Isn't running the vacuum fun? You just get up a good head of steam and you run out of cord. So you give the cord a good yank to pull it out of the wall outlet (you know you do...even though you know you're not supposed to) and you stoop down to plug it in to another outlet. And you do this three or four times to get around the area you're trying to clean.

Whoever decided that wall outlets should be four inches off the floor must have been either a midget or a kid, since they're the only ones who can reach them without a struggle. And we know about kids and outlets - we spent a lot of time and aggravation child-proofing them, didn't we?

If you're having some pain in your hips or back, or your balance isn't what it was, stooping down to those outlets is painful or even dangerous. Imagine how much easier it would be to plug and unplug things if the outlets were at waist level or higher. Just think, you could move a lamp over to that bookcase without having to take out all the books to get at the plug. The possibilities are endless.

A good electrician can add waist-level outlets to a home at a very reasonable cost. You don't have to remove the outlets that are already there - just tap into them and add new ones at 30 to 40 inches from the floor, depending on how tall you are. Put them in all the rooms, and put in a couple more than you think you need. They'll get used.

And while the electrician is at it, have him put rocker switches on the walls instead of those little on/off flippers. It's a lot easier to hit a rocker switch than that little flipper thing. And if he's already in the wall installing a rocker switch, have him put in a plug outlet below it at the same time. You can never have too many places to plug things in.

Do this before you need to. Once someone has fallen or had a back go out reaching down to the floor, home will never feel as safe again.