Closets

We tuck away some of our most valued belonging in our closets. And then what happens when we go looking for them? Either we can’t find them, or we can’t reach them.

Fortunately, there are ways to tame the chaos in our storage spaces. Try out these ideas. They may help you keep your sanity. One day, they may even help you keep your independence.
Closet Rods
Is your closet a “one size fits all” affair? If so, it probably doesn’t work well for everyone in your family. For example, the rod where you hang your clothes is probably about 5½ feet – or 66 inches – above the floor. That height works well if you are 6 feet tall. But what if you’re 4′8″? What if you use a wheelchair? What if you are a child? Pull a chair up to your closet and have a seat. Can you reach your clothes from this position? Probably not.

Clothing rods should be between 20 and 44 inches above the floor. Is your rod higher than that? Think about moving it. Or you can install a new rod in your closet.

• An add-on rod comes with extenders. This rod hooks on to the closet rod that you already have. Add-on rods hang at a lower height. They are great for kids. You can remove these rods easily when the child grows taller.
• For a more permanent solution, buy a pull-down or swing-down rod. You install this rod at the same height as the rod you have now. Then, pull a cord or touch a button. Your clothes swing down to your level. Want even more hanging space? Use the pull-down rod along with a regular rod. Install the regular rod at a lower height. You can use the lower rod when the pull-down rod is in the “up” position.
• For a high-tech closet, choose a clothing carousel. This device runs on a motor. Push a button and it brings your clothes to you. You’ve seen these devices at the dry cleaners. Now you can have a smaller version in your own house. You’ll need a closet that is at least 4½ feet by 6 feet.

Closet Organizing Tips
New closet rods will help you find and reach your clothes. But they won’t help you tame your closet’s clutter. You’ll need some extra help to do that. Look in the Yellow Pages to find a professional to organize your closet. Or, take a stab at doing it yourself. Follow these simple steps.
First, get rid of as many possessions as you can. Sell or give away what you don’t use. Can’t give it away? Then throw it out.
Next, go shopping for a closet organizing system. These systems have clothing rods, shelves and drawers. They will help you put your hands on everything you need to get dressed. Shop carefully, though. Not every pre-made system will fit your needs. You may have to design your own.
You can choose either drawers or wire baskets for your organizer. Make higher drawers shallow. Lower draws can be deeper. If you choose wooden drawers, use d-shaped or u-shaped handles that are easy to grip.
Does someone in the house use a wheelchair? Then don’t place the drawers more than 30 inches from the floor. See if you can find full-extension drawers. Then you can pull the drawers out far enough to see everything that is stored there.
Don’t forget to add some low, shallow shelves to your organizer. Shelves should be no more than 18 inches deep. Mount shoe shelves on the wall.

Finishing Touches
Now that your closet is organized, make sure you can see your handiwork. Ask an electrician to install a new light in your closet. Get rid of that light with a pull-chain. Replace it with a light switch. Better yet, get a light that turns on by itself when you open the closet door.
Ask a carpenter to remove the door to your closet. Leave the door off if you can. If not, replace it with side-by-side swinging doors or pocket doors that slide inside the wall when they are open. No matter what door you choose, make sure the doorway is at least 32 inches wide.

Walk-in Closets
Are you building a new home? Make sure you include a walk-in closet. These closets give you lots of room to store clothes. You’ll also have plenty of room to install organizing tools.
Make the closet doorway at least 32 inches wide. That way, a person in a wheelchair can get through easily. Make the center aisle at least 36 inches wide. A wheelchair user will be able to reach clothes stored on both sides of the room.

Electrical Outlets

Whose idea was it to put electric outlets down by the floor? Sure, these outlets are out of sight. But they are also out of reach for everyone but toddlers. (And we try our hardest to keep them away from the outlets.)

Think about it. When you plug or unplug the vacuum cleaner, you have to bend down almost to the floor. The same is true when you unplug the iron. Want to unplug that lamp? You guessed it. You have to bend. That’s not easy for any of us. It’s especially hard for people with back pain or problems with balance.

Maybe you don’t feel pain when you stoop to unplug an appliance. But admit it. It can be a real bother, can’t it? Have you ever crawled under your desk to unplug your computer? Or squeezed behind your bookcase to unplug a lamp? Then you know that there’s got to be a better way.

There is a better way. It’s not hard to do. It doesn’t even cost much money. You just have to move your electric outlets about 27 inches off the floor. Your back would feel even better if those outlets were between 30 and 44 inches from the floor. And they’d be out of reach of the toddler.

A To-Do List for Your Electrician
Call an electrician. Ask him or her to move some of your outlets. You don’t have to move them all. Use your lower outlets for lamps and other appliances that you don’t unplug very often.

While the electrician is at your home, ask him or her to do these other jobs:

• Install more outlets in each room. Chances are you don’t have enough outlets. Your appliances should never be more than 6 inches from an outlet. Try not to use extension cords. They can cause fires if you don’t use them right. They are also very easy to trip over.
• Connect at least one outlet in each room to a rocker switch on the wall. Plug a lamp into that outlet. Hit this switch and you’ll be able to turn on a lamp before you walk into a room. You won’t have to fumble in the dark looking for the lamp switch.
• Put electric outlets on light-switch plates near the door to each room. These outlets will be easy to reach. You can use them to plug in your vacuum cleaner or iron.

Laundry Rooms

Laundry rooms may be the least accessible places in our homes. We keep them hidden in dark basements. We climb down narrow stairs to reach them – all the while carrying heavy loads. And what happens when we can’t climb stairs anymore? We quickly realize that we can’t do laundry anymore either.

Clearly, it’s time to bring the laundry room upstairs and into the light. Home builders are doing just that. More new homes have washers and dryers in hallways, kitchens and bathrooms.

New Products
It’s never been easier to move your laundry room upstairs. New washers and dryers are making this possible.

One new unit is called a “stack” washer and driver because the washer and dryer sit on top of one another. The washer tub is on the bottom of the unit. The dryer is on the top. The stacking unit takes up half the space of a standard washer and dryer. It’s small enough to fit into a closet.

Another combination unit washes and dries clothes without any help from you. This unit looks like a normal washing machine. But it does the work of two machines. Put your dirty clothes into it and forget about them. When you return, they will be clean and dry. You won’t have to move wet clothes from the washer to the dryer because the washer is the dryer. You also don’t have to vent this unit to the outside. So you can put it anywhere you want.

Tips for Buying a New Washer
Be sure to check out the new “front-loading” washing machines. You load these washers through a door at the front of the machine. The washer’s controls are also at the front, so they are easy to reach. You can use these appliances while you sit in a chair or wheelchair. You can also put them on a platform so you can use them without bending.

Front-loading machines are known for doing a better job of washing clothes. They use less water and energy. They are gentler on clothes. They use less detergent. Many models also spin very fast so the clothes are dryer when the wash cycle is over. This will help you save money on your electric bill. Your dryer won’t have to work as hard to dry your clothes.

Organizing Your Laundry Room
Keep your laundry room organized. It will work better for you.

• Make sure your supplies are always within easy reach. Store them in low shelves or wire baskets.
• If you have room, use a rolling cart to sort your clothes. If space is limited, attach a fold-down shelf to the wall for this task.
• Put up an ironing board hanger on the wall or behind the door. This will keep the board and iron out of the way when you’re not using it. You might find it more convenient to attach a fold-down ironing board to the wall. Then you won’t have to fold and unfold the board – which can be a strain on your back.

Smoke Detectors

The Scarecrow in the 1939 classic movie, The Wizard of Oz, had a lot going for him. He was smarter than most people thought he was. He wasn’t afraid of wicked witches. And he was a very good friend.

There was only one thing that spoiled Scarecrow’s perfect image. He had one great fear that almost kept him from being a hero. He was afraid of matches. You could say that his physical condition put him at greater risk of burning than most of his friends. He was made of straw, after all.

We’re not made of straw. But our physical conditions can still put us at great risk if a fire breaks out.

Do you use a wheelchair or walker? Is it hard for you to walk fast? Do you have trouble seeing at night? Do you lose your balance easily? Sleep very soundly? These and other physical conditions can make it harder for you to get out of a burning house. Smoke detectors can help you improve your odds of getting out without harm, whether you’re young or old, sleep on the first floor or the third.

Smoke detectors provide you with an early warning of fire in your home. They give you the extra time you need to get outside safely. Most fatal fires take place at night when you are asleep. A smoke detector can wake you up and let you know you are in danger.

Smoke detectors save many lives each year. That’s why most states have laws that require them in private homes.

Smoke Detector Features

You can pick up a smoke detector in any hardware store. At first glance, they all look pretty much the same. But they have important differences.

Some smoke detectors run on batteries. You need to replace these batteries twice a year. Some detectors run on your home’s electric current. They won’t work if you lose power. Put both types of detectors in your house. That way, you will always be protected.

Not all smoke detectors work in the same way. “Ionization” units are better at detecting fires with big flames. This type of fire might start when papers burst into flames. “Photoelectric” units are better at detecting fires that start slow and have more smoke. This kind of fire might start when a cigarette is left on a couch. Which one should you buy? Some people buy both. This may not be necessary. Both kinds of detectors will work well on all types of fires. Both kinds must pass the same safety tests before they are sold.

Most smoke detectors sound a loud alarm when there is smoke in the room. This alarm should be loud enough to wake you from sleep. If you have trouble hearing it, get a detector that comes with a bright strobe light. This light blinks when the detector senses smoke. Place the detector right near your bed so the light will wake you up.

Some smoke detectors shine a bright light every time the alarm sounds. This light helps you see where you’re going. Put one of these detectors near an exit so you can find your way to the door.

Care of Smoke Detectors

Put at least one smoke detector on each floor of your home. It’s a good idea to put a smoke detector outside each bedroom area. Keep in mind that smoke rises. Mount the smoke detector on the upper part of a wall or on the ceiling.

Change batteries at least twice a year. Get in the habit of doing this when you change your clocks each fall and spring. Then you will never forget. Vacuum each smoke detector once a year. This will keep it working properly. Don’t paint your smoke detector.

Test your smoke detector from time to time. That way you’ll know it is still working. Most detectors have a test button you can push. The detector is still working if an alarm sounds when you push the button. The test button will be hard to reach if your detector is on the ceiling. Don’t stand on a ladder to reach it. You could fall. Instead, look for a smoke detector that you can test by waving a flashlight beam back and forth across the sensor. Then you can test the detector without putting yourself at risk.

Other Safety Tips
Getting smoke detectors is a good way to keep your family safe. There’s even more you can do. Keep a fire extinguisher on each floor of the house and in the kitchen. Make sure your family knows what to do if the smoke detector sounds. Plan at least two exits from each room. And make sure everyone knows about them.