Spring brings sunny days, budding trees, gentle rain showers – and, of course, spring cleaning. As soon as the last of the snow melts, many of us take the opportunity to get our homes in order for the upcoming spring and summer months.
“Spring cleaning is one of those yearly rites of passages that help make the year ahead that much better,” says Pete Bruce, Senior Advisor of Bridges® by EPOCH at Andover, a memory care assisted living community in Andover, MA. Besides the obvious – washing your windows, getting your carpets cleaned, making sure trees are trimmed – spring is a great time for seniors and their caregivers to do a little “spring cleaning” with their lives and their lifestyle.
“Spring cleaning can be complex and a little difficult if you’re caring for a senior, particularly if he or she has dementia, because it’s just one more task to add to an ever-increasing to-do list,” says Pete. “However, there are some simple things you and even your senior loved one can do to get your home in tip-top shape and everything in place for a great 2020.”
Here are some tips to help you and your senior make the most of the sorting-and-cleaning season.
Make your to-do list.
What is it you’d like to accomplish this spring? Sit down and create a list of all the tasks you’d like to tackle. Get detailed – this is no time for broad strokes. The more specific you can be, the easier it will be for you to figure out what needs to happen when. (It also helps you literally ‘cross things off’ your list, which will keep you motivated and give you a sense of satisfaction.) Besides actual “cleaning” aspects, think creatively and determine what you can do to help make the next few months better for you or your loved one.
Make a schedule.
Now that you have your to-do list, it’s time for the next step: creating a schedule. As a caregiver, you know better than most how quickly a day can get eaten up with little things, leaving you feeling like you’ve accomplished nothing at the end of the day. The trick, then, is to actually schedule tasks on your calendar – small, manageable and realistic tasks – so you can fit them into your already busy schedule and make headway. You know best what will work for you – whether you want to clear off a whole weekend to tackle your entire list, or if you’d rather do little chunks each day, it’s totally up to you.
Ask for help.
Many hands make light work, and if you’re a caregiver, you need all the hands you can get. Now’s the time to rope in friends and family who have been asking “how can I help?” for some time. Identify individuals who can help you tackle part of your list and be a big help. Perhaps your sister is a beast when it comes to cleaning floors, or your brother doesn’t mind tackling the washing of the windows. Think about people’s likes, dislikes and strengths, and be specific when you reach out to ask for help. It’s a lot easier for someone to say “yes” if they know what they’re getting themselves into. If you don’t have friends and family who can help out, consider enlisting professionals – it may be more expensive than doing it yourself, but the time and peace of mind you’ll gain is priceless.
Look for repairs.
As you’re washing, dusting, vacuuming and straightening everything, keep your eyes peeled for anything around the house that needs to be repaired or replaced. Have the batteries been changed in the smoke alarm recently? Is your faucet leaky and continually dripping? Are there squeaky doors that need oiled? Does someone need to tackle those wonky gutters once and for all? Make a list of all the things that need attention, and then schedule a time to take care of them – calling in the professionals if necessary.
Be prepared and organized.
Be sure you have everything you need on hand before you tackle any sort of spring cleaning, like having enough buckets, mops, cleaning supplies and the like before you start any project. You’ll also want to be sure that you’ve budgeted enough to take care of problems – like the aforementioned repairs. Prepare a budget ahead of time so you know how much you can tackle, and what might need to wait until later in the year.
Find ways to involve your senior loved one.
Everyone likes to feel useful and needed. Even if your loved one’s abilities aren’t what they used to be, it’s important to involve him or her in the spring cleaning process. Think about what he or she can do and give them tasks to accomplish. This could be as simple as sorting costume jewelry or polishing silverware, or it could be more complicated (maybe Dad isn’t very mobile but he can still fix loose screws like no one’s business). Be sure to ask your senior what he or she would like to help out with, what he or she would like to accomplish during spring cleaning, and then make those top priority.
Declutter and downsize.
Spring cleaning is an opportune time to look through your things and determine what, really, you need in your life. Before you actually tackle the “cleaning” part of each room, take a look around and see what clutter needs to be cleared – and if there’s anything you own that just needs to go. There’s no point in cleaning things that are just taking up space. Make a “trash” and a “donate” pile so that you can easily handle those items when the time comes.
Remove any hazards.
Seniors, especially those with Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia, have a higher risk of being injured at home due to common household hazards. For example, seniors can easily trip and fall if hallways are cluttered, or if floors are slippery – which can lead to hospitalization and even death. Old medications or expired food can also be dangerous because your loved one may not realize they’ve gone “bad” and ingest them anyway. Even if your loved one’s cognition is still good, he or she may have difficulty with mobility, making navigating the bathroom or stairways hard. Take some time to look around the house and see if there are ways you can make the place safer, such as installing grab bars where necessary, putting away sharp objects, installing non-slip mats and the like.
While spring cleaning is never really at the top of anyone’s “favorite things to-do list,” it’s something that we all should do – because the benefits you reap can be amazing, for both you and your senior loved one.
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Bridges® by EPOCH at Andover provides specialized memory care in an assisted living environment that is comfortable, positive and welcoming. Built solely to care for those with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, Bridges® by EPOCH at Andover creates a wellness-focused, engaging lifestyle that respects individual preferences, focuses on residents’ abilities and creates meaning in daily life.
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