Universal Design posts by Rita Wilkins. Rita is a renowned expert in decluttering and minimalism, empowering individuals to simplify their lives through practical tips and resources, while also captivating audiences as a professional speaker and author.

Aging Parents With Lots of Stuff, and Children Who Don’t Want It

Mothers and daughters talk about all kinds of things. But there is one conversation Susan Beauregard, 49, of Hampton, Conn., is reluctant to have with her 89-year-old mother, Anita Shear: What to do — eventually — with Mrs. Shear’s beloved set of Lenox china? Ms. Beauregard said she never uses her own fine china, which [...]

The New Baby Boomer Boom

Jimmy Buffett is wasting away again in Margaritaville. On Feb. 16, the 70-year-old singer of calypso tunes about flip-flops, boozy cocktails, and cheeseburgers in paradise announced a partnership with Orlando, Fla.–based Minto Communities to bring Latitude Margaritaville—a tropics-themed, “no worries” active-adult community—to a development parcel fronting Daytona Beach. Complete with a fitness center, aerobics studio, [...]

Why It’s Now An Empty Nesters’ Housing Market

Bill Saporito Mar 10, 2017 There’s a mismatch in the housing market. Demand is rising, yet homebuilders don’t have the capacity to create the supply the way they did in the boom years. They haven’t banked as much land, they haven’t filed the permits and they’ve become increasingly short of labor—one possible byproduct of the [...]

Intentionally Minimalist Retirement

Just before I retired in 2011 I sold almost everything I owned. It wasn’t because money was tight, but because I wanted to spend my life as an adventure, traveling the world, pursuing my passions of writing and photography and most of the things I owned weren’t going to fit into that lifestyle. I didn’t intend to [...]

Baby boomers are downsizing — and the kids won’t take the family heirlooms

By Beth Teitell Globe Staff  June 04, 2017 For 30 years, Pat Fryzel stored her children’s memorabilia, and her grandmother’s, too. But when she and her husband downsized, from a large Winchester home to a two-bedroom Boston town house, there was no room for the American Girl dolls or Nana’s cake plates. So Fryzel asked [...]

10 Good Reasons To Sell That Big House and Get Rightsized

Thom and I are fortunate to be spending July in the coastal community of Ventura. As some of you know, where we live the majority of the year the temperature during the summer fluctuates between 110 and 120 degrees. Meanwhile, here near the beach, we are relishing the cool coastal breezes without air-conditioning. This will [...]

Sorry, Florida: Boomers looking to retire closer to home in active communities

John Leeke and his wife, Theresa, sold their five-bedroom house and moved to an age-restricted community for people 55 and older; the demand for health programs and amenities in these communities is growing as baby boomers enter retirement. MUST CREDIT: Photo by Justin T. Gellerson for The Washington Post. After living in Prince [...]

Why Apartments are Booming with Baby Boomers

There is a rental-demographic that’s feeling quite young and spry. And old age isn’t something they’d be thinking about for years. If you were thinking Millennials, then you’re wrong. It’s the Baby Boomers, most of whom will turn 65 by 2030. Every single day, for the next decade, about 10,000 Baby Boomers will become 65 [...]

Less size, more bells and whistles evident in 2017 Parade of Homes

  Aaron Lange has been building and selling houses for 20 years and has recently noticed something about the industry he once couldn’t have imagined. More and more buyers are asking for less – not more — square footage. VIEW SLIDESHOW 10 photos The Parade of Homes that began last weekend and continues this weekend [...]

By |2017-05-22T00:32:06+00:00May 22nd, 2017|A Peek into Your Good Life, Aging in place, Baby Boomers, bucket list, community, design trends, downsizing, Interior design, lifestyle, living in smaller spaces, minimalism, retirement, simplify your life, Universal Design|Comments Off on Less size, more bells and whistles evident in 2017 Parade of Homes

The Great Baby Boomer Retirement Plan: Downsize your life

Baby Boomers are increasingly downsizing to smaller homes or opting out of homeownership entirely in order to prepare for retirement, according to a new study from Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The survey pointed out that tens of millions of Baby Boomers will soon migrate into retirement, and could soon modify family spending, continue working [...]

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