5 Steps to Make Your Aging Parent’s Kitchen More Accessible

Just because your parents are getting older, that doesn’t mean they don’t still love the things they’ve loved for years. You might have a parent who still wants to cook, for example. But since they’re getting older, it’s harder for them to navigate around the kitchen. They want to stay in their home, of course, and you want them to be able to do that for as long as they possibly can. But at the same time, you’re worried something will happen.

The good news is that there are actually a lot of ways you can help make their kitchen a joyful – yet safe – place. Put these tips to use and you’ll gain a lot of peace of mind. If you have any questions about what Art of Drawers can do to help you put these tips into action, contact us online or give us a call at (770) 800 8410.

Aging at Home, What You’ll Need to Keep in Mind

Accessibility is critically important for an older person. It not only keeps them safe, it can also keep them from getting frustrated. The more your parents can move freely – in the kitchen and everywhere else in their home – the happier they’ll be. Here are just a few of the most important considerations to keep in mind when it comes to improving accessibility.

Safety

You probably spend a good amount of your waking hours worrying about your older parents. There’s nothing wrong with that – it’s actually normal to feel that way. Your top priority when making changes to your parents’ kitchen will be to keep them as safe as possible, for as long as possible. Even if they have a small kitchen you think is already fairly easy to get around in, there are probably still some alterations you can make to maximize safety.

Ease of Use

Again, old age can come with a lot of frustration and stress. Your parents are having to adjust, and come to terms with the fact that things simply won’t come as easily as they used to. The easier you can make it for your parents to be able to use the kitchen, the longer they’ll be able to stay in the home they love.

Organization

A well-organized kitchen is an easier kitchen to use – and it will be safer as well. Organizing will be key to making it very simple for your parents to get what they need, when they need it.

Here are five tips to help that happen.

Declutter Your Parents’ Kitchen

If your parents have a lot of old stuff in their kitchen that they no longer use, that will make it a lot more difficult to navigate – especially if they need to use a mobility aid, such as a walker or a wheelchair.

Are there any old items on the counter they no longer use, like a blender or a mixer? Take a good look at the pantry. Are there a lot of expired spices and canned goods? Toss them out if they’re expired, and look for new homes for any items that are just gathering dust.

Rearrange Items so They’re Easier to Access

One of the best ways to make things easier for your parents in the kitchen will be to rearrange items so that they can be accessed quickly. For example, keep all of the pots and pans in the same cabinets, if possible. Keep canned foods, snacks and other similar pantry items together as well.

Make Sure Everything Has its Place

Finding a home for everything in the kitchen will be a great way to keep it organized. Every piece of cookware, every utensil, and every other tool your parents use on a regular basis should be in a place that’s easy to access. If need be, label the cabinets and drawers so that your parents know where to get what they need. Drawer separators will not only help with organization, they’ll also help reduce clutter.

Use Pull Out Drawers and Pull-Down Cabinets

When making changes to your parent’s kitchen, always keep in mind that the kitchen wasn’t designed for an older person with mobility issues. It was designed for people who don’t have any problems getting around. More than likely, the kitchen will have high cabinets, and high shelves your parents can no longer use. Maybe the pantry shelves are too deep for them to be able to reach the back.

Art of Drawers has a lot of solutions to these kinds of issues. Here are just a few examples:

• Consider installing pull-out drawers that will help your parents get to those hard-to-reach areas.
• Flat-item storage will make it a lot easier to access things like utensils and other tools. Your parents will no longer have to worry about having to rummage through a drawer or a cabinet.
• Pull-down organizers can really make it much more convenient for your parents. They can simply pull down a cabinet to see what’s inside, and it will give them access to things that sit higher up.

Hire Art of Drawers to Help Organize Your Parents’ Kitchen

At Art of Drawers, we want the same thing for parents that you do – we want them to be able to stay in the home they adore, and we want them to be safe. When you get in touch with us, we’ll work closely with you to make your parents’ home a much more convenient, accessible place – not just in the kitchen, but in every other area as well.

We have a wide range of products, and all of them are made of the highest-quality materials. We can also customize a solution that will do the best possible job of meeting all of your parents’ needs. Try to remember that mobility issues affect different people in different ways. There’s no magic, one-size-fits-all approach to increasing accessibility. Talk to your parents and find out what they want, and always use that input when determining your strategy.

If you have any questions, or you would like to know more about what we offer, please contact Art of Drawers online or call (770) 800 8410.