Home Modifications for a Holiday Gift

by Kathy Lupfer-Nielsen

Perhaps you need a gift  idea for a parent or grandparent aging in their home?  If so, you can find several ideas in the KSRE publication “Simple Home Modification for Aging in Place” written by Carol Ann Crouch, Scott County FCS Agent.  Check out Carol Ann’s publication for several simple ideas for their homes.  She has also included more elaborate or expensive ideas. 

Helping your relative assess the safety of their homes could be a first step.  The publication has some simple, almost no cost ideas such as removing throw rugs or helping pick up clutter which could be a falls hazard. 

Other suggestions could include purchasing a touch lamp for their bedside table or even a shower seat.  If you’re handy, helping add handrails in the hallway or grab bars in the bathrooms could be a nice gift.

 
Ideas such as replacing doorknobs with lever-style handles or building a ramp or berm entry would be more costly.  Just look at this publication for more ideas of how to help your relative stay in their own home longer.  It will save them money, make their environment safer and give them more independence.  Check out this publication at http://www.aging.ksu.edu/p.aspx?tabid=199

Kathy Lupfer-Nielsen is a Family Consumer Sciences Extension Agent for the Post Rock District in north central Kansas.