As I begin to search ever more earnestly for simplicity, I realize how not simple life has become over the years. Aging really makes a difference in what is simple and what isn't.
Aging adds a level that one never thinks of when younger and in much better shape. Take our home for instant. We have lots of steps. There is a step up or down to move from our hallway and the same to get into the dining room or my office area. Then there is a fairly steep staircase down to the basement where our laundry room and freezers are. To get into the house there is a four stair porch in the front and in the back there is a step down to the deck, and then three steps down to the firepit and BBQ area. At times as I struggle up and down stairs with laundry, I think how wonderful it would be to have one of those chairs that zip upstairs and downstairs. I can still get around the rest of the house, inside and outside with relative ease.
We have a soaker tub with jets, which is lovely, don't get me wrong. Those jets sure help with sore muscles when I have done too much work inside or outside. Problem is that it is pretty darn deep, and very hard to get in and out of. One of these days I feel I may catch my foot and fall flat on my face, or perhaps be unable to get up from the tub. I do love my baths, I am not a shower person at all. I often think of one of those tubs with a door that seals, and a built in seat.
Now for the toilet. We bought a low profile one as one of our boys was just a young one when we moved in and having a low profile toilet made sense as he could use it easier. Now, with bad knees, hips and back getting up and down from it sees me using the bathtub as a lever. Do we replace it with something taller or leave it in case the next family has youngsters?
I am beginning to think that simple living just might mean something different as one ages. One might actually need more help as one gets older and that might mean adding things to make life more manageable and enable people to stay in their homes longer.
It also means one needs less other "stuff". Does one need 6 cookie sheets, 8 casserole dishes, or more clothing than you can wear in forever? Or how about all the nick knacks one collects over a lifetime of living?
So I will work on getting rid of those items I probably no longer need, and perhaps adding those things that I really do need to make life easier and enable us to stay in our home just a bit longer.
I also need to get out and enjoy my garden and yard a bit more. Kind of a take the time to smell the flowers and enjoy the wild life. Life is too short not to enjoy what it has to offer.
Everybody have a wonderful evening.
God bless.
You can get a sling for the deep bath that is not too expensive. The first thing we did to this house was put in handicap toilets which are taller than standard. It was an expense but so worth it. You are right. We can downsize our cooking things if we need more go buy throw away for as little we we need more.
ReplyDeleteYou certainly made some valid points about things getting more difficult as we age. Stairs and steps in particular I would think. When we moved into our new home we had the option of a walk in shower they have a special name I think, without having having to step over to get in. Oh no, I declared, we are not o,d enough for that! 12 years on and mobility has changed.
ReplyDeleteAll good things to think about. Ee got a taller toilet, when Glen was here and having trouble getting up and down. I love it - I feel like I am sitting in the floor other places! Whoever lives next can worry about it - it works for me. I am a bathtub person as well.
ReplyDeleteAfter my knee replacement surgery, we purchased an Elevated Toilet Seat Riser to assist with my recovery. It was helpful. We took it off once I healed. Depending on how fancy you want to get, they are not terribly expensive.
ReplyDeleteI may be lucky? At 31, my Dad was already quite disabled and told me when we were shopping for a house, it had to be easy in/out/around or he couldn't visit. So we are single level, maybe a 4" step in through the front door. When toilets needed replaced immediately did taller. So, we are old ready (we're 64 this month). I've never had 6 cookie sheets or 8 casseroles and our 1650 square foot home has plenty of open space, unstuffed closets and space in the kitchen.
ReplyDeleteI think it's perspective and habit? I've never been one to keep stuff I don't use (except the clothes I got too fat for and I'm losing the weight so wearing much of it and getting rid of big stuff promptly-3 sizes so far!).
I don't envy you the decision on that tub. I don't like high tubs for those same reasons. For folks not close to 6 feet tall, I think they are a hazard.
Best of luck working your way through all the decisions ahead of you.
We bless the day that the building management decided to replace all the toilets with higher ones. As for taking baths, it's showers for us now because neither one of us can get up out of a tub. I never thought I'd grow to like showers but I have.
ReplyDeleteMy Mom figured out how to have a stacked washer & dryer installed in her kitchen so she didn't have to go to the basement to do laundry. Is there anywhere you could do that in your home even if you have to sacrifice other storage?
ReplyDeleteI have a higher rise toilet seat in our bathroom and I like it for ease of getting up and even more so after my knee surgery. Our bathtub is too small to enjoy taking a bath in it so it’s showers for us, although I do love a good soak in a tub too.
ReplyDeleteRemoval of clutter, ie all those nick knacks collected over the years, when I started I would pop a few things in a box to see if I missed them, and eventually take to box to local charity shop, clothes is harder, as I have given away clothes which still fit me, but I had not worn them in years. I do love to live with less.
ReplyDeleteI get you with regard to the things we need as we age. Our house has multiple stairs, I don't think I'll grow old here. We can manage them for now, but there will come a time when they will be too much. I think that prioritising making your life physically easier rather than spending money on stuff we don't need is important. Good luck with this and with enjoying your garden.
ReplyDeleteWe moved house 6 months ago and got rid of so much 'stuff'. Downsized too and its made me realise we don't need all these things which are supposed to make us happy. So long as family and friends are fine, still relatively healthy thankfully. My niece is a physiotherapist and she says whilst you can still manage stairs - do! Otherwise you loose the use of your legs. Xx
ReplyDeleteJust a couple of ideas for you. My mom used to use the basement stairs as the laundry chute. That is, she'd toss the items to be washed to the bottom of the stairs. That meant she didn't need to carry a basket. Dad would bring the clothes up for her or she would sit on the stairs with a basket on her lap and bum bump her way up. Her mobility was obviously worse than yours.
ReplyDeleteInstallation of grab bars in the bath tub can be helpful too. There are toilet seat risers, which would be much less expensive than replacing the toilet and can be removed easily.
It is about making accommodations to make it easier to live as we age, and to be able to live in our homes as long as possible. If there is a mobility aid dealer in your city, they would likely be able to make some recommendations.
As for the stuff we gather - I totally understand.
You are right to consider changes. I am so thankful that we had various things done when my husband was alive, higher loo, bath removed and wet room put in, grab rails in the shower and by the garden doors. We deliberately chose a bungalow to live in, thankfully. It all makes it possible to reamin in the house. Build these things in as soon as you can, then you'll have less to worry about.
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