January is Get Organized Month and it’s the start of a new year when people are excited to make positive changes in their lives. That makes now the perfect time for seniors to tackle some home organization projects. Many seniors that are aging in place have piles of old papers, boxes of old photos, and lots of other items that really need to be organized both because they should be put away and because clutter like old boxes can become a tripping hazard for seniors. According to professional organizes some of the best things that seniors can do to get organized are:
Get Help
Organizing your home will likely mean moving furniture, moving boxes, putting things together, and running to the store for supplies like markers and tape. Seniors should get help from family members or from in-home care providers who can help them with the organizing process. It also will be helpful to have some extra hands to help box things, tape things, and get some drinks throughout the process. An in-home care provider can help seniors organize and get them plenty of drinks and snacks so they have the energy to keep organizing.
Install Storage Systems
In order to make the home safe and get all that clutter out of the way it’s helpful to install shelves, cube organizers, and other storage systems that will hold boxes, bins, and all those things that have no real place right now. A contractor or a family member with a drill and a good DIY sense can transform your senior loved one’s home into a showplace of organization by using existing wall space to install shelving and storage systems that will make the home safe and clutter free.
Get Rid Of As Much As You Can
The hardest part of organizing for seniors may be getting rid of things, but now is the time to go through all of those old mementos, furniture, and other things and get rid of them. Family members should be able to take any furniture or personal items from their childhood that they want to hang onto. Any furniture that is in good shape can be donated or your senior loved one can have a big garage sale to get rid of furniture, old records, jewelry, clothes, and other items that they don’t want to keep.
Use Technology
Technology can be very helpful when it comes to home organization. Old family photos can be scanned or snapshotted and stored digitally so that the hard copies of the photos can be thrown away. Get rid of all those old greeting cards, handmade items from when the children were little, and old papers that probably won’t be needed but your senior may want a copy of anyway. A great way to display digital photos is to get a photo frame that runs slideshows of digital photos that are uploaded to it from a mobile phone. Then your senior loved one can see all their precious photos without having to drag out a heavy photo album.
