Aging-in-place storage access in Bay Village

Upgrades can help you tidy up your house

Pull-out base cabinets, rolling shelves and lazy Susan cabinets can make a big difference in storing items in the kitchen, linens in the hall closet or even clothing in the bedroom when it comes to aging-in-place storage access in Bay Village or other communities.

It’s easy to overlook how important is the ability to reach in the home.  When discussing access, it’s often the first thought to focus on house or room entry, but what about getting that box off the shelf in the kitchen? Or grasping a fresh towel out of the closet?

When you or your loved one wants to maintain independence in their later years, it makes sense to retrofit or upgrade shelves and cabinets for easy access. Organizing the home to eliminate clutter is an important step so your loved one feels less anxious, helpless, and overwhelmed. Psychologists have recognized clutter as a significant source of stress for people of all ages, especially older persons. Who hasn’t felt frustration in searching for a lost item “swallowed up” by the clutter?

Also, once storage solutions are established in the home, habits can be formed over time so the old adage, “A place for everything and everything in its place” becomes a regular observation.

Many home designs are created for the general population, but making it inconvenient or difficult for those in a seated position, or who don’t have the ability to fully extend the arm, to reach for items.

The implications are many since this affects anyplace in the house where there is storage: kitchens, bedrooms, bathrooms, closets and laundry areas. Topping the list of concerns is safety – reaching for an item should not bring the risk of injury. In addition, the more inconvenient it is to reach an item, the more likely it is for someone to ask someone else to obtain it or eventually give up.

Upper kitchen cabinets in an aging-in-pace residence are usually 3 inches lower than the most common height. There are several solutions to make such cabinets more accessible. One may be to lower the cabinets and increase the ceiling soffit to fill the gap. If this is not a workable solution, a built-in step-stool that pulls out of the base cabinet may work. A variation is a slide-out step that offers several inches of height, just enough to reach items on shelves. These can be placed in several locations around the perimeter of the kitchen.

Pullout drawers offer convenient storage space for base cabinets. These allow you to store heavier and bulkier items such as large bowls, platters and plates. These come in various depths and numbers of tiers so you may choose what works best. For example, a 10-inch deep drawer works well to store pots and pans and a 6-inch drawer is adequate for the lids.

One of the best kitchen storage solutions for convenience is the tall, narrow sliding cabinet. These are ideal for storing cans and jars since access and visibility are excellent.

Lazy Susan cabinets offer even more access, and are offered in various sizes and tiers. They even may be used in corners for trash solutions. With today’s focus on sorting the trash for recycling, a lazy Susan that offers separate compartments for recyclables, trash and organic waste makes it easy to spin to the desired section and deposit the trash.

The solutions described earlier also can be used in other rooms in the aging-in-place residence. Sliding drawers are ideal for the bathroom, where you want to eliminate reaching for items in the medicine cabinet. Likewise, sliding drawers make towels and linens easily accessible in hallway closets.

Organizers built into existing bedroom closets offer several options for storing clothes. They often include a clothes rod lower to the floor than usual and drawers within easy reach for storing clothing items. Many are available to match your existing bedroom furniture.

When it comes to upgrading aging-in-place storage access in Bay Village, or other communities, you can depend on Sciarappa Construction and our teams of experienced designers, architects and construction professionals to get the job done, on time, with no surprises. We will offer you several design-build and remodel solutions so you may choose the best that meets your plans.

Sciarappa Construction has been a family-owned construction contractor with over 40 years combined experience. We’re located at 32961 Pin Oak Pkwy. in Avon Lake, OH 44012. Contact Sciarappa Construction at (440) 930-2882 or by email at info@sciarappaconstruction.com.

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