As we get older, we tend to hold on to items, which remind us of the years gone by. In essence, most seniors often accumulate a lifetime of possessions which makes it difficult to decide what they should keep, donate, sell, or give out to family and friends. Decluttering comes in handy particularly in a home where there is an elderly person as it creates more space for mobility-related modifications.
Why declutter for seniors?
Here are some instances when decluttering will come in handy for your senior loved ones:
- If they intend to grow old in the home– more seniors today are preferring to age in their home as opposed to being taken to an institution. Decluttering and organising the home will help the elderly access what he or she wants easily. It also makes it easy for them to manoeuvre through the home even if they become disabled.
Decluttering also helps keep your loved ones healthy. Unused items are often a source of allergens such as dust. Besides, a cluttered space is associated with feelings of depression, anxiety, and stress. Ridding the elderly’s home of clutter and related contaminants leads to better air quality. The elderly will also be more at peace in a decluttered space.
- If they are downsizing– after all the children are gone, it makes more sense to downsize as the cost of maintaining an entire family home could be too huge. As you cannot cram everything in a smaller space, decluttering is necessary.
- To prevent accidents– an elderly is susceptible to tripping and falling especially if the home is too cluttered. Removing unwanted items and rearranging the remaining items so that they are easily accessible is an effective way of reducing the chances of an accident.
5 Decluttering tips for seniors
Decluttering a home can be quite overwhelming and is often put off for a different day. Here are some 5 decluttering tips for seniors:
- Create a decluttering schedule– Setting a deadline is an effective way of ensuring that you do not postpone the task. You do not need to declutter and organise the home in a single day; therefore, come up with a schedule that’s reasonable and achievable for you.
- Start small– professional organisers suggest that the most effective way of decluttering is to focus on a room or an area at a time. This makes the chore appear less challenging.
- Come up with a sorting system– create such tags as ‘keep’, ‘donate/sell’ and ‘toss’ for your skip hire and label them appropriately. Once you make up your mind on what you should do with a certain item, avoid going back to it again. Remember to organise and set aside important documents.
- Recycle or repurpose what you can– if your loved one is still holding on to things because they do not want to be wasteful, try recycling or repurposing. For instance, if they have too many sheets or towels, you can obtain a skip hire from Clearabee and donate them to an animal shelter. You can also make them a quilt out of their t-shirt collection.
- Label everything once you reorganise the room– Once you alter the elderly’s environment, they could become anxious about finding things. This is especially the case if they have dementia. Make sure you label everything once you are done organising the space.
If the situation involves more than tossing old magazines or clothes in skip hire and having them carted off, you may need to involve a professional. A full-service professional such as Clearabee, organises, sorts, and gets rid of the items you want to dispose of. The company has also gained some reputation as they provide same day skip hire services. Also, they repurpose more than 90% of what they collect from your home, thus easing the burden on our landfills.