No matter whether your elderly lives at home, in a retirement community or in a senior living facility - it pays to create a comfortable living space for the elderly by organizing and decluttering the space. Doing so is important for their safety and security. But, how can you do that?
Here’s how -
Assess the Home of the Elderly
Needless to say, this is the first step in improving the home of your elderly. Start with making a list of all the things that might cause them trouble. It’s good to focus on areas where they generally spend maximum time.
Below are some of the commonest problem areas to focus on-
● Messy kitchen cabinets
● Fire risks
● Dark/dingy areas
● Difficult storage areas in the laundry room
● Hard to reach shelves
● Slippery hallways and stairs
● Slippery bathrooms
● Difficult doorknobs
● Dangerous stacked shelves
● A jam-packed medicine/bathroom cabinet
Once you figure out the areas in need of maximum attention, you can get to organizing them first.
Install Shelves
It’s good to install shelves for storing small items, supplies, and tools. Shelves are great for storing home and seasonal yard supplies such as weed killer, washing fluid, etc. If you live in one of the pet friendly senior living communities - ask for shelves a little higher up so that pets cannot reach them easily.
Relocate Furniture
Over the decades, it’s easy to accumulate a ton of furniture such as chairs, tables, etc. They can take up a ton of space in your home making free movement a challenge. Therefore, it’s a good practice to get rid of stuff that no longer serves you or fits your needs.
This step is particularly important if you’ve developed a new disability. Don’t worry if there’s not enough space to entertain guests. Your safety is far more important than anything else. Pay special attention to free, moving space in the living room as that’s the area where people spend most time.
Install Storage Solutions
It’s good to add storage shelves to your bedroom so you can store gift times, framed photographs, magazines, books, etc. Most of this stuff takes a ton of space on the nightstand and dresser.
Clean/Organize the Medicine Cabinet
If there are expired medicines in your cabinet, it could put your adults and seniors at risk of mental/cognitive disability. Therefore, it’s a good practice to clean out and organize your cabinet regularly.
It’s good to include caregivers and family members in the process so that only the necessary and safe medicines are kept and everything else (expired and unsafe medicine) is carefully discarded. Make sure to label each container so that it’s clearly visible.
Eliminate Garbage
Maximum heavy-lifting in terms of decluttering should happen in areas such as basements, garages, and attics. That’s because these areas are where most of the unused furniture, discarded items, and heavy boxes are stored.
If your elderly/senior is suffering from some kind of disability, it’s important to work with an abled family member or a caregiver before beginning with the decluttering process.
Some Additional Organization/Storage Tips for the Elderly
Other than the above-mentioned tips, there are some other ways also in which you can arrange your house and make it more functional, safe, and comfortable. Below are the ways in which you can do that -
● Label storage areas so that it’s easy to recognize them
● Store all the vital information, documents, and instructions all in one place so that they’re easy to find in times of need
● Make sure that the hallways, steps, and bathroom tubs are slip-resistant
● Keep entryways and steps clean for easy access
● Keep all dark areas well-lit
● Keep slip-resistant floor on the bathroom tub so that the seniors don’t accidentally fall down
Bottom Line
It’s important that you make the project of decluttering and organizing the living space as fun as possible for the best results. Be sure to also put a lot of forethought into planning.
