Spring is almost here and for many homes, that means it’s time to do a little (or a lot) of spring cleaning. While spring cleaning can look different for everyone, most homes can be improved with a bit more in-depth spring cleaning each year.
It’s not only the home’s appearance that improves with spring cleaning. Helping your elderly loved one spring clean can make her home safer as well as boost her spirits and get her excited about the warmer days coming.
Spring Cleaning and Renewed Moods
The winter doldrums can get anyone down after months of cold and darkness. Cleaning the home can lift spirits in several ways.
Decluttering is known for reducing levels of stress. A cluttered and messy home can cause feelings of anxiety and stress for many individuals. By not being able to see clean and calm areas around the home, the brain has a harder time relaxing and de-stressing.
Cleaning the home can also provide a sense of accomplishment and boost feelings of self-worth as areas of the home begin to shine again. Sometimes just cleaning out one drawer and having everything in it neatly displayed can lift the spirits.
Five Areas to Spring Clean to Improve Home Safety
Here are five areas of spring cleaning that can also make your loved one’s home more safe for her to live in.
- Check all of the lightbulbs. Now is the time to make sure all light fixtures have working lightbulbs so your loved one can see well in her home. Assist with those light fixtures that are too high to reach without a ladder so that your loved one isn’t climbing ladders to reach them.
- Replace batteries in all smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. Make this a regular part of spring cleaning so you never need to worry if a battery is going to die within one of these life-saving alarm systems.
- Eliminate tripping hazards from around the home. Your loved one may feel like she’s grown accustomed to walking around a certain tripping item on her floor, but just one night of forgetfulness may cause her to trip over that loose cord or turned-up rug edge. Get them fixed during spring cleaning so they don’t cause an accident in the future.
- Review everything in the medicine cabinet. Now is a great time to look at all of your loved one’s medications (both prescriptive and over-the-counter medicines) to make sure she has what she needs and that it isn’t expired.
- Examine the fridge and pantry for expired products. These are areas where items often go past their expiration date with no one noticing, creating possible foodborne illnesses.
Enlist Help from a Senior Home Care Provider
If you’re not available to help in all of the areas that spring cleaning consists of, a senior home care provider can help your loved one with some of her spring-cleaning needs. Your elderly loved one may want to spread out the spring cleaning over several visits so that she and her senior home care provider can dedicate their time to cleaning out each area without taking away from any other activities that she normally does with her senior home care provider. Great areas that a senior home care provider can assist with include helping in kitchen cleaning, bathroom cleaning, and decluttering the home.
Before your loved one knows it, her home will be lighter, brighter, and ready for spring.
If you or an aging loved one is considering Senior Home Care in Ridgefield, CT, please contact the caring staff at Elderly Caregivers LLC. today at (203) 628-7438
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