Be Your Best Self

If you’re considering or making plans to age in place there are many things you want to think about before you take the plunge, buy a home for the long haul, and modify it, so you can continue to live independently as opposed to moving in with family or entering a nursing home or assisted living facility.

If you’re unfamiliar with the term, you might think that “aging in place” means having a motorized lift chair installed in your home to take you up and down the stairs, or some other “senior” home product. Aging in place according to Wikipedia is “the ability to live in one’s own home and community safely, independently, and comfortably, regardless of age, income, or ability level.”

The key to splendidly aging in place and thriving in your home is creating a plan as early as possible once you’re 55+. When you begin planning you need to consider not only your home, but also your personal finances, medical care, transportation, social network needs and technology wants. This can be anything from installing Smart Home technology throughout the house to installing grab bars in the bathroom.

55+ Ease of Living Improvements

It is a fact of life that as we age beyond 55+, we may possibly experience vision and hearing loss, reduced mobility and mental capacity, among other changes to our health. And while it may not be possible to modify your home to prepare for every potential what-if, there is a lot you can do in the interim through home modifications big and small.

• Bathroom: Consider grab bars, a no threshold shower, a walk-in bathtub, anti-slip mats, a shower seat, a high toilet or a toilet seat extender.
• Kitchen: Put the microwave at or just below counter height instead of above to make lifting easier. Install easy access pull-out shelves in kitchen cabinets.
• Doorways: Openings should be 34-inches or greater to allow for walker or wheelchair easy access.
• Flooring: Get rid of throw rugs they’re easy to trip over, install non-glare, slip resistant flooring.
• Lighting: Make sure light switch covers are clearly visible by using a color that contrasts with the wall.
• Handrails: Ensure you have handrails on both sides of stairs and that stairs are brightly lit.
• Accessibility: Keep exterior entrance step-free allowing ease of entering and exiting. Interior walking areas, especially around furniture, should be kept clutter-free. Change handles on doors to lever-style.
• Security: Wire-free cameras feature full HD recording resolution, crisp infrared night vision, and advanced motion detection. Tablet, Smart Phone Live viewing. PC and MAC compatible.
• Home Automation: Turn electronics on and off from anywhere with your Smart Phone and a WiFi enabled smart plug. Get the weather, news, set an alarm, check your calendar, browse and listen to audiobooks, and make calls to friends and family with an Echo Spot, or the Alexa App.

Thriving at Home

Keep in mind if you’re 55+ and decide to age in place, your home isn’t just for aging it is also for living life to the fullest. If perhaps you might need a ramp, lift chair, or hospital type bed now or in the future does not mean you have to compromise to some misplaced notion that your home has to look like an “old folks home.”

In fact, now is the time to make your forever home everything you want it to be. Home signifies more than just a house – make your home your sanctuary, your happy place to revel in and relax. This means different things to different people so of course you can personalize and decorate your home for what works best for you.

The process of making your home more accessible and livable prior to needing the accessibilities is the key to aging in place splendidly. Making your home a Smart Home is also another consideration to help promote aging in place by integrating a range of monitoring and supportive devices including functional monitoring for emergency detection and response, safety security monitoring and assistance, and social interaction.

With just a bit of purposeful planning and resourcefulness you can live independently, keep your home safe, secure, and accessible. Yes, it’s true you can live well, laugh often, and love much while aging in place!

Works Cited:
1. Joint Center for Housing Studies. 2016. Projects and Implications for Housing a Growing Population: Older Adults 2015-2035. Retrieved October 17, 2017. http://www.jchs.harvard.edu/housing-a-growing-population-older-adults. All rights reserved.
2. American Associations for Retired Persons. 2017. Can you Afford to Age in Place? Retrieved October 17, 2017. http://www.aarp.org/money/budgeting-saving/info-2017/costs-of-aging-in-place.html. All rights reserved.