Futureproofing ideas?

Michael,

What do you mean by futureproofing your home? I have a smaller home that I have tried to make sensible changes to lessen utilities and increase it's efficiency. I have a few more projects in mind, but I would be interested in knowing what your ideas are.

Thanks!
Jen

being an older partially disabled woman with a disabled husband I think of "future proofing" in the direction of future disabilities as well as future economic situations..of course the cost of fuel has always been on our mind so we put in a wood burning outdoor furnace with pex thru the house and heat exchangers for heating house and water..and then my husband got so bad that he no longer can deal with wood, which left us totally up a creek. We do have propane backup ..but it is so expensive.. and in our area solar and wind are not feasible (cold area)..

We did move from a 2 story (housefire) to a one story..to plan for not having to climb stairs..but nearly had to put a handicap ramp in for my husband as an emergency in June..but he went thru rehab and was able to walk when he came home..thank goodness..no ramp needed..but I think toward the future and maybe will end up having to put on in yet.

with all these mini homes also you have to consider the possibilities of wheelchair access when older..and dealing with disabilities..unless you want to lose your freedom. I have tried to begin building higher hugel beds on my property to raise planting areas, as well as putting things up on trellises..and adding soaker hoses that can be put on a timer in the future so that I don't have to haul hoses or buckets..

I have put in more and more perennial trees, shrubs and plants so I don't have to do so much planting every year..and have tried to make picking access easy in the future..esp planting my dwarf pears right next to a deck where you can pick the fruit from the deck...things like that.

so not just thinking about economics but also aging is a good way to add to this idea

Brenda - All good ideas. I have fibromyalgia which recently seemed to be on a path of getting much worse quickly, so it has been top of my list to get things in place to make my home / lot much more manageable. While I am only 40, I thankfully started to think, when I purchased my house 7 years ago, about going with a single story house because I hope this to be my forever house and I am trying to plan for a possibly more difficult future, physically. The house could still use some work to make doorways inside wider, but I did, when I redid my kitchen, take into consideration spacing and I try to be very aware of that as I make other changes to my house.

Just this year I started working on my property to begin the implementation of a food forest with a lot of perennials. I echo your thoughts on trying to get the main planting done while I feel better and lessen requirements for down the road. I have been thinking a lot about access to my yard and gardens. While it is not an issue now, I should start to plan for the future there too as I install things.

It is a little depressing planning for the future, but we have to be real.