By Joe Szabo, Scottsdale Real Estate Team
Ergonomics is a major trend in the working world. Small changes in the ergonomics of the workplace decrease the risk of serious falls, back pain, and joint injuries.
The same is true at home, especially in three common home ergonomic warning zones: the kitchen, bathroom, and garage or attic.
Here are some organization tips to extend the same level of health safety into your home life, whether you’re a senior citizen or a senior in college.
Kitchen
Your kitchen is filled with shelves and cabinets that are just waiting to be organized. Your cooking prep will be easier and safer without having to dig through drawers or take heavy items off of shelves.- Use a Lazy Susan. Placed in corner cabinets, Lazy Susans can make use of those hard-to-reach areas. Put one in your fridge and you can spin what you need to the front where you can easily grab it.
- Use a step stool and grab claw. When living alone, don’t take the risk of climbing on your counters. With a step stool and a grab claw, everything will be within reach.
- Organize your cabinets. Only use your gravy boat once a year? There’s no need to have it front and center. Store it off to the side or in a cabinet with other less-frequently used items. Place the things you use daily right up front instead.
- Use floating storage. Attach magnets to small jars and attach them to your fridge. Fill with spices and snacks for beautiful and convenient storage.
Bathroom
It’s tempting to stuff your toiletries and extra bathroom supplies into hard-to-reach cabinets. But add a wet, slippery floor to the mix, and reaching for more toilet paper becomes a dangerous activity. With a little creativity, you can create more easily accessible storage space.- Hang tension rods in cabinets. For extra storage space, hang your spray bottles on tension rods set up inside cabinets. This will reduce the need to stuff your cabinets or shelves full of supplies.
- Place a shower caddy in the bathroom. A shower caddy hanging from your showerhead will keep all your toiletries in one place and leave the floor clear.
- Use back-of-door space. A hanging shoe organizer can be used for more than just shoes. They are perfect to store toiletries and cleaning supplies.
- Rearrange often-used items. Do you use it regularly? Place it front and center on your countertop. You should be able to reach the items you use all the time with ease. Items used less often should go in your medicine cabinet.
Garage or attic
Garages and attics are notorious for being the most disorganized rooms of the home. Getting supplies from the attic usually requires lifting and digging through heavy boxes. Reduce your risk of back strain with these reorganization tips.- Use clear bins with descriptive labels. With once glance you will be able to see what you need and where it is. No more digging through each and every box.
- Organize by season. You want to be able to access your winter decorations, but you only need to use them once a year. After the holidays are over, group everything together and place them behind other seasonal items that you will use first.
- Use toilet paper rolls. Need to store wrapping paper or unused power cords? Slide them in a toilet paper roll to keep them from tangling.
- File important documents. Rather than stacking documents in boxes, use a filing cabinet or folder to store your important documents. Be sure to neatly order and label each folder.
