Falls are the leading cause of injury for older adults, and the majority happen at home — in familiar rooms, during ordinary activities. This book is a guided room-by-room inspection for anyone who wants to keep living independently, or help a parent, spouse, or client do the same. You need no special skills: this book, a phone camera, a tape measure, and about two hours.

Chapters 3 through 8 walk you through each area of the house — entryways and exits, stairs and hallways, the bathroom, the kitchen, the bedroom and laundry, lighting and electrical — with plain-language checklists you check off as you go. Chapter 2 gives you the method: how to score each item 1 (fine), 2 (improve when convenient), or 3 (fix now), how to photograph hazards, and how to involve the person who lives there.

Chapter 9 turns your scores into a phased action plan ordered by urgency and cost, from free fixes you do this weekend (remove throw rugs, set the water heater to 120°F) to larger renovation projects. Chapter 10 tells you when to call in a professional — an occupational therapist home assessment or a CAPS-certified contractor — what to ask for, and where grants and programs may help.

The appendix gives you photocopy-ready tools: the full room-by-room scored checklist, a priority action worksheet, a shopping list for common fixes, and an annual re-walk reminder. Print them, walk the home, and repeat every year as abilities change.

The mindset throughout: you are not looking for what is "wrong" with the home. You are looking for small mismatches between the home and the person — and most of them cost under $100 to fix.