would share some top tips for making your house more accessible.
Top tips for making your house more accessible
Top of my list would be to buy a stairlift. My mum had started to use the downstairs of her house as she found using the stairs so difficult. She put off installing a stairlift for years. I’m not quite sure what changed her mind but she did eventually and it was the best thing she ever did. It took just over an hour to install, didn’t damage the walls (something she was worried about) and means she can use both floors of her house again.
Of course when she was able to use both floors of her house she started re-decorating the upstairs! She has a huge upstairs bathroom and was excited to be able to use the bath. She invested in a bath chair which is designed for people who can’t stand for long periods of time. She is so happy to be able to soak in the bath again.
Simple adjustments can be made throughout the house. There are several things you can make to your kitchen to make it easier to use. These include moving your oven higher so you don’t have to bend down, to installing a tabletop dishwasher.
In the garden you could replace the grass with artificial grass. My mum did this a few years ago because she got fed up of looking after the lawn. She found the lawnmower particularly heavy to lift so it seemed sensible to replace the lawn. She bought a leaf blower to pick up any loose leaves and now the lawn looks pristine all year round.
I know my mum would recommend getting a cleaner. This is a bit of a luxury but if you have any mobility problems then you will not want to waste any energy on cleaning your house. My mum lives on her own so doesn’t make a lot of mess. She has a lovely cleaner who comes in once a month to help her around the house. It’s a good investment because my mum is happy but is still able to do things in between visits, such as use a carpet sweeper on the carpets.
I hope you enjoyed reading my top tips for making your house more accessible. I would love to hear if you have any other ideas for making a home more accessible for people with mobility problems.
Disclosure – collaborative post
