Downsizing
Many Australians plan to age at home rather than move into an aged care home or retirement village. This aging at home can look very different for different people, and one of the ways that you might ensure you can age at home is by downsizing. While downsizing is a great choice, it also is not something that can be done on short notice.
Accessibility
One of the main things that will slow down your plan to downsize is the lack of accessible housing in your suburb. Downsizing is not just about moving from a five bedroom house to a three bedroom house. Downsizing will only work if you also find somewhere that is accessible which includes -
A bathroom where you can use the shower and the toilet with a walking aid or walking frame, that is on the ground floor - more about there here
A house or unit or apartment with an entry way that is accessible, no steps, no mud patches to wade through, but you can get from the car to the level of the property where your bedroom and bathroom are regardless of your mobility issues at the time - more about that here, including a discussion of why my current house doesn’t pass this test
A kitchen that doesn’t require you to remain standing for the entire time you are preparing your meal - more about that here
A bedroom that is big enough for your bed, and a chair to rest on, and for you to get around with your walking aid, and obviously the bedroom has to be on the entry level, and on the same level as the bathroom - more about that here
If you are in a couple, what does that mean pragmatically for the bedroom, is the bedroom big enough for both, or do you agree you are happy to have separate bedrooms once the time comes, in which case is each bedroom big enough for a single bed and a chair and a walking frame - more about that here
These things are all less about the size of the house, and more about the design of the house. When you are thinking what that would look like, and how much it would cost you, don’t just look at two and three bedroom options in your ideal suburb. Have a look at the floor plan, have a look at the photos of the entry way, think through these options above. How many of the places that you could currently buy in your preferred suburb meet all of these requirements?
Downsizing also means ….
So you need to find a place that meets all of these requirements, and have a general idea of how long that will take. There are other decisions to be made around downsizing though, including -
All of your stuff - you cannot take five bedrooms worth of stuff to a three bedroom house. Even if you were going to age in the five bedroom place, you cannot keep all of the stuff. You need to start now, or some day the decluttering will be done for you and you may not like it. I am not saying become a minimalist immediately, I am saying make a start. You can hear more about that here.
Do you still want a garden? Now I know some people love their garden but do you need a lawn and a large garden, or could a large balcony with big potted projects satisfy you? Your answer may be yes, I want the garden, and that is fine, but you need to be realistic about the energy and time this will demand.
Where do you want to live? Do you want to remain where you are, with your doctors and friends, or move somewhere cheaper or closer to the kids? While you might change your mind later, putting the whole decision off until later could be stressful. Where you want to live will also inform your low key real estate stalking.
Will you have a pet when you downsize? Does that pet have needs? If you don’t plan to have a pet, does that mean that when this pet dies you shouldn’t replace it? If you want to have a pet, should you start researching what type of pet, or what breed of dog would be better for someone with more limited mobility?
Downsizing now might preserve your capacity
While I have raised a number of considerations above, what I actually wish people understood is that downsizing now will probably preserve your capacity, both mental and physical capacity, for longer. An accessible property reduces the risk of injury, which also reduces your risk of cognitive decline (because being immobile has a negative effect on cognition). The unnecessary mental load which could be from navigating spaces that don’t suit you anymore, or cleaning a larger house than you need, is speeding your cognitive decline or (again) increasing your risk of injury.
Deaths from accidental falls has been in the top ten causes of death in Australia for years, and dementia is still the leading cause of death. Both of these issues also cause issues while you are alive. Reducing these risks, even if you are in your 50’s or 60’s and “too young” to plan yet, will increase your quality of life and mean that you have more control over the process of downsizing as you can handle it all yourself. This will ironically prove that you didn’t need to do it yet, as you have an easier and healthy time of it, but I am happy to be responsible for encouraging you to address this issue too early.
If you are retired, or an empty nester, then why aren’t you looking to downsize? What is stopping you from moving into the home where you can age in place?
That’s great, but I am too young for this
I hear this, or a version of this, fairly frequently in my practice. This idea that you don’t have to start thinking about it yet. The issue is that you cannot do this quickly. You cannot wait until you are injured, and then start decluttering. You cannot wait until you are starting to suffer cognitive decline, and then start making all the decisions you have to make before you can downsize. You need to do this well before you “need” it. I also have an Instagram post about that which you can watch here.
As I mentioned above, if you did it early, and you had your accessible house, you have decluttered and figured out what you need, and you have less gardening and cleaning than ever before, what have you lost? Importantly, if you wait until you “get there” you will have significantly less energy than you have now. Partly because you will be older, partly because you will be dealing with the grief that comes with your own loss of capacity, and partly because you will also be trying to manage everyone else’s feelings about how you are doing. Making major life decisions in the middle of this is not ideal, even if you still have capacity this isn’t the best time to do this.
You aren’t too young to start, you can start de-cluttering and low level real estate stalking. You can start making some plans, and decisions. You can start preparing your actual written documents, your life admin tasks, and your Estate Plan. These things also will not harm you. You will not regret starting earlier. If you leave it until “later” you might regret that. There is a reason that 50% of Australians don’t have a valid Will (Google it, it is a thing). You can start today. If you don’t know where to start then sign up for my life admin series here.
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