Illness can really put a damper on your daily routine. Sickness is one of the primary reasons for a slowing social schedule and a general sense of ‘grayness’ in your life. As we age, illness and chronic pain may become a more prevalent reality and they can often create a sense of gloom that hangs over us for an extended period of time. However, there are a number of projects that you can take on in order to improve your overall living conditions and increase positivity and happiness in your home while battling an illness.
Introduce some green space in your home.
Plantlife is one of the best ways to increase overall health and wellness. It’s easy to incorporate potted plants in corners all around the house and the bright colors and increased oxygenation can really boost the mood of a room and everyone in it. An online store that provides plants delivery makes it easy to bring in living decorations with deep, vibrant greens, and flowering plants that give a pop of color throughout the seasonal calendar.
Plants can also give you a new sense of purpose in your life. Sickness can make you feel listless while you recover. This lack of purpose is a particularly important thing to combat during the COVID-19 pandemic that has us all stuck inside for most of our days. With the introduction of new plant life into your home, you will be forced to prune and water these additional decorations on a regular basis. The new routine, even minimally changed, might be just the thing you need to breathe new life into your regular schedule that no longer sees much activity.
Build on additional outdoor space.
Not only can you bring the green space into your home, but you can also extend the living area of your home out into the nature that surrounds it. With a newly installed patio area, you can expand your living room to include a section of the great outdoors, right at your stoop. Finding a contractor to install retractable awnings in Pennsylvania above your new relaxation space is a great way to protect your furniture and peace of mind from the elements as well. This way, you can take advantage of the fresh air — rain or shine! An awning is a simple yet effective way to create a permanently accessible outdoor space under which you and your family members can relax. In particular, with social distancing measures and recommendations in place, you can host gatherings with family in an outdoor setting in order to provide for the distancing guidelines and remain health-conscious while remaining comfortable.
Adding patio space also increases the value of your home. Everyone eventually sells their home, so the increased potential cash value is a great way to capitalize on your most valuable financial asset while also improving the overall energy of your home at the same time. Americans spend a combined $400 billion every year on home upgrades, and there’s a good reason why. Home improvement projects create additional wealth and boost the comfort and personalization of a home by an order of magnitude. Even a small change like new flooring, or a patio extension, can create lasting effects that make your home feel more homely.
Add value to your property.
The best part of home improvement projects is that funding the renovation can often be done within your existing fiscal reality. Whether you need an electrical contractor in Dillsburg, PA to run wiring to lights or heaters under your new awning, or require a handyman to lay down the deck on your patio, nearly any project can be done with little wait time. Your mortgage lender already has detailed records of your credit history and financial wellbeing, so drawing capital out of the equity in your home through a reverse mortgage, borrowing a fixed amount as a secondary loan, or seeking a viatical settlement provider to cash out your life insurance policy for expenses in the here and now are all great options available to you.
Viatical settlements are a particularly good option, especially if your illness is chronic. With a viatical settlement, you trade in the beneficiary rights for a lump sum cash payment today that can be put towards any project you want. Instead of continuing to pay premiums to the life insurance company that wrote the contract with you, you sell the rights to the policy in a viatical settlement contract in order to tap into the capital (the death benefit) today. Whole life insurance policies are often designed to cover the cost of funeral expenses and final debts, but as we continue to age we pay down these obligations and are left with main assets. In this instance, trading your life insurance policy for immediate cash payment can give you access to capital designed to hedge against a nagging problem that no longer exists in your life. The premiums at this point are a drain on your finances instead of buoying financial independence, so casting premium payment off to a third party is a great way to erase this monthly expense and cash in at the same time.
Adopt a furry friend.
A new pet can also add to the level of overall comfort in your home. Adopting a cat or dog is a great way to help out your community by giving a home to a pet in need and giving you some additional company while you recover at home. Cats often need minimal care outside of food, a clean litter box, and companionship. As such, they make a great addition to the home of someone requiring that extra spirit without the maintenance of a dog.
Dogs, on the other hand, can force you out of the house on daily walks. This is perfect for someone that needs a loving friend to keep them company and give them a reason to remain active. You could even ‘borrow’ one of your family members’ pets for a trial run over a long weekend to see how you fare with a new friend in the home. Often people are pleasantly surprised and sad to see the pet go back home. This is a surefire sign that a pet would be a great addition to your own home, too.
Spend more time with family.
While illness keeps you from your hobbies you should make a point to spend more time with family. Your closest friends and family can always come visit, and while you are homebound you should take advantage of the down time that would normally be spent hurrying from one activity to another. Even in retirement, hobbies and social engagements take up a considerable amount of time, so the break from your routine can feel empty and prolonged if you don’t fill it with something else in its place. Inviting siblings, children, and grandchildren over to keep you company is a great way to do just that.
Making your home more comfortable can take many forms while you are battling an illness, whether it’s a COVID-19 infection or something less serious. Oftentimes, we think about making structural changes to the home in order to create a novel relaxation space. Consider these upgrades along with greater time spent with loved ones in the new features of your home in order to create lasting comfort.