Healthy Living for the Elderly
Healthy Living for the Elderly
It is an inevitable truth that as we age, keeping up with cleaning becomes more challenging. Regardless it also becomes more necessary to ensure that the house is clean to provide a healthy happy home. For the Seniors, it becomes imperative to create a system of cleaning techniques and support. This will allow for healthier living conditions and in respect longer lives. Here we have provided an overview on healthy home techniques for Seniors.
With a long life comes an accumulation of objects and memories. However more objects in the house allows for more places for dust to accumulate and makes the house harder to clean. If it is becoming too cumbersome, it may be time to pass sentimental items to loved ones or perhaps it’s time to store unused sentimental items in storage. Consider items that could be considered hazards and organize objects to keep all possessions orderly. For electronics and lamps, Professional organizer and family caregiver Carrie Kauffman recommends “placing cord organizers to keep them contained. Also consider any objects that may cause slipping hazards such as rugs. By having an organized and decluttered arrangement, your living space becomes easier to navigate that eases the cleaning process.
If you are struggling to declutter and organize, consider hiring a professional organizer or asking your home care assistant for assistance. Consider how the space is being used. Has an old family member’s room become a place for storage? Try to dream up the potential of what that room could be used for, whether it be a quite study or a sun-room. Not only is this a great way to declutter, but it’ll allow more freedom of house navigation.
If you or a loved one are having trouble navigating around the house, marking containers and goods may be a great way to add some extra organization to your living space. This should include lables for refrigerated goods and their time of expected expiration. Try to keep foods that are closer to expiration closer to the front of the fridge to ensure they don’t get lost in the shuffle. It is also wise to make it routine to check the fridge every couple of weeks for lost or expired foods.
For elders who are cleaning, it is important to protect oneself from being injured. Avoid bending or stretching when possible. If there is a job that requires bending or contortion of the body, try to limit work to 10 to 15 minutes or ask a care giver, family, or friends to provide the cleaning for you. Try diluting any cleaning solution into a bottle to refrain from having to bend down and dip the sponge into a bucket. For vacuuming, consider the floors you have and use a vacuum that accommodates for that flooring. Light weight vacuums typically have an option for hardwood floors so you should be able to avoid needing to sweep.
Cleaning an entire house can be daunting. However by setting cleaning tasks to specified days, you can create a rhythm that ensures that the house remains in a healthy condition and makes house cleaning more manageable. Prioritize rooms that are used the most such as the bathroom and kitchen, setting tasks by their importance. Tasks such as washing the dishes can be done on a nightly basis while vacuuming can be set as a weekly task.
Try not to put off the dishes, it is a daily task that can become cumbersome quite quickly. It is suggested that seniors clean dishes after every meal or at least daily. If dishes are becoming a problem, consider your cookware, it is much easier cleaning a glass dish used for baking then a cast iron skillet.
Greener cleaning tools equates to a healthier home, a purer environment and better air quality. According to Leslie Reichart, a nationally-recognized green homekeeping expert and writer of the book The Joy of Green Cleaning, [when you use many cleaning products] “harmful chemicals are being released into the environment.” It’s important to stay mission focused. The purpose of cleaning is for health and safety so it’s important that you prioritize your health with cleaning. Avoid using chemicals with strong chemical odors; instead focus on green cleaning products.
Stayed tuned to the healthy home blog for more resources on green cleaning products. You can also contact us to get a professional green cleaner to providing a safe clean environment for living.
You want to ensure that you have a plan of support to assist your aging loved one. This can include establishing roles, delegating tasks and having an emergency assistance plan. It is also important for caregivers to consider your own health. Experts suggest the healthiest course of action for Seniors relying on care providers is that they should adopt minimalist living approaches while keeping the house organized. As a caregiver, if you find that you are spending too much time cleaning or organizing unnecessary unused items, it may be time for that item to go into storage or passed on.
Diminished vision and hearing, cognitive decline, and limitations in mobility are just a few of the many challenges brought on by aging. Despite these conditions, according to the AARP, 76% of adults 50 and older want to remain in their current homes.
For this reason, Caring.com has developed a resource to help seniors and their families determine if aging at home is a viable option. They detail programs, services, and other forms of support available in North Carolina to help aging residents continue to live at home. You can view it, as well as a guide to in-home care, here:
https://www.caring.com/senior-care/in-home-care/north-carolina
https://www.caring.com/senior-care/in-home-care/