flowerbug
Sustainability Master
we didn't have practice rooms with mirrors on the walls so it was up to the instructor or the other students to point out things.
HOMESTEADING AND PHYSICAL DISABILITIES
- Thread starter Lazy Gardener
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- disability easy garden homesteading pain
we didn't have practice rooms with mirrors on the walls so it was up to the instructor or the other students to point out things.
Britesea
Sustainability Master
a mirror is very helpful when you are just starting out-- most people aren't that "body aware" so they don't realize they are leaning out and off balance. Our teacher prefers not to single people out since that can make a person feel like they are a failure and they quit. She has us looking at her and the mirror, and makes general comments like "make sure your are keeping your shoulders down" to the whole class.
mischief
Power Conserver
After working with mobility impaired people over the years and seeing how limited their choices were and how difficult it was for their caregivers to move them, especially those in wheelchairs; I decided to make all the paths around my vegie garden 3 feet wide instead of the really narrow paths I used to have. (I'm currently paving them with concrete rubble my neighbour gave me).
I realised that I was not going to be here forever and liked the thought that anybody could grow their own vegies, collect their own fruit....get to the chook house and collect the eggs, be able to go into the greenhouse and pot up their own seedlings or just hang out there when it was wet and cold.
They may need to raise the sides of the beds to suit.... so thats why I am 'wasting' space on extra wide paved paths around my vegie garden.
I needed to make a sloped path cos getting the lawn mower up around 5 curved steps was getting a bit hard, let alone a tradesman sized wheel barrow full of woodchip.
The only really useful site I found was the American Disability Assoc and used their specifications of 1 inch up for every foot along.
Already, I appreciate not having to struggle with the lawnmower or wheel barrow.
I am 56 and think I am very fit and honestly, think I am probably fitter now than I was in my 20's, but life moves on and I would like to stay here for as long as I can and care for my garden by myself for as long as I can before it goes to the next one.
I realised that I was not going to be here forever and liked the thought that anybody could grow their own vegies, collect their own fruit....get to the chook house and collect the eggs, be able to go into the greenhouse and pot up their own seedlings or just hang out there when it was wet and cold.
They may need to raise the sides of the beds to suit.... so thats why I am 'wasting' space on extra wide paved paths around my vegie garden.
I needed to make a sloped path cos getting the lawn mower up around 5 curved steps was getting a bit hard, let alone a tradesman sized wheel barrow full of woodchip.
The only really useful site I found was the American Disability Assoc and used their specifications of 1 inch up for every foot along.
Already, I appreciate not having to struggle with the lawnmower or wheel barrow.
I am 56 and think I am very fit and honestly, think I am probably fitter now than I was in my 20's, but life moves on and I would like to stay here for as long as I can and care for my garden by myself for as long as I can before it goes to the next one.
- Thread starter
- #34
Lazy Gardener
Super Self-Sufficient
Wise thinking ahead. No matter how young we are, or how physically fit we are today, there is no guarantee that tomorrow will bring a completely different reality into our lives. Skeletal injury can be cumulative. So, it makes sense to plan and work ergonomically, and use good body mechanics, no matter how young and fit you are. Those behaviors started at an early age can result in golden years that are less plagued by aches and pains.
Mini Horses
Sustainability Master
Staying mentally & physically fit as long as you can, from as early as you can, makes all the difference in your "golden years". Not always golden but, sometimes we can make them sweeter. Eating well is a part of it, also.
When I built this house, 20 yrs ago, I had all the interior doors put in wider, the shower very, very large, with open areas at all. Thus, walkers and wheelchairs could maneuver, shower easily used with hand bars and plenty of room to use a seat/chair, or roll in with a lip adaptor on the entrance. It was a blessing when my mom lived here and needed those things. It will be so if I ever need those accessories in my life.
My DS build a lift/elevator that works to raise a wheel chair up & down at the end of my front porch (or a standing person). It is easily motorized and was a huge assist when mom could no longer navigate steps. He's a framer/builder, so easy for him to do. Plus it looks less obvious than those long ramps. My house is 6 block high, needs a long one to go that route.
with all the mechanized chairs out there now, many could navigate pretty well with some planning. Heck, I see some in town rolling to the store with their heavy wheeled units.....little baskets on front.
When I built this house, 20 yrs ago, I had all the interior doors put in wider, the shower very, very large, with open areas at all. Thus, walkers and wheelchairs could maneuver, shower easily used with hand bars and plenty of room to use a seat/chair, or roll in with a lip adaptor on the entrance. It was a blessing when my mom lived here and needed those things. It will be so if I ever need those accessories in my life.
My DS build a lift/elevator that works to raise a wheel chair up & down at the end of my front porch (or a standing person). It is easily motorized and was a huge assist when mom could no longer navigate steps. He's a framer/builder, so easy for him to do. Plus it looks less obvious than those long ramps. My house is 6 block high, needs a long one to go that route.
with all the mechanized chairs out there now, many could navigate pretty well with some planning. Heck, I see some in town rolling to the store with their heavy wheeled units.....little baskets on front.
- Thread starter
- #36
Lazy Gardener
Super Self-Sufficient
I'd love to see the pic of the lift your son built. Was it motorized? We are in a raised ranch, so not at all w/c accessible. I wish I'd been thinking ahead when we were designing our house. I was all about penny pinching, instead of looking ahead to what the next 50 years would entail for us and loved ones.
Mini Horses
Sustainability Master
Working heavy next 10 days but will get one soon as I can. Yes, motorized with a little lift motor from TSC, has a "brake" so lift to point you want and stop pushing button, it freezes at that point until you push the button again. It's basically a framed box, inside a box, with a floor. It is not closed in. So, the outside frame sits & stabilizes, the box being lifted.
Think dropping a box into another that is just slightly larger. The larger is connected to the porch, the smaller fits perfectly inside and can be raised & lowered. Quite nifty!! Cost about $300. for wood and the motor -- on sale at about $80.
Think dropping a box into another that is just slightly larger. The larger is connected to the porch, the smaller fits perfectly inside and can be raised & lowered. Quite nifty!! Cost about $300. for wood and the motor -- on sale at about $80.
- Thread starter
- #38
Lazy Gardener
Super Self-Sufficient
I love that idea.
flowerbug
Sustainability Master
i redid the stairs into the house in the last year or so because it was two steps to get into the house, but it was getting to be too hard for Mom to go up and down them. also put in a handrail and handle/grip for people to use. wanted to really do a ramp, but she'd not have it. it is also easier on me.
Beekissed
Mountain Sage
When it came time to replace our ramp to the cabin, Mom wanted to put in steps instead. They had originally built it so their WC bound neighbor could visit, but it's also handy for carting wood up on the porch. I insisted on replacing the ramp with a ramp. It has been invaluable for moving furniture and appliances in and out, for wood and will also be so for when Mom can no longer negotiate steps.
I'm also initiating replacing her mini shower and adjacent huge garden tub with just a larger shower unit with flip down seating and grab bars so I can eventually assist her with showers. We removed the garden tub last winter and hope to get that shower unit changed out this year. Other areas in the house also need slight modification, but it will happen if we don't leave this Earth first.
It's always good to think ahead. I love the lift idea as opposed to a ramp into taller homes...those ramps are a pain to maintain.
