Re-imagining your home for the next chapter
O'Connell advocates for what she describes as 'decluttering with purpose'. That means focussing on the items you truly use and love, then making a fun project of donating and selling the rest. By decluttering with purpose — rather than just haphazardly heaping items into a bin bag — 'you're not just throwing it away, you're actually passing it on to someone else who could use it better than you can'.
If you're thinking about rightsizing your home for somewhere easier to look after, you should also consider where that next home is located — because easy access to services like health care, transport, walkable environments and community centres or programs can make all the difference as you age.
Future-proofing your home for the years to come
Rightsizing can be a great opportunity to ensure our homes are as accessible as possible for the decades to come. And future-proofing your home 'doesn't have to be expensive, and it doesn't have to mean renovations', says O'Connell.
There are many minor adjustments you can make to help you stay independent and at home for longer. These include replacing doorknobs, which due to conditions such as arthritis, may become difficult to turn as you age, with simple levers. Door hinges can be offset so you can widen the doorway for future accessibility needs if required. And adding grab rails to toilets and showers can help you move around the bathroom with confidence.
Brighter lighting, especially in stairways and hallways, can increase visibility and reduce fall risk, as can adding contrasting colours on the edges of steps. You might also consider installing smart-home technology that offers features like voice-activated assistance to control lights, video doorbells and alarms.
Again, it's never too early to start on these changes.
'I do think starting early and making changes gradually makes it more affordable,' says O'Connell. 'And small changes now can equal more autonomy later.'
Bonus tips for setting yourself up for healthy ageing
Here's a statistic that might surprise you: 'Only around 25 per cent of age-related decline is genetic,' says O'Connell. 'So, what that means is that we can do an awful lot to help ourselves live well now and into our later years.'
In her work with LiveUp, a national platform designed to help older Australians stay well as they age, O'Connell uses healthy ageing principles set out by the World Health Organization.
That includes encouraging simple but effective steps like getting physically active and eating well, staying socially connected, joining clubs, volunteering, learning new skills to keep the brain sharp, as well as getting regular health checks to catch any small issues before they become big ones.
O'Connell believes that both in and outside of the home, with a little forward planning, you can set yourself up to be able to do what you both need and want to be able to do in the future.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Advertiser
19 minutes ago
- The Advertiser
Independents unite to demand home support for 20,000 after aged care delay
In their first flex of group political muscle since the federal election, Australia's independent MPs have teamed up to call on the government to fund - within weeks - at least 20,000 extra aged care home support packages. The government announced in early June it was delaying by five months big changes to aged care, which had been due to start mid-year, to give service providers more time to prepare. But 10 crossbenchers have teamed up to express concern about the impact of the postponement on the nearly 83,000 elderly Australians on the waiting list for home care. "Research shows that the longer people go without appropriate home care supports, the higher their risk of injury or hospitalisation," the MPs said in a June 10 letter to Health Minister Mark Butler and Aged Care Minister Sam Rae. "This delay will also imperil your government's commitment that by 2027 no one will wait more than 90 days for a package. "On behalf of people in our communities, we are calling on the Albanese government to, at a minimum, fund 20,000 new packages to commence on 1 July 2025 under the current home care packages scheme, which can then be rolled over onto the new support at home program when it eventually commences," the letter reads. The call for bridging support to cover the delay is supported by both Council on the Ageing (COTA) and the Older Persons Advocacy Network. "I regularly have families contacting me about the excessively long wait times for home care packages," ACT independent senator David Pocock said. "We can't afford to delay this further." Dr Helen Haines, the member for Indi in north-east Victoria, said waiting times were lengthened by a lack of qualified people to provide care in regional areas. "We also can't delay the rollout of a pricing framework that fairly reflects the travel costs to deliver care in rural areas," she said. Any setback for older people who wanted to stay at home was "unacceptable", Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie said. "Both sides of politics have dropped the ball on this issue over the last ten years," she said. "What the minister calls 'a brief deferral' will directly impact the lives of older Australians." Sydney-based Allegra Spender said she had heard "heartbreaking" stories of elderly people forced into nursing homes due to the long wait for assistance at home, while Dr Monique Ryan in Melbourne said "older Australians shouldn't suffer because of the aged care system's failures". Andrew Gee, the newly re-elected independent MP for Calare in NSW, also put his name to the letter in a sign the former National - who quit the party over its opposition to the Indigenous Voice to Parliament - will work with the so-called teals in this parliament. The other signatories were Sydney's Dr Sophie Scamps and Zali Steggall, Andrew Wilkie from Tasmania, and Kate Chaney from Western Australia. Given Labor's thumping majority win at the May election, the independents will have less sway in this parliament, but the letter is the first indication they will nonetheless use their numbers to lobby together. Home care packages are a form of commonwealth assistance designed to help people aged 65 and over to stay at home longer by providing assistance with household tasks, personal care and some medical care, such as that provided by nurses. The government has pledged to switch to a $5.6 billion "support at home" system, promising to be "the greatest improvement to aged care in 30 years" designed to slash waiting lists. The health minister's office has been contacted for comment. In their first flex of group political muscle since the federal election, Australia's independent MPs have teamed up to call on the government to fund - within weeks - at least 20,000 extra aged care home support packages. The government announced in early June it was delaying by five months big changes to aged care, which had been due to start mid-year, to give service providers more time to prepare. But 10 crossbenchers have teamed up to express concern about the impact of the postponement on the nearly 83,000 elderly Australians on the waiting list for home care. "Research shows that the longer people go without appropriate home care supports, the higher their risk of injury or hospitalisation," the MPs said in a June 10 letter to Health Minister Mark Butler and Aged Care Minister Sam Rae. "This delay will also imperil your government's commitment that by 2027 no one will wait more than 90 days for a package. "On behalf of people in our communities, we are calling on the Albanese government to, at a minimum, fund 20,000 new packages to commence on 1 July 2025 under the current home care packages scheme, which can then be rolled over onto the new support at home program when it eventually commences," the letter reads. The call for bridging support to cover the delay is supported by both Council on the Ageing (COTA) and the Older Persons Advocacy Network. "I regularly have families contacting me about the excessively long wait times for home care packages," ACT independent senator David Pocock said. "We can't afford to delay this further." Dr Helen Haines, the member for Indi in north-east Victoria, said waiting times were lengthened by a lack of qualified people to provide care in regional areas. "We also can't delay the rollout of a pricing framework that fairly reflects the travel costs to deliver care in rural areas," she said. Any setback for older people who wanted to stay at home was "unacceptable", Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie said. "Both sides of politics have dropped the ball on this issue over the last ten years," she said. "What the minister calls 'a brief deferral' will directly impact the lives of older Australians." Sydney-based Allegra Spender said she had heard "heartbreaking" stories of elderly people forced into nursing homes due to the long wait for assistance at home, while Dr Monique Ryan in Melbourne said "older Australians shouldn't suffer because of the aged care system's failures". Andrew Gee, the newly re-elected independent MP for Calare in NSW, also put his name to the letter in a sign the former National - who quit the party over its opposition to the Indigenous Voice to Parliament - will work with the so-called teals in this parliament. The other signatories were Sydney's Dr Sophie Scamps and Zali Steggall, Andrew Wilkie from Tasmania, and Kate Chaney from Western Australia. Given Labor's thumping majority win at the May election, the independents will have less sway in this parliament, but the letter is the first indication they will nonetheless use their numbers to lobby together. Home care packages are a form of commonwealth assistance designed to help people aged 65 and over to stay at home longer by providing assistance with household tasks, personal care and some medical care, such as that provided by nurses. The government has pledged to switch to a $5.6 billion "support at home" system, promising to be "the greatest improvement to aged care in 30 years" designed to slash waiting lists. The health minister's office has been contacted for comment. In their first flex of group political muscle since the federal election, Australia's independent MPs have teamed up to call on the government to fund - within weeks - at least 20,000 extra aged care home support packages. The government announced in early June it was delaying by five months big changes to aged care, which had been due to start mid-year, to give service providers more time to prepare. But 10 crossbenchers have teamed up to express concern about the impact of the postponement on the nearly 83,000 elderly Australians on the waiting list for home care. "Research shows that the longer people go without appropriate home care supports, the higher their risk of injury or hospitalisation," the MPs said in a June 10 letter to Health Minister Mark Butler and Aged Care Minister Sam Rae. "This delay will also imperil your government's commitment that by 2027 no one will wait more than 90 days for a package. "On behalf of people in our communities, we are calling on the Albanese government to, at a minimum, fund 20,000 new packages to commence on 1 July 2025 under the current home care packages scheme, which can then be rolled over onto the new support at home program when it eventually commences," the letter reads. The call for bridging support to cover the delay is supported by both Council on the Ageing (COTA) and the Older Persons Advocacy Network. "I regularly have families contacting me about the excessively long wait times for home care packages," ACT independent senator David Pocock said. "We can't afford to delay this further." Dr Helen Haines, the member for Indi in north-east Victoria, said waiting times were lengthened by a lack of qualified people to provide care in regional areas. "We also can't delay the rollout of a pricing framework that fairly reflects the travel costs to deliver care in rural areas," she said. Any setback for older people who wanted to stay at home was "unacceptable", Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie said. "Both sides of politics have dropped the ball on this issue over the last ten years," she said. "What the minister calls 'a brief deferral' will directly impact the lives of older Australians." Sydney-based Allegra Spender said she had heard "heartbreaking" stories of elderly people forced into nursing homes due to the long wait for assistance at home, while Dr Monique Ryan in Melbourne said "older Australians shouldn't suffer because of the aged care system's failures". Andrew Gee, the newly re-elected independent MP for Calare in NSW, also put his name to the letter in a sign the former National - who quit the party over its opposition to the Indigenous Voice to Parliament - will work with the so-called teals in this parliament. The other signatories were Sydney's Dr Sophie Scamps and Zali Steggall, Andrew Wilkie from Tasmania, and Kate Chaney from Western Australia. Given Labor's thumping majority win at the May election, the independents will have less sway in this parliament, but the letter is the first indication they will nonetheless use their numbers to lobby together. Home care packages are a form of commonwealth assistance designed to help people aged 65 and over to stay at home longer by providing assistance with household tasks, personal care and some medical care, such as that provided by nurses. The government has pledged to switch to a $5.6 billion "support at home" system, promising to be "the greatest improvement to aged care in 30 years" designed to slash waiting lists. The health minister's office has been contacted for comment. In their first flex of group political muscle since the federal election, Australia's independent MPs have teamed up to call on the government to fund - within weeks - at least 20,000 extra aged care home support packages. The government announced in early June it was delaying by five months big changes to aged care, which had been due to start mid-year, to give service providers more time to prepare. But 10 crossbenchers have teamed up to express concern about the impact of the postponement on the nearly 83,000 elderly Australians on the waiting list for home care. "Research shows that the longer people go without appropriate home care supports, the higher their risk of injury or hospitalisation," the MPs said in a June 10 letter to Health Minister Mark Butler and Aged Care Minister Sam Rae. "This delay will also imperil your government's commitment that by 2027 no one will wait more than 90 days for a package. "On behalf of people in our communities, we are calling on the Albanese government to, at a minimum, fund 20,000 new packages to commence on 1 July 2025 under the current home care packages scheme, which can then be rolled over onto the new support at home program when it eventually commences," the letter reads. The call for bridging support to cover the delay is supported by both Council on the Ageing (COTA) and the Older Persons Advocacy Network. "I regularly have families contacting me about the excessively long wait times for home care packages," ACT independent senator David Pocock said. "We can't afford to delay this further." Dr Helen Haines, the member for Indi in north-east Victoria, said waiting times were lengthened by a lack of qualified people to provide care in regional areas. "We also can't delay the rollout of a pricing framework that fairly reflects the travel costs to deliver care in rural areas," she said. Any setback for older people who wanted to stay at home was "unacceptable", Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie said. "Both sides of politics have dropped the ball on this issue over the last ten years," she said. "What the minister calls 'a brief deferral' will directly impact the lives of older Australians." Sydney-based Allegra Spender said she had heard "heartbreaking" stories of elderly people forced into nursing homes due to the long wait for assistance at home, while Dr Monique Ryan in Melbourne said "older Australians shouldn't suffer because of the aged care system's failures". Andrew Gee, the newly re-elected independent MP for Calare in NSW, also put his name to the letter in a sign the former National - who quit the party over its opposition to the Indigenous Voice to Parliament - will work with the so-called teals in this parliament. The other signatories were Sydney's Dr Sophie Scamps and Zali Steggall, Andrew Wilkie from Tasmania, and Kate Chaney from Western Australia. Given Labor's thumping majority win at the May election, the independents will have less sway in this parliament, but the letter is the first indication they will nonetheless use their numbers to lobby together. Home care packages are a form of commonwealth assistance designed to help people aged 65 and over to stay at home longer by providing assistance with household tasks, personal care and some medical care, such as that provided by nurses. The government has pledged to switch to a $5.6 billion "support at home" system, promising to be "the greatest improvement to aged care in 30 years" designed to slash waiting lists. The health minister's office has been contacted for comment.
Sydney Morning Herald
4 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Re-imagining your home for the next chapter
O'Connell advocates for what she describes as 'decluttering with purpose'. That means focussing on the items you truly use and love, then making a fun project of donating and selling the rest. By decluttering with purpose — rather than just haphazardly heaping items into a bin bag — 'you're not just throwing it away, you're actually passing it on to someone else who could use it better than you can'. If you're thinking about rightsizing your home for somewhere easier to look after, you should also consider where that next home is located — because easy access to services like health care, transport, walkable environments and community centres or programs can make all the difference as you age. Future-proofing your home for the years to come Rightsizing can be a great opportunity to ensure our homes are as accessible as possible for the decades to come. And future-proofing your home 'doesn't have to be expensive, and it doesn't have to mean renovations', says O'Connell. There are many minor adjustments you can make to help you stay independent and at home for longer. These include replacing doorknobs, which due to conditions such as arthritis, may become difficult to turn as you age, with simple levers. Door hinges can be offset so you can widen the doorway for future accessibility needs if required. And adding grab rails to toilets and showers can help you move around the bathroom with confidence. Brighter lighting, especially in stairways and hallways, can increase visibility and reduce fall risk, as can adding contrasting colours on the edges of steps. You might also consider installing smart-home technology that offers features like voice-activated assistance to control lights, video doorbells and alarms. Again, it's never too early to start on these changes. 'I do think starting early and making changes gradually makes it more affordable,' says O'Connell. 'And small changes now can equal more autonomy later.' Bonus tips for setting yourself up for healthy ageing Here's a statistic that might surprise you: 'Only around 25 per cent of age-related decline is genetic,' says O'Connell. 'So, what that means is that we can do an awful lot to help ourselves live well now and into our later years.' In her work with LiveUp, a national platform designed to help older Australians stay well as they age, O'Connell uses healthy ageing principles set out by the World Health Organization. That includes encouraging simple but effective steps like getting physically active and eating well, staying socially connected, joining clubs, volunteering, learning new skills to keep the brain sharp, as well as getting regular health checks to catch any small issues before they become big ones. O'Connell believes that both in and outside of the home, with a little forward planning, you can set yourself up to be able to do what you both need and want to be able to do in the future.
West Australian
7 hours ago
- West Australian
Australian news and politics live: Anthony Albanese to unveil Government's second term vision
Scroll down for the latest news and updates. NSW Education Minister Prue Car has revealed she has been diagnosed with breast cancer and will be taking leave as she battles cancer again. Ms Car, who is also NSW Deputy Premier, announced that she would be taking personal leave for an 'undetermined period of time'. 'I have been diagnosed with breast cancer. This means that I'm going to have to have a little bit of time off.' Ms Car said in a video message on social media. 'I'm going to have to receive some pretty significant treatment, and in that period, there'll be someone acting for me as minister.' Ms Car, who is the member for Londonderry, said she was 'confident' about fighting cancer off again. Read the full story. Rising doctor bills, unaffordable houses and complex systems that let people fall through the cracks are a threat to democracy that governments must focus on before they can achieve broader social changes, Anthony Albanese says, as he embarks on his second-term agenda. The Prime Minister says the significant global uncertainty besetting governments around the world reaches beyond economic instability. That's why he sees his primary responsibility as delivering on what he promised Australians, regardless of who they voted for. He will outline his plans after his landslide victory in a speech to the National Press Club on Tuesday, his sixth at the venue as Australia's leader. He says the uncertainty of these times translates into 'the more corrosive proposition that politics and government and democratic institutions, including a free media, are incapable of meeting the demands of this moment'. Mr Albanese will outline a vision for an Australian society that is 'a microcosm for the world', where diversity is recognised as a strength and the country plays 'a stabilising global role in uncertain times'. Read the full story.
