Spring cleaning is about more than just welcoming in warmer, sunnier weather. It’s about helping people live in a cleaner, healthier, and more organized space. For seniors, this is especially important, particularly if they need to rearrange some items for comfort and safety. Home care providers can help out, making spring cleaning easier for seniors to accomplish.
Keep the Schedule Reasonable
Just because it’s called spring cleaning, that doesn’t mean it all has to get done at once or all in spring, even. If there’s a lot to do, seniors can spread everything out over a few weeks or months. Scheduling even one task a week can offer great results for seniors. Pushing it can feel like too much. Elder care providers can help seniors stay on track with keeping their spring cleaning schedule reasonable for their needs and abilities.
Assess the Urgent Needs
One step seniors might want to consider is sitting down and assessing the urgent needs in their homes. These might be areas that have been difficult for them to clean on their own or spaces that need to be reorganized so they can access them more easily. This early planning helps with figuring out where to start and can keep seniors from trying to tackle projects that might not be as helpful as they first think they are.
Set Some Priorities
Not every task on the list is as important as others might be. Understanding where the priorities are helps seniors to spend their energy where they really need and want to while they spring clean. High-traffic rooms like the kitchen and bathroom are likely to be high on the priority list. Keeping track of tasks helps everyone who is helping out stay on target.
Keep Seniors Involved
It can be tempting for family caregivers to take over spring cleaning and just get it all done. But that might not be the best idea, especially when there is a lot of organizing on the list. Keeping seniors involved in the process reinforces that their needs, wants, and preferences are important. Home care providers may handle the major hands-on parts of the task list, but seniors can weigh in on where they want the items they use often to be stored.
Follow Safe Cleaning Principles
It’s always so important for seniors to use safe cleaning practices, no matter when they’re cleaning. Using clearly labeled cleaning products that are meant for the task at hand helps seniors stay safe. Storing cleaning products and items used for cleaning where they’re easy to reach helps to reduce the risk of spills and other accidents. Big cleaning tasks mean working in a well-ventilated area, especially if seniors have breathing issues.
Spring cleaning helps seniors to continue to live in a safe and clean environment. But they don’t have to tackle every task in one day or completely on their own. Home care providers can be there to give them a hand and make sure that seniors stay safe while they participate.