Smart technology, some of which intersects with green and energy savings and is in demand among Millennials, can help you age in place with greater comfort and safety.
The Hartford Center for Mature Market Excellence® and the MIT AgeLab reviewed and picked the top 10 smart home technologies for homeowners over 50. Such products can ease home maintenance and enhance safety and security. Here (https://bit.ly/3vjy53G) are the top 10.
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Increase your home’s appeal for yourself or for buyers on the market with these organizational tips.
Decide what’s working in your home and what’s not. Take stock of items in your home and how they are organized. What spaces work for you, and which ones feel overwhelming or inconvenient? Do you have too many items stored in a space that is too small? Go room by room and evaluate your closets and drawers. Ask yourself, “what do I like about this current organizational set-up? What should change?” Take notes. Come up with a plan After evaluating your current system, come up with a new plan. Get rid of items that you no longer need or have space to keep—remember, the fewer things you have, the less time and space you will need to keep them nice. After decluttering, organize your items using bins, shelves, racks, or other systems for separation. Your system will work best if the objects you use most are easy to access without bending or reaching. Take a “step-by-step” approach Avoid burnout by breaking up tasks and starting small. For example, you could start with a closet that you can reorganize in a day, or you could sort through old clothes to give to charity. Once you are done, take a break before moving on to the next project. Ask for help Some labor-intensive tasks are hard to do alone. When needed, do not be afraid to ask for help. Larger projects likely require the help of family, community members, or hired professionals. Talk with people in your network, including your SRES® professional, for recommendations for qualified professional organizers, cleaners, or movers in your area. Tips For Getting Rid Of Excess Things Toss duplicate items: If you have more sets of work clothes or measuring cups than you need, consider giving away what is extra. Sort items into four piles: One for things to keep, one for things to donate, one for things to throw away, and one for valuables to appraise and/ or sell. Pass on belongings: If there are items you no longer need, or keepsakes you would like to go to a certain person, gift them personally now. Anyone who has emptied a loved one's house after a death or a move to a nursing home knows the unique melancholy it brings.
Scraps of paper, a song, or a piece of clothing can all send you down a rabbit hole of memories and bring on waves of grief. That's some of what Anderson Cooper covers in his new podcast "All There Is." (https://apple.co/3SFbEPA) The setting for the first episode is his late mother's New York City apartment, where Cooper is packing her things. The task is daunting. Isn't it always? His mother was Gloria Vanderbilt, a woman born into incredible wealth who made her mark in the fashion industry with her brand of women's jeans in the 1970s and 1980s. Vanderbilt saved everything, even mundane notes, saying, "I'll be back at 10." Cooper faced plowing through books, journals, thousands of Christmas cards and photos, telegrams from Frank Sinatra, and even the clothing Vanderbilt was wearing -- boxed and labeled -- when another son committed suicide in front of her years earlier. He likens the process to an archeological dig. It forces Cooper to face not just his mom's death but also the grief and loss of his brother and his father, who died when Cooper was young decades earlier. Plus, he realizes he's the last living person in his small family and now the keeper of its memories. The podcast is poignant and, at times, funny. Cooper sheds light on and articulates what many cope with when sifting through the remnants of a life. "We don't talk about loss and grief very much, which is odd because they're among the most universal of human experiences. All of us will lose people we love," he says. "And yet, when you're the one grieving, it often feels like you're all alone." "You're not" is just one of the podcast's takeaways. The annual Houzz Bathroom research is always a good read, whether you want to make tweaks to be sure your bathroom is keeping up with trends or if you're planning a major renovation.
Here are some highlights from the 2022 U.S. Houzz Bathroom Trends Study. The biggest trigger for bathroom renovations is an outdated style. This year, 87% of respondents changed the style of their bathroom, with a transitional look being the top choice (25%). That was followed by contemporary and modern (16% each). The transitional style has been steadily gaining ground in recent years. In 2018, just 16% chose it, but by 2021,19% opted for it. This year's least popular styles include Mediterranean, Rustic, Craftsman, and Eclectic (all at 2%). There's also a shift in taste around vanities. Though white is still the leading color (32%), 30% opted for wood. In addition, the popularity of multicolored countertops slid by four percentage points, with most choosing solid colors, including white (59%), gray (10%), and beige (9%, up by two percentage points). Other motivators for renovating include: · Finally having the money to make upgrades (28%) · Improving resale value (28%) · Personalizing a recently purchased home (22%) · Safety or health risk, including removing toxic materials and mold (9%). In addition, homeowners are budgeting more to upgrade their primary bathrooms, with the median spend rising 13% to $9,000. Spending by homeowners with bigger budgets (the top 10% of project spending) jumped by 17 percent to $35,000 or more. Forty-one percent of homeowners say they use their newly renovated bathroom as a place to rest and relax. Features contributing to that vibe include cleanliness, a lack of clutter, soaking in the bath, long showers, and natural light. Premium features that further enhance the space include a rainfall shower head (52%), dual shower (19%), body sprayer (16%), mood lighting (8%), and a soaking tub (71%). See the complete report at https://bit.ly/3dRU8Jg. Bankrate's "How do aging-in-place remodels affect a home's value?" (https://bit.ly/3CeAKPT) is worth reading, especially if you're about to renovate your house.
When you weigh what aging-in-place modifications to make, a significant consideration is the effect your changes will have on the resale value of your home. Will they help or hurt? To find out, Bankrate talked with certified aging-in-place specialists. One takeaway: Look to universal design modifications -- hands-free faucets and dimmer switches, for example -- that benefit multiple generations. Those won't hurt resale value. After all, institutional-style designs and permanent features like exterior metal ramps may make a home less attractive to future buyers. The other universally appealing modifications that can improve your home's value include a full bathroom on the main floor, lever door handles, smart lighting systems, and doorways at least three feet wide. Those that detract from resale value include permanent exterior ramps (if you need a ramp, look for a temporary one that can be removed easily), an elevator, and walk-in bathtubs. Another consideration is money, and the piece outlines the potential cost of incorporating aging-in-place features, including converting a first floor living space into a bedroom and bathroom ($100,000-plus), installing grab bars in a bathroom ($600 to $750), and installing a temporary ramp ($1,500 to $1,800) or a permanent one ($22,000-plus). For more about universal design principles, see: · National Association of Homebuilders (https://bit.ly/3SCL5KI) · The Universal Design Living Laboratory (https://bit.ly/3y2Sc7p) · The Universal Design Network of Canada (https://bit.ly/3E7EvrJ) You may already know that voice assistants like Alexa and Google Home can help seniors age in place.
If you’ve been considering a voice assistant for a loved one and wonder how Alexa and other technologies help seniors in real life, consider Madeleine Séguin’s experience. The 100-year-old living in Bruyère Village, a senior community in Ottawa, maintains a busy social schedule. She was interviewed for a story (https://bit.ly/3FSXVzK), “Conversations with Alexa: How robots are helping Canada’s aging population connect.” She says Alexa helps her stay organized, track her dinner dates with family and neighbors, and allows her to make calls quickly without having to hunt fora phone number. Bruyère Village is part of a pilot project with Amazon that’s testing the Alexa Smart Properties solution. It turns out that seniors there aren’t skittish about trying out new technology, and they’re enjoying it. Some ways Alexa can improve seniors’ lives include:
Plus, the pilot program is helping to automate jobs – dinner reminders and other announcements, for example – that once were done by a human knocking on residents’ doors. Robots also can play a role, and they’re being tested at several Toronto senior centers through a program with the University of Toronto. For example, they can call out bingo numbers, lead exercise groups, and interact with residents, especially since they’re human-like and can smile, laugh, and change their facial features. During meals, for example, some residents interacted with robots like they would with other human beings. Though they’ll never replace people in long-term care environments, robots may be able to take on repetitive work and make such facilities run more smoothly and ease staff burnout and employee turnover. They also have the potential to help people age in place at home for a longer time. Also, see the video, “Combatting loneliness in LTC homes with virtual reality,” included in the story. It shows the joy virtual reality brings to residents of Dogwood Lodge, a Vancouver long-term care facility. A recreation therapist helps residents use VR headsets to virtually scuba dive, visit exotic locations, or revisit spots residents had seen when they were younger. “A lot of them still have items they want to check off their bucket list, and the virtual reality allows them an opportunity to step outside the four walls of their care home and try something new,” says Isabella Laliberte, a recreation therapist. |
AuthorJason Gelios, SRES-Senior Real Estate Specialist, Author, Public Speaker, and Expert Media Contributor of real estate expertise across the globe. Archives
March 2024
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