Easy Reach Home Hacks and Technology
Our robot overlords may be on their way, but meanwhile advances have made it easy to control nearly every aspect of your home independently. Here some smart solutions and some tech-free storage hacks so you can survive the robot uprising.
November 1, 2022
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Hack 1
Bring It Down to Your Level
Installing hanging rods and hooks where you can easily reach them is a no-brainer, but doing so doesn’t mean you have to leave the upper recesses of your rooms empty. Kimberly Chamberlain, a T4 para from California, lined her closet with pull-down rods that she can easily bring down for access. “The pull-down rods allow me to fill my closet and get to everything independently,” she says.
Hack 2
Rollers!
Michael DiBiasio, a T9-L1 para from Rhode Island, maximized the awkward dead space under a stairwell by mounting the lowest of three shelves on rolling garage door tracks (right). “The rollers allow me to push the shelf to the back of the closet if I want to access the little-used items I store there, like holiday décor and luggage,” he says. The easy hack maximizes space and efficiency.
Ecobee SmartThermostat
A smart thermostat offers the easy, hands-free temperature regulation many wheelchair users dream of. With remote sensors for temperature, humidity and energy use, and a built-in speaker with Amazon Alexa, Ecobee’s SmartThermostat does a lot more than regulate the heat.
Pricier than some of its competitors, Ecobee’s offering thankfully doesn’t require a subscription and you can use it with or without their free app. As long as one of the units can hear you, all you need to operate the SmartThermostat is your voice. As an added bonus, you can use the speaker as an intercom to other units or for typical Alexa functions. Ecobee.com. $189.
Wemo Smart Switches and Plugs
Belkin’s Wemo line of products is an excellent option for anyone looking for the smart-home experience on an appliance-by-appliance basis. Wemo offers a selection of affordable smart plugs and light switches that allow you to control your lights from the wall, the Wemo app, or with your voice. The switches and plugs connect to your existing home WiFi network to give you easy wireless control of your lights, with no subscription or hub required. belkin.com/us/smart-home/c/wemo. Starting around $20.
Lutron Home Systems and Lighting
Installing a complete wireless system to control your home’s lights and blinds may seem cost-prohibitive or too complex, but a well-designed system can be a game changer, according to those who’ve invested the time and money. With three different total-home systems, single-room systems, and their own blinds and lights, Pennsylvania-based Lutron is the leader in whole-home lighting and electrical solutions.
Their products come with their own app and offer hands-free and app control with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple Home and more. Lutron.com.
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A few years ago, we did a major remodel of our kitchen so that it would be virtually perfect for me in my wheelchair. Houzz.com sent a video team to document it. I still am amazed at how easy it is for me to work in it and how much I enjoy it. https://www.houzz.com/houzz-tv/kitchen-opens-up-for-a-wheelchair-and-a-chef-is-born-stshtvvw-vt~97087493 (p.s. — I hate this title — I’m not a chef! Fortunately, Dan isn’t a picky eater.)