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Cleaning and Organizing to Prevent Falls in the Elderly

Many senior citizens have a fall at least once a year. This happens more often when their home is cluttered when they are recovering from a surgery or injury, and during the winter months. If you are taking care of an elderly loved one and you want to help prevent falls, cleaning and organizing are two of the things that you can do. You can get your loved one to help out with this, too. Make sure they are aware that you are just trying to help them. You are just trying to keep them safe.

Early Start

Downsizing should be done early on and regularly. People accumulate things as they get older. They have more stuff than they know what to do with. If you are taking care of an elderly loved one, you should start helping them to downsize before they get far too much stuff. Don’t wait until there are stacks of things filling up the room. Get to the decluttering early on. You can see if the elder care providers that come to the home can help with this, as well. Many will take part in light cleaning.

Keep Organized

When you start helping an elderly loved one to declutter, you should keep organized. You should start at the center of the home. Family rooms, living rooms, kitchens are all centers of the home. Go through each of these rooms and declutter. Start with countertops, drawers, the pantry, and closets. Put sentimental stuff off to the side and determine what needs to stay out and what can be put away. Throw out the trash and make a pile of stuff to get rid of, as well. You can even make a pile of stuff to sell or donate.

Saving Space

While it can be tough to get rid of sentimental items or put things away, not everything can or should be left out. It is important to make sure there aren’t things cluttering up the rooms. This will only increase the risk of falls. You should help your elderly loved one to save space in their home. Have them put that favorite nightstand on the part of their room they rarely walkthrough instead of right next to the door. Saving space will reduce the chances of your elderly loved one taking a fall.

These are some of the tips for cleaning and organizing if you want to prevent falls in the elderly. Each year, many senior citizens fall. They may injure themselves or get bruised up and sore. Either way, you don’t want this happening with your loved one. You want to make sure they are safe and not at a high fall-risk. Have yourself, other family members, and the elder care providers implement these cleaning and organizing tips.