The other day I started writing about ways older adults can declutter their homes. However, I mostly focused on the ways that you could get rid of the items that you have already evaluated. I thought this would be a good time to take a few steps back and talk about how to decide what to keep and some tips to get started in the process. For me, the hardest part is finding a place to take everything and getting it out of my house.
Home Maintenance Items You No Longer Need or Use
Are you downsizing? Do you need yard equipment or do you even use them now? For a lot of older people, they find that electric yard tools are easier to handle than their gas-powered ones. Go through your tools and cleaning equipment and think to yourself, “when is the last time I used this? When is the next time that I can see myself using this?” Can you still easily handle the item?
Go Through Your Kitchen
We accumulate a lot of stuff in our kitchens. Go through your cupboards and make a pile of duplicate pots or damaged items to declutter. If they are in good condition, they can be donated or sold at a yard sale. If not, please look up how to properly dispose of whatever item you have. I know I personally have organizational items in my cabinets that don’t really fit my space or pots and pans, so I will be going through those.
Medicine Cabinets
Go through your medicine cabinets for expired medications or any medications that you no longer used (like if you switched to a different one). Please ask your doctor how to dispose of these medications in a safe way. These bottles can take up a lot of space and it can be dangerous to have expired medications laying around.
I have had more to say than I thought that I would, so let me know down below if you would like to see this as a series.
Written by Brigid Stakelum
