Living well for the rest of your life is going to require some planning. Your plan might include sitting in a rocking chair on the porch of a rest home for the rest of your life, but most modern seniors (who won’t even acknowledge that they are growing older) aren’t buying into that picture.
Retirement homes and retirement communities offer a number of attractive options. If that isn’t what you have in mind, you need to be thinking of ways to fix up your home so that you can stay there as long as possible. Hopefully your plan already includes working hard to take care of yourself. As you know, independent living is a key issue here. Unfortunately all of the planning in the world can’t control all of the variables that might occur. People who have experienced a stroke, knee-replacement surgery or have arthritic joints soon become aware that stairs, narrow doorways, and tiny rooms are difficult to navigate on unsteady legs or in wheelchairs.
In some instances, the situation might force you to move, but wouldn’t you rather stay in your own home? People often have to stay in nursing homes two or three months longer than expected, after a surgery or other medical emergencies, because they are unable to arrange for accessible housing. This whole picture soon becomes costly, depressing and counterproductive.
The time to start thinking about the rest of your life is right now. The AARP Guide to Revitalizing Your Home by Rosemary Bakker talks about universal design and how it addresses some of these issues. Her top 12 universal design features are a good place to start.
You will be gratified to notice that her suggestions aren’t always big wall knocking out expensive changes. They are about addressing changes that will make your life easier. Her top choices focus on practical issues like difficulties getting in and out of the house, difficulty getting around the house, and the always problematic issue of bathroom accessibility. Read her top 12 and then look around your house with this in mind:
- A no-step entry into the house
- Wider doorways and hallways
- Walk-in, no threshold shower stalls
- A bedroom and bathroom on the first floor
- Reachable rocker-style light switches (a rocker switch requires less hand strength than a standard toggle switch)
- Lever-style door handles and faucets
- Kitchen appliances with automatic shut-off features
- Non-slip flooring
- Abundant and even lighting
- Grab bars in bathing/toileting areas
- Comfortable furniture and furnishings
- Telephones and doorbells with low frequency tones
What do you think? Can you at least walk through your home and assess what you already have? A limited budget doesn’t have to keep you from making some effective changes. As you consider the cost of renovations or new furnishings, be sure to keep in mind what it is going to cost you to move elsewhere.
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