Spring cleaning is hard enough when you’re young and able; the task can become even harder when helping seniors with spring cleaning in the mix. Not only does it become more difficult – or downright dangerous – to bend over, reach into far corners of lower cabinets or to access light fixtures or upper shelving – poor eyesight and reduced stamina make it impossible to do a thorough job.
That being said, cleaning and organizing are important for senior health and well-being. A dirty house is unsanitary and can become a health hazard for seniors. Cluttered rooms and floors are trip hazards and plenty of studies show that a clean, organized space is associated with a brighter and more content mental outlook.
Not sure where to start when helping seniors with spring cleaning
The following tips will help you and your senior loved one to get spring-cleaning done in record time:
Create A Schedule.
In most cases, a thorough spring-cleaning can’t happen in a day or two, or even a single week. Helping seniors with spring cleaning and creating a realistic schedule – tackling one thing at a time. Maybe there will be one schedule for the senior – listing one manageable task per day – and one for the helper(s) – including the more difficult or dangerous tasks. If the senior is able, have him or her create the list of what needs to be done so they have some degree of autonomy. Then the rest of you can divvy it up accordingly as a team.
Recruit Friends And Family.
Spread the deeper cleaning and organizing chores up over a series of weekends, and recruit family and close friends to help out. This is a fun way for seniors to get to visit with people they haven’t seen in a while and gives the visitors a way to feel needed and useful. In four weeks, eight weekend days, you can get a house into ship-shape order – outside and in. An added bonus: having loved ones visit on a regular basis is a key component to preventing loneliness and depression, two common states of mind for seniors.
Evaluate Senior Safety.
Use the spring-cleaning experience as a way to assess how the senior is getting around on his/her own, and how the home could be made a little more senior-friendly. Eliminate trip hazards, increase safety lighting, install grab bars in the bath/shower and at the toilet area. Change batteries in smoke and CO detectors. Rearrange cabinets so items that are used most often are placed in the most accessible locations.
Hire A Professional.
This may be a good time to look into senior home care options. If seniors are no longer able to clean their own home, a home health care provider can do it for them. They can also help with grocery store and errand runs, driving, laundry, meal preparations and other tasks that become more tiring and difficult to manage in the senior years. As a senior’s physical and/or mental health deteriorates, those services can be extended, without requiring a move.
Figurative Spring Cleaning.
Tax time is the perfect time to do a figurative form of spring cleaning, taking stock of the financial, medical and legal picture. If you haven’t done so already, consider bringing up the subject of Power of Attorney, Advanced Medical Directives, estate or trust plans as well as preferred long-term care plans to get everyone prepared – and on the same page – should the senior be unexpectedly incapacitated by a sudden illness, stroke or the onset of dementia or Alzheimer’s. Things are much less complicated for everyone involved if these items are put into place well before they are actually needed. You can also schedule important annual wellness visits, including a visit with the General Practitioner, the dentist and the optometrist.
With the return of spring comes the return of the light. Your willingness to help out with your loved one’s spring-cleaning will certainly be a ray of light in the senior’s eyes. If your in need of helping seniors with spring cleaning and organizing this year? Contact us here at HomeAide Home Care and we can schedule a free consultation.
Speak Your Mind