“Aging In Place Is For The Here & Now”

As an example of successful aging in place, this mature couple is standing outside their long-term home that they have happily occupied for many years and likely will continue to do so into the future.

There’s no time like the present

We are aging in place in the homes we have now – all of us are doing so without exception. This applies to any home type or style of home as long as it is designed for occupancy for more than a few days. It doesn’t matter how many square feet it may have, whether it’s a one-floor ranch, a home with multiple stories and a basement, one with a garage – attached or detached, when it was built and how old or new they are, and whether they are located in a large city, small town, or even a rural area.

Our homes form the basis for aging in place. We coexist with them, and how we respond to what they provide is the measure of long-term enjoyment and satisfaction. To the extent that our homes meet our needs well and that we enjoy being in them, we can continue aging in place quite nicely. To the extent that they aren’t as accommodating or as safe as we might want, there’s no time like the present to begin doing something to make them better.

Aging in place has no boundaries

Aging in place is not just for some people and not for others. Everyone of any age, young or old, is included. Our homes provide the physical parameters of our aging in place environment, and we supply the modifications that we want to make that living environment more suitable and effective for our daily requirements. Aging in place is happening now rather than at some future undefined time.

It doesn’t take a lot of money to make improvements that we feel are necessary to improve our home environment although this can be helpful. There are many inexpensive improvements that can be made. Part of how we approach aging in place improvements and renovations for someone is their budget, but mostly it is based on what we need to accomplish to help them remain in their homes safely and determine that it is accessible and comfortable as well and helping them find items within the home easy and convenient to use.

No universal approach

Aging in place renovations or improvements are approached individually and are unique to a given client and home environment. We might use similar or even identical approaches in more than one situation, but that is because it works and not because we are attempting to complete any type of assembly line approach. We need to meet the requirements of each client and their home setting. while we may have used similar approaches elsewhere, we must address the needs we observing and fashion a solution to accommodate them within the stated budget.

There simply is no boilerplate approach to providing solutions where every home gets the same five, ten, or twenty modifications because everyone’s needs are potentially different, their homes might not need or be able to accommodate all of these items, and the clients might need something else even more to help them use their homes more successfully.

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