Adapting our home

This is a big topic. It's also one that every disabled person I know struggles with. How to make your home work with you rather than against you.

Come to think of it, this isn't just a problem disabled people have. Anyone with a new baby, new partner, new hobby or hell! Just a life change has this issue. Our homes are living things. They need to constantly change to work better for our needs. I know my home now looks nothing like it did when my son was young and in school. Our needs were completely different then.

I've personally always loved changing my house to fit me. My husband on the other hand doesn't just dislike it... he HATES it. Though he does almost always enjoy the results. His reluctance and my chronic impulsiveness have a beautiful way of meeting in the middle to create our unique, well loved home.

Smartly when we had our floors replaced the last time we went with a hardwood without threshold molding between rooms. Just smooth easy rolling. This was before I was even disabled. I just liked the look. I love it when things work out that way.

Unfortunately our home was built in 1957 and you can tell. The bathroom is a closet and the doorways into each room are miniscule. Our home is what my mom calls is "Not disabled friendly at all!" But we're working on that.

During 2021 we had a beautiful stone ramp put in the front of our house. It even has it's own light. We made the front of our house disabled friendly and beautiful. Sadly, it also cost a butt ton of money. As does any remodel. Currently we're doing another one on the cheap.

This time we're changing our dining room and living room. I'm planning for a future when I may no longer be able to walk through our house and might need to use my chair. It also works out that my husband has a bigger office space, given he still works from home almost all the time.

So phase 1 in this new project was to move my husband's tiny office out of the living room and into our old dining room. This would allow him to purchase an electric standing desk and have about double the amount of space he had before.

After that we had some shelving professionally installed. This became the future "disabled kitchen" where I could keep everything I need to help myself. My protein bars, some fruit, a coffee bar, mini fridge with my vitamin drinks, my cups with lids. All that kind of thing. For now it's a bit of a hybrid. But we can easily change what's on the shelves if need be. It also cleared up some counter space in our tiny galley kitchen.

That was Phase 1 and it's pretty much done. Phase 2 will be to re-arrange our livingroom to make it easier to get my chair in and out of the front door. Also I can use my chair in the livingroom if I want with the new arrangement.

All of this has caused a big purge for us. That's not a bad thing. We're making space for the things we love and need and letting go of possessions that no longer serve us. Something my husband finds more difficult than I do, but he's been a champion.

I'm excited to make our home work better for us. And for our family and company!