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Aging in Place Cape Cod Sales Data: April, 2021
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What features should our homes have as we age? What accommodations add convenience, comfort, and safety to quality of life?
Use this checklist of a dozen concerns as a guide.
1: Replace knobs: Hands grow increasingly arthritic and knobs will become hard to grasp, turn, and pull. Door knobs, drawers pulls, faucet handles may all have hard-to-use knobs. Instead, use pulls where the entire hand is inserted into the pull. Instead of aching fingers, now the full hand opens the drawer. Lever knobs are best for doors.
2: Timing is everything. In the kitchen have appliances that turn off automatically. Always use a timer when cooking. Set up Alexa or equivalent for timely reminders for meds, appointments, and turning lights on or off.
3: Tripping hazards. Throw rugs, I’m talking’ about you. Nonskid mats are a better solution. Keep all pathways clear, inside and outside the house. Cords and extension cords can be a tripping hazard. Tape them down with duct tape.
4: High-rise toilets. Also known as chair-height toilets. My plumber tells me this is around a $700 project. The toilets are ADA approved and are about two inches higher than standard toilets.
5: Medications: Use a daily pill organizer. Saves time, plus this is a way to keep track of doses taken or missed. Keep an updated list of meds on the refrig door to help in case the rescue squad ever has to come to the house.
6: Instructions. Keep a notebook of computer and Bitcoin account passwords. One of my friends ended up paying thousands of dollars to forensic computer specialists so she could find out her family’s financial info after her husband, a computer professional died unexpectedly. Other end of life instructions were known as Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) but that’s now called Medical Orders for Life Saving Treatment, acronym MOLST. https://www.molst-ma.org/download-molst-form
Find out about the living will and advance directive known as Five Wishes. https://fivewishes.org/docs/default-source/default-document-library/product-samples/fwsample.pdf?sfvrsn=2
These are both formats for recording legal instructions to trusted advisors.
7: House Numbers: How can helpers find someone who has called for help via phone or medical alarm? The correct house number must be visible from the street. The numbers go on the doorframe, not on the door. That’s because in an emergency sometimes the front door is left wide open by an anxious resident. An open door makes the house number invisible.
8: Declutter. In Sweden this is called Death cleaning but the idea is to declutter. The Swedes say start at age 65. Don’t start with photos— they’re too emotional. Give stuff away. It’s ok to keep a stuffed animal or two.
9: Stairs: Install an outside ramp to an exterior door. We did this at our house to help a family member and now everyone uses the ramp. A ramp can be rented. It can be like a metal boat ramp down at the harbor. Stairs need railings on each side, not just one side. A grab bar can come in handy at the top of the stairs. Is a mechanical chair lift needed? We’ve had one and found it helpful but in the end we removed it. But we’ve kept our outdoor ramp. There’s another solution for how to go up and down stairs: do a “crab walk” up the stairs using all four limbs. Bend over and use hands on the stairs treads. Coming down the stairs, go backwards. No one ever fell over walking backwards.
11: Runways and Landings: Keep a table or bench by the back door, a place to set things down while opening the door. Same inside the house. A runway table or counter help organize stuff for errands, going to the mail box or store. Where do you put the car keys?
12: Eyes: Have a hand lens or two in the house. Handmade labels in large print can be stuck on or over the setting dials on the dishwasher, laundry machines, stove, and thermostat. Maybe even label wall light switches so helpers or visitors might know what the switches are for. Better lighting IS needed as eyes grow old. Table and task lights are better than ceiling lights. Select the best light bulbs for reading lamps. Lack of illumination contributes to falls. Make light switches and lamps easily accessible so there’s no need to bend and reach or walk through dark areas to the next light. Eyes and balance ARE connected.
Here’s another connection. At the backdoor, consider using an environmentally-correct yellow light bulb instead of a white one. Yellow lights don’t attract moths so that’s better for birds whose populations have declined because there aren’t enough caterpillars for them to eat. The lack of enough native species plants starves insects and that starves birds. Relating this to our eyesight, we want more birds. We all love sitting with binoculars and watching birds outside the window. See how everything is connected? Every species has it’s dilemma.
My hope is this checklist helps our species.
