Spring is here, and it’s the perfect time to bring up the possibility of doing some spring cleaning around your loved one’s home. In those colder months, it can seem like too much work and may even be a bit unsafe to take out all of the items from the home that your elderly loved one no longer needs, like boxes from deliveries, old magazines, clothes that don’t fit, and broken appliances. A senior home care provider can help after the family is done organizing the clutter by maintaining the newly organized and clutter-free environment.
And while a good spring cleaning is great for getting your elderly loved one’s home back in order, did you know it’s always a great way to reduce stress?
The Link Between Clutter and Stress
- Studies have shown that there are several reasons why a cluttered home might lead to stress for your elderly loved one (and those who visit).
- Clutter can make it difficult to truly relax because by seeing it, the mind is constantly reminded that there is work that needs to be done.
- Clutter overstimulates the senses with too many objects to focus on, making it difficult for the brain to relax.
- Clutter can create feelings of guilt or lower a person’s sense of self-worth. Seeing all of the mess around them can make them feel like they’re not managing their overall life well.
- Clutter can cause stress by making it more difficult to find where items like keys, the television remote, or your loved one’s favorite book are, since there are too many “hiding” places for them.
Five Tips for Spring Cleaning Away the Clutter
Talk openly to your loved one. Ask her what areas of the home are stressful to her. If there are items she wants to keep but you’re unsure of their purpose, ask her why she wants to keep them (or if she has to have so many). Talk about what a successful clutter cleanup looks like to her and then set that as your goal.
Get help. For some people living in a small apartment, cleaning might be able to be done by one or two people. But if your loved one has a home with multiple floors, a garage, and a storage area, you might need multiple people to help. Cleaning often falls on the shoulders of family members, but don’t forget to enlist your loved one’s senior home care provider as well. A senior home care provider can help your loved one with prep before the family comes over to clean by organizing areas with her or helping her clean out a closet.
Set goals. Again, depending on the size of your loved one’s home, you might not be able to do it all in one day. Decide what the priority is and start there. Anything else completed will be a bonus.
Take a break and talk it out. Halfway through the decluttering, talk to your loved one about how she is feeling. Is she still enjoying the process, or is it too much and she needs to stop for a bit? Respect her needs as you try to encourage results.
Maintain. A little clutter is always going to accumulate but talk with your loved one’s senior home care provider about helping her avoid too much clutter build up so she can continue to feel proud and good about her home.
If you or an aging loved one are considering Senior Home Care Services in Huntington Beach, CA, please call the caring staff at Canaan Home Care today! 1-844-CANAAN-1 (1-844-226-2261)
Canaan Home Care – A Premier Provider of Senior Home Care in the La Jolla, Del Mar, San Diego, Rancho Santa Fe, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Tustin, and Manhattan Beach areas.
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