Spring cleaning tips for seniors
The long winter months make it hard to find the motivation to do a deep clean of your home. Once spring finally arrives, days are longer and the air is fresher. The spring season is the perfect time to revive your living space by doing some cleaning.
The following five tips will make the spring cleaning process more simple, especially for seniors:
Ask for a helping hand
The idea of tackling spring cleaning on your own can be daunting. To make it seem like less of a chore, enlist friends and family to help you. Having a few extra hands will speed up the cleaning process, leaving more time to visit and catch up with each other afterward.
Devise a plan
Start by creating a check-list of everything you’d like to accomplish. Tasks may include washing curtains and drapes, organizing closets or deep cleaning rugs. If you are helping a loved one with their spring cleaning, add the following tasks to the list to minimize health and safety risks in their home:
- Ensure walkways are free of clutter and tripping hazards
- Go through medicine cabinets and throw out expired medications or prescriptions no longer in use
- If your loved one lives at home, consider installing grab bars in the bathroom
- Clean out the fridge and dispose of spoiled food
Gather important documents
Before you start removing items from your living space, collect all legal, financial and health documents and store them in a safe place such as a drawer, filing cabinet or desk. Doing so will allow for easy access in the case of an emergency. Consider storing these documents in a lock-box or safe as an extra precaution.
Get rid of the clutter
To make the most of your space, no matter how big or small, get rid of items that no longer serve a purpose. For example, go through your closet and sort items into a ‘keep’ pile and a ‘give away’ pile. If you live in a retirement community, see if any friends or neighbors are interested in taking the things you no longer need, instead of throwing out these items. Afterward, you can donate the remaining items to a local charity.
Evaluate the living situation
If you are helping your loved one clean their home, use this as an opportunity to assess the safety of their living environment. Is the home well-lit? Are the smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors working properly? Is the home dirtier or less organized than it has been in years? Are there medications lying around?
If you notice any kind of safety issue, find a way to resolve it immediately. If you and your loved one agree their current living arrangement is overly problematic, it may be time to consider the option of retirement living.
At Seasons Retirement Communities our qualified and dedicated team members take time to understand each resident’s individual care needs to ensure they are able to get the most out of life. A move to Seasons means you don’t have to worry about cooking, cleaning and maintaining a house, or figuring out how to get to the grocery store or doctor’s office: we take care of that.
To learn more about what senior living communities have to offer, visit Seasons to find the community nearest you.