Accessibility Hacks For Your House

Shower Safety

• If you have any nerve damage that limits sensation, always check the water temperature before getting into the shower.
• Use a shower stool or bench. There are tons of options, including light-weight, pretty looking and roll-in versions.
• Keep a rug outside of the shower to avoid slipping when you get out.
• If possible, shower when someone else is home just in case you need to call for help.
• Avoid using removable suction bars, which can detach from walls and cause a fall.

Bathroom Safety

• Use a raised toilet seat with handles.
• Installed bars.

Kitchen Safety

• If you’re a wheelchair user, keep in mind that the stove is at your eye level, which puts you at greater risk of burns from flames or oil popping.
• Avoid lifting hot pans over your lap.
• Wheelchair users, avoid reaching across burners to turn off the stove––use a long utensil to do this if possible.

Bedroom Safety

• Sit up and allow your body to adjust to being upright for a minute before getting out of bed. This is especially important if you pass out frequently or experience symptoms related to gravity.

Medication Safety

• Create a system to prevent accidentally missing or duplicating a dose. For example, if you set your pills for the day in a container separate from your prescription bottles, you’ll be able to see when the container is empty because you’ve taken your meds.
• Type up a list of your medications to keep on your phone medical ID. If you’re in the hospital and need medication, they’ll be able to check what you’re already on.

Shower Mobility

• Use a body brush with a long handle.
• If you can’t bend at the waist, you can also tape razors to long objects (like chopsticks) to enable you to shave your legs.
• Detachable shower heads with a long cord make it easier to wash when you aren’t able to
• Use walls to your advantage. Lean against them to decrease muscle strain.
• Set out everything you’ll need after the shower before you get in. This will help with post-shower symptom flares.
• To decrease fatigue, consider alternating what you do in the shower. Wash your hair one day, shave another, and wash your body the next.
• Learn how to do a sponge bath.

Stairs

• Non-slip strips.
• Alternatively, carpet provides a bit of traction.

Projects & Cleaning

• Buy the tools with the longest handles to decrease bending and stooping.
• Clean the bathtub with a mop.
• For projects low-to-the-ground, use a dolly scooter to maneuver.
• Clean when your body is at its most optimal.
• Use a rolling chair while you clean.
• Lightweight vacuums are ideal.
• Consider a Robo-vacuum.

Bathroom

• Use a squatty potty toilet stool to decrease gastrointestinal pain.
• Keep a lightweight seat next to where you get ready. Your shower stool is a multi-purpose item.
• Sit in a chair or on the floor while you get ready in the morning.
• Use an electric face cleanser or shaver.
• Use dry shampoo.
• Take advantage of flossers for dexterity.
• A glass at the sink can be helpful if you have difficulty moving your head or upper body.

Kitchen

• Push heavy items across countertops rather than lifting.
• If you’re limited to one room due to mobility, consider keeping kitchen items in that room.
• Consider learning meal prep.
• Freeze meals for bad days.
• You can store a mini-fridge in a bedroom with emergency food or medication you may not otherwise be able to access.
• Take some of the work out of cooking by using electric appliances like crock pots, instant pots and other quick-prep cooking tools.
• Use a portable cart with wheels to carry around ingredients when cooking.
• Dental dams for opening everything.
• Liquid level indicators for the blind.
• Cutter bowls to help with limited dexterity.
• Tilting kettles.
• RehabMart has other utensils for various disabilities.
• Timers for memory & executive functioning difficulties.
• Straws.
• Meal replacement smoothies.

Entree Ways

• Benches or stools are great for taking off shoes.
• Placing a lockbox with a key in it on the outside and giving trusted people the code can decrease how often you need to get up to get the door.
• Video doorbells.
• Visual door alerts for deafness.
• Remote door locks or smart locks.
• Button-pad door locks for poor dexterity.
• Tying a string to your front door and holding it as you go in or out will pull the door shut behind you.
• If you often go to the hospital for emergencies, store a ready-to-go bag full of essentials in your entree or car.

Office/Desk

• Use a laptop riser for posture.
• If it’s a really bad day, move your desk to the couch or bed.
• Invest in an ergonomic chair, or modify an existing chair with ergonomic cushions.
• Noise-canceling headphones (not just for the office).

Bedroom

• There is a pillow for every need. Seriously though, every need.
• Bed standers are designed to help you get out of bed.
• Adjustable beds.
• If you have chronic pain, invest in a good mattress.
• Keep a box of flare-up essentials near your bed or couch for when you’re not feeling well.
• Sturdy headboards with gaps can serve in place of a grab bar over the bed.
• Bed assist straps can help people sit up.
• Moving a bedroom to the first floor for a person who struggles with stairs can be a helpful adjustment.
• Home hospital beds.

Closets & Wardrobes

• Use hanging shoe cubbies to house folded clothes so that less energy is required to get them out.
• Keep a chair at your closet to rest while getting ready.

Whole-House Mobility

• Keep floors and walkways free of tripping hazards.
• Store extras of things you use frequently in different rooms.
• Place chairs around the house in places you generally need to sit down.
• Silly as it sounds, carrying a bag around the house will reduce the amount of back-and-forth.
• Use canes or crutches to reach light switches or other items.
• For limited dexterity, twisting doorknobs can be swapped for handles.
• Touch lamps.
• Voice or motion-activated lights.
• Remote control lights.
• Smart home devices.

Stairs

• Stairlifts.
• Moveable ramps.
• If you’re lucky enough to have two wheelchairs, you can store one on an upper floor to use when you’re upstairs.

Laundry

• Pull carts and suitcases for transport.
• Front loading washing machines.
• Grabber tools for when clothes inevitably fall behind the washer.

Sinks

• Sinks without cabinets underneath allow you to roll under.
• Extendable faucets with cords can help with washing dishes.
• If you can’t afford to change your bathroom, rig a cheap water bottle to faucets to extend water flow closer to you.

Doorways Too Narrow

• Check with landlords before moving in. They might be willing to measure doorways to see if your wheelchair will fit.
• Try offset door hinges to expand doorways.
• If necessary, you can remove doors from the frame and store them until you move out.
• The ADA specifies that door frames need to be at least 32 inches wide to accommodate a wheelchair.
• In some cases, you may also be able to buy upgraded wheels for your wheelchair that have rims with a narrower offset, but again, this is going to vary from chair to chair

Kitchen

• Shorter counters are great if you can afford them.
• Pull-out cutting boards allow for a lowered prep surface.
• Use long utensils to turn stoves on and off.

Bathrooms

• Check with landlords or tour before moving in.
• If you can’t fit your chair in the bathroom, place a lightweight shower stool between the doorway and the toilet. Park your chair outside the bathroom, transfer to the stool, then transfer to the toilet. Move the shower stool and close the door.
• Using a long catheter reduces the need for transfers.

Whole-House Tips

• In places where you need traction to transfer, place a rug and secure it to the floor with an adhesive.
• Organize furniture with a large turn radius in mind. Wheelchairs can require upwards of 60 inches to turn around.

Keep Bad Days In Mind

On a good day, organize everything as if you were having a really symptomatic day. Consider questions like: What is my level of mobility on a bad day? What am I most likely to need on a bad day and where?

Store It Where You Use It

Not only should you keep items you only use in the bathroom in the bathroom, you should also consider if there’s a specific part of the bathroom you need that item and keep it closest to that spot. If your mobility won’t allow you to cross to the cabinet for a tampon, keep your tampons by the toilet.

Consider Height

Store your most used items at your eye level, even if that level is different from other people you live with. Think about whether bending over often will exacerbate symptoms, or whether you can reach a shelf at all.

Groceries

Many grocery stores provide same-day pickup and delivery. You can also hire a shopper to buy food for you from services like Instacart.

Pet Food

There are all kinds of services out there that provide pet food for different needs.

Cleaning Supplies

With so many great natural cleaning product subscriptions on the market, scouring stores for the right item could be one less step in the wall that’s stopping you from cleaning.

Laundry

Some services will actually come to your house, pick up your dirty laundry and return it to you fresh and folded. You can even let them know if you have sensitivities to certain chemicals or detergents.

Diapers

It’s hard enough being a disabled parent, and getting baby diapers delivered can take a load off. Adult incontinence products can also be delivered discreetly

Clothing

Shopping can be pretty hard with a disability, but Stitchfix is one of many subscription services that can take the physical effort out of shopping while keeping you fashionable.

Medication

Check to see if your insurance plan supports getting your prescriptions delivered. In some parts of the world, this even includes medical marijuana. Not everyone has this option, but if you do, might as well take advantage of it!

Contraceptives

There are a variety of options that will send you condoms, lube, pregnancy tests & other sexual health products.

Everything Else

If you live in an applicable area, Postmates will bring almost anything to your door in less than an hour.