A majority of seniors indicate they want to live longer and to have the option of aging in place. In fact, most seniors say they want to live to be 100 years old! With today’s growing global population and higher life expectancy, that goal could be reached more easily than in the past, but only when aging in place becomes a higher priority. Studies show that aging in place improves quality and length of life, so what are some ways that local communities can help facilitate this societal responsibility of granting better access to the tools seniors need to reach their goals?
A 3-Step Downsizing Plan for Seniors
Moving into a new house is always bittersweet. You are excited for the change, but sad to leave a home so full of memories. Downsizing is even harder— a smaller place means you don’t have room for all of your current possessions.
But downsizing is also an opportunity to refresh and start anew. If you get rid of the clutter, you can fill your new place with the things you really love, making it feel like home.
5 Common Moving Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Moving to a new home involves so many tedious tasks and crucial decisions that it can be easy to overlook an important aspect of the relocation process — and lose lots of time and money as a result.
To avoid such emotionally and financially draining missteps, it helps to be aware of the most common moving mistakes, and learn how to prevent them.
Downsizing? Ditch These 12 Items
The Big House
Consider making this decision as soon the kids are gone rather than when you're ready to retire. Even if your home is already paid for, there are still significant costs in owning more space than you really need, including taxes, utilities, insurance and repairs. Plus, it will force you to downsize other belongings, too. You'll also have an excuse for why the kids can't move back in with you later!
Downsizing in comfort: Making the most of your smaller space
Paint is cheap: Use it!
Paint can be the best way to open up a smaller room. By using cooler colors – blues and greens – you can trick your eye into thinking the room is much bigger than Boxes for decorating small spaces write-upits actual size. Darker colors tend to make the room look smaller and more constrained. Whether you choose to paint an accent wall to liven up your living room or paint the ceiling white with lighter walls, adding color to a room not only livens up the area, it also creates the illusion of a larger space with smaller square footage.
The Downsizing Uprising
A couple of weeks ago, just as summer was about to click over to fall, we snuck in one last family river trip: floating the Green River through Labyrinth Canyon, one of the country's premiere stretches of desert flat water. For five days we paddled, swam, slept on sandbars, and played under crystalline Utah skies. Life was good. Life was easy.
There's something about living outside on water that simplifies and smoothies the rough edges away. No electronics, no alarms, no deadlines or bills, no toys scattered all over, only a handful of dishes to clean. All the food we need, packed into a few coolers.
5 Tips for Seniors Planning a Move
For many older adults moving from a beloved family home to a senior community, assisted living or nursing home can be, at best, a daunting thought, and at worst, a traumatic experience. As a member of the National Association of Senior Move Managers, I received training designed to build sensitivity to the special needs of older clients and their families. But there is no substitute for experience, and my most useful lessons have come from clients themselves. Listening carefully to the senior I’m helping move is key.