As you take care of your elderly loved one, you will likely be over at their house quite a bit. Even if you live farther away, you will likely see your elderly loved one’s home over video chats. When you see their home, you should take some time to look at the placement of furniture, how bright the house is, and other aspects of the home. Many senior citizens need home modifications to help them stay safe and comfortable. Your elderly loved one might need these modifications in their house, too.
Improving the Lighting
One of the home modifications that your elderly loved one might need is improved lighting. There are a lot of senior citizens who can’t see well. As the hours slip away and the house starts getting darker, if the lighting isn’t bright enough, your elderly loved one could easily trip and fall. The safest option would be to get better lighting in their home. There are numerous ways this can be done. You can place lamps throughout your elderly loved one’s house. You can also put motion sensor lighting or nightlights throughout the home, too.
Put Safety First by Removing Clutter
Your elderly loved one might enjoy keeping a lot of things such as electronics, furniture, collectibles, papers, and other things. It is okay for people to enjoy doing this to hold onto memories or to keep things that are important to them. However, if these belongings are starting to make a mess in your elderly loved one’s home, it would be a good idea to go through it all with them. Explain to your elderly loved one that clutter can increase the risk of a fall, a fire in the house, and increase stress of everyone in the home, too. Your elderly loved one doesn’t have to get rid of everything. However, even going through it all and organizing things can help a great deal.
Cleaning the Entryway and Bedroom
Two of the places where your elderly loved one will be at a lot are the entryway and bedroom. These two rooms should be kept clean and organized as much as possible. Some things that you can get to help your elderly loved one do this include:
- Shoe rack
- Coat hanger
- Cubed organizers
- Hangers
- Portable closet
These modifications can help your elderly loved one to keep their entryway and bedroom clean. If needed, you or a companion care at home provider can remind your elderly loved one or help them to keep these areas of their home clean each day or week.
Conclusion
There are many home modifications that could help your elderly loved one to be safer and more comfortable. The options above are a good place to start if you are helping your elderly loved one to achieve this goal.
Sources
https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/aging-place-growing-older-home
