Your senior years are the ones where you finally have the time to spend on hobbies. Assisted living communities such as Bethesda Gardens in Arlington, Texas, provide all the additional services that used to take up your time, such as housekeeping, maintenance, lawn care and linen service. This leaves your hands free to take up that hobby you've always wanted to. Here's how to make the most of your personal space so you have room for all the things hobbies entail.
Taking up a hobby holds many benefits, particularly for seniors. Here are a few:
Hobbies are fun and can provide hours of enjoyment. When you practice hobbies that you enjoy, you may feel an overall improvement in your mood.
Aging isn't a sign that you should stop learning. In fact, ramping up your learning can slow down the brain's aging. You can create new neurological connections in your brain by learning skills such as playing a musical instrument or speaking a foreign language. This is especially helpful for preventing the onset of memory diseases such as dementia.
Many hobbies have a social benefit. These include sewing or knitting circles, book clubs and fishing trips with friends or family.
When you're doing something you enjoy, it's hard to think about the stresses of life. Practicing a hobby can act as a temporary stress reliever.
In your senior years, you may have an empty nest and retire from your career. Hobbies can fill in the gaps, especially if they provide enjoyment or personal fulfillment or let you express yourself.
Small spaces are convenient as you age, as you no longer have to maintain all the unused areas. But this also leaves very little space to work on hobbies. Here are some tips to incorporate a hobby station in a small space.
To plan the space required for your hobby, consider:
Customization is a great way to create enough space for your hobby. For instance, you can incorporate clever storage solutions such as baskets, pull-out shelving and in-furniture storage to pack away your hobby materials. Some examples include:
Sometimes, you may have to opt for the compact version of whatever hobby you're practicing. An example would be where pianists may need to downsize from a grand piano to a baby grand, then an upright, and finally a portable keyboard. Other items that offer compact or portable solutions include computers, sewing machines and compact tools.
When you're in a small space, it just takes a few items out of place for your space to look messy. Some hobbies need a variety of things, such as painting, ceramics, mosaic and needlework. Tips to keep the space clean include:
If you're skeptical about using a wall-mounted craft stations, think how wall-mounted beds changed small spaces from a functional furniture perspective. A wall-mounted crafting station lets you have a fixed space to practice your hobby.
With some designs, it's not just the desk that's wall-mounted. You can also opt to include a chair as part of the crafting station that simply folds away along with it. There are innumerable customizations you can include in your crafting station, such as pigeon holes, craft organizers, peg boards and wrapping stations. If you have these recessed behind your wall-mounted desk, they're hidden behind the desk when you pack up, allowing for an easy cleanup.
