What are your tips for staying independent at your own home?

I have been taking online classes. Sunday I will be doing my 3rd class in flower arranging. Before that I have done classes in painting-both watercolor and acrylics. They actually are gifts from my daughter. I’m really enjoying them.

I stay involved!

Serve on a HOA BOD and am President of a registered charity that serves seniors in need of physical and financial help. This charity is the only one in USA that serves a mobile home park exclusively, we have over 5000 residents in our park, some 25% over the age of 80.

I also RV drive a 36' foot motor home and toot around the country!

I think it is important to stay active, get out of the house, challenge yourself!

Eva, since you still drive (and good for you!), why not visit your friends that don’t drive…maybe suggest going to lunch or playing a game. Are you able to use a computer? Cell phone? I find that is a good way to stay in contact with friends. Sounds like you are doing your best to stay healthy physically, but mental stimulation is important also. Best to you!

My husband rebuilt both our front door and back door steps years ago when we were still young. He made them less than the regulation 12 inch height so that they would be easier to navigate when we were older. Now we are older; he's 82 and I'm 77 and these steps are wonderful! So easy to go up and down safely! Also he put in plain ceiling light bulbs which came with a decorative base but are still just light bulbs. They look nice but are so easy to change when a bulb burns out! You don't have to try and unscrew the shade and then change the light bulb! Plus we have no throw rugs to trip us up and we have soft carpeting through out our house so that if we did fall, it's cushioned. We have leaf blowing to do outside and trees and flowers and shrubs to prune and take care of. The activity keeps us young and reminds us of God's miracles every time a new part of a tree grows or a flower blooms.
PML

Great Planning ahead! Thanks for the reminder!

Thank you everyone for your tips on staying independent at home. The knowledge exchange shared in this discussion helped to create this article written for the Mayo Clinic app and website. Knowledge for patients by patients and beyond Mayo Clinic Connect. Thank you for all your tips.

- Aging at home: Advice for staying independent https://www.mayoclinic.org/connected-care/aging-at-home-advice-for-staying-independent/cpt-20553945

Real people offering real solutions. Take a bow. 🙂

All these comments very helpful . About the walking , I was a faithful 10,000 steps a day plus. Now with a spinal problem have a hard time walking 1/2 mile . I take care of that by riding a 3 wheeler bycicle 5-10 miles most days, it’s a great substitute for walking and enjoying the outdoors!

I do things slowly. I have a housekeeper who comes every 3 weeks to do the heavy cleaning. Even at 89 I am able to take care of everything else by myself. I can still drive, and what is most important, I am able to drive on the freeway. I assign myself a task, and after it is done, I rest for a while. I try not to do too much in one day. So far it seems to be working.

Very helpful/-makes perfect sense too!
Thanks, Cathy

I moved from a larger house to a smaller one that has no steps and has sidewalks and a pool two blocks away. I used to walk 8,000-10,000 steps a day. I lowered my goal to 6,000 on my Fitbit App so that everyday that I get 6,000 (which is just about everyday) I reach my goal and get a star. Yay! After being sick i lowered my goal to 2,000, then 3,000, etc until i was back up to 6,000. I still often get 8,000-10,000, but by changing my goal I made it ok in my mind to do 6,000 if it’s a less energetic day. I want to set myself up for success. I am 76 and my new smaller house should serve me well for the rest of my life. I’m glad I didn’t wait to make that change because it was physically and mentally difficult to downsize and move. I did it all with very little help while I still could.