As we get older we become more wobbly, in fact my son calls us Wobblers and he is correct because most of us lose our sense of balance. Mine started in my 60's and gets worse every year. With that in mind, I started buying chrome grab bars at yard sales. I put up one in the bathtub/shower unit, another on the wall by the toilet, and one on the bathroom door. I have trouble keeping my balance with my eyes closed when I shampoo my hair in the shower so I hook my elbow behind the grab bar to keep me steady. I put one by the toilet to assist in rising. The one on the bathroom door is for me to hang onto while trying to work out a leg cramp at night. Another thing was our miserable little toilets that were low and seldom flushed the first time. I bought American Standard high toilets and replaced the old ones. American Standard has re-engineered their toilets and their lab tests confirm that they will flush 29 golf balls with 1.2 gallons of water, that's a bucket of golf balls! Now we have toilets that are easier to get off of and flush the first time every time. Then I bought a bunch of soft corners in the baby department of WalMart and cemented them on to all the sharp corners around the house. In an earlier post, I mentioned that I had replaced most of the soft white light bulbs around the hose with 5000K (bright white) LED bulbs. The bright white is like sunlight, a spectrum that we can see better in than warm white (3000K). Outside, I built a ramp for our scooters so we could get them up on the deck and into the house. Ours is a fairly steep ramp, just fine for scooters but far too short and steep for wheelchairs. That would require a much more elaborate ramp system.
My son installed grab bars and a higher toilet for my DH. He built a ramp, too. I have to admit, the grab bars are convenient. I don't need the ramp yet but it's good to know I have it if ever I do need it. I just had daylight LED lights put in under the carport. It's amazing how much light they give. MY DIL called me from next door and asked me about them. She said that from there, they actually look like daylight.
LED lighting is most definitely the thing of the future, present now. I, too, like the 5000K light tone, though some "experts" claim it is harder on the eyes than 3500 to 4000 or so. What makes them experts, anyway? I know how my danged eyes feel, without outside help! Frank
I had four 50W halogen lights in the kitchen and three in the utility room, total 350W . Now totals 35W with LED lamps. Five years of saving electricity......
@Mike Dobra Those of us living where it's hot for 9 months out of 12, appreciate any electrical appliance which generates little heat, unless it's supposed to! LEDs are very desirable from that standpoint. Frank
I never liked halogen lamps because they do radiate so much heat. I do have two tiny halogen bulbs in the oven, I suppose that's an appropriate place for them. I suppose we could replace the refrigerator and freezer light bulbs with appropriate size LED lamps, would produce less heat.
@Ted Richards 'Ceptin that would kinda be like spinning wheels: Those lights only get hot when the doors are open........ Frank