Home, Safer Home: Simple Ways to Age in Place Safely and Independently

There is something deeply personal about home.

You know which floorboard makes noise. You know exactly how the light comes through the window in the morning. There is a chair everybody knows is your chair and a cabinet full of dishes that have somehow survived decades of dinners, holidays and everyday life.

Maybe you’ve lived there for decades. Maybe you finally bought the house after years of saving. Maybe the neighborhood has changed around you, but the neighbors who matter still know your name.

So when older adults say they want to stay in their homes, it isn’t difficult to understand why.

The question is whether the home that has fit your life for years still fits the way you live today.

A bathtub you once stepped into without thinking can become harder to navigate. That beautiful rug in the hallway may suddenly catch your foot. The box you have always kept on the top shelf might not be worth climbing onto a chair to reach anymore.

None of that means it is time to leave home.

Sometimes it simply means the home needs to change with you.

The National Institute on Aging describes “aging in place” as remaining in your own home as you grow older while getting the services and support you may need to do so. Planning for it before there is a crisis can make remaining at home safer and easier.

The good news is that some of the most useful changes are also among the simplest.