i don’t sleep, so i may greet you at the door. lol

but i would like for you to walk normally, so if i hear something i’d know it’s you instead of having no clue.

Rope-pulley.

i never thought walking up stairs could pose such a difficult question, but i have no idea. maybe it’s because i don’t have stairs or because i’m a deep sleeper or both. i’d assume sneaking up, but you’re right about that being creepy if they woke up. especially if maybe you’re trying too hard to be quiet and like trip and make even more noise.

maybe just let them know that if they hear creepy robber-like footsteps that it will be you. or tell them to take a sleep aid so that they’ll sleep deeper. hah.

Suppose you whisper something at the top of the stairs every time, such as “It’s ok” or “Good night”? Creep up quietly and then whisper kind of loudly. If they don’t hear either one, fine. If they do hear the creeping, they will also hear the whisper and be reassured that it’s not a burglar.

Actually, as long as you always do it the same way, and the tiptoe sounds end with your door closing (or whatever), they will know it’s you when they hear the whole sequence of familiar moves.

as un-natural as it is move from the ball of your foot to the heel of your foot… it’s sneaky!
and ninjas taught it to me so don’t refute it…

@ jeruba or whisper ” it’s not a rapeist or murderer coming up so it’s cool…”

Tabi boots. Enough said. Now go be a ninja.

@ judo what are tabi boots? sweet sneaking products? haha

Indeed. I’m on a iPhone right now or I would link them.

One way to move more stealthily is to roll your foot from the heel to the outside then finally the toe. If you’ve ever seen a marching band, that’s what the musicians do to avoid bopping up and down. It’s a really good workout for your legs, too. Really, though, you avoid putting all your weight on the center of your tootsies so you’re more graceful….or something that a physiologist could explain.

Another way to be even more stealth-like would be to levitate like Cris Angel.

The sneaking up the stairs is only dangerous if those light sleepers have a gun under their pillow – otherwise, they’ll probably see it’s you before they hurt you.

Of course, you could always tell them before they go to bed that you’re staying up late, so they know to expect to hear you tip-toeing around….

Levitate.

Why not just go upstairs earlier?

@Gail, I knew I had the right answer! One for me and one for you.

I used to have this problem sneaking back in my my parents’ house. I found that using both handrailings to help keep my weight off the stairs themselves really helped.

If they’re light sleepers, no amount of sneakery is silence enough. The more you strive for low impact, the more your stealth may be alarming. If the point is reassurance, familiarity should do it more than anything else.

I’ve been the light-sleeping first-to-bed at my house for a long time. There’s nothing a person can do to change someone else’s rhythms; believe me, I’ve tried. And you can’t keep people from waking up, perhaps for reasons other than your movements. What you can do is make sure they know everything is ok when they do. Consistency is the key.

Gimmedat; Note brevity of my answer. It pops out more than yours. Less is more sometimes, ::-).

You could always just stay downstairs. Maybe build yourself your own “room” out of sofa cushions and everybody’s happy!