Aging in Place: The Importance of a Clean and Organized Home for Seniors

The trend of aging in place continues to grow amongst Canadian seniors. As we age, maintaining a clean and organized living space is not simply about aesthetics – it has a significant impact on health, well-being and safety. However as our loved ones age, cleaning can become increasingly difficult. This may be caused by a variety of factors. With age bending and crouching become harder as knees and backs become weaker. Coupled with poor vision, cleaning and organizing can quickly become a stressful chore. Nevertheless, having a clean space is vital to having good health, especially for seniors.

If you notice your loved one is having trouble keeping up cleanliness as they age it might be time to consider getting more involved or hiring help. Here we explore the benefits of regular cleaning and the steps you can take to help your loved ones out.

Benefits of having regular housekeeping:

1. Safety and Accessibility: A cluttered home presents many opportunities to get injured. Decluttering and cleaning regularly significantly reduces fall risks. Having clear walkways allows seniors to move around freely as well as improving accessibility for seniors who use mobility aids such as walkers, canes or wheelchairs.
2. Improve mental health: Having a disorganized house can be stressful and add to mental clutter. Living in clean spaces has been shown to improve mental health and reduce stress
3. Better health: Not cleaning areas like the bathroom or kitchen properly can lead to poor health from increased amounts of bacteria and pathogens. Having help with cleaning also means your loved one will not suffer any physical injuries while cleaning.
4. Social interaction: Whether you hire a cleaner or go over to clean more often, it provides a chance for social interaction for your loved one. Cleaning visits will no longer simply be a job or a chore, it can be a time for meaningful bonding
5. Less burden on caregivers: If someone is already providing care to your loved one, cleaning becomes an additional chore. Having help with cleaning and organizing helps reduce the burden on the primary caregiver.

How can you help the loved ones in your life?

• Discuss the need for regular housekeeping: Before you jump in to help your loved ones or hire help, have a conversation. Don’t try to force your help onto them, instead have an open discussion and explain why they will benefit from having someone help clean their house. Figure out a solution and schedule when you or help you hire can come  clean.
• Identify the areas which require the most help: Discuss which parts of the house need most organizing. Create a plan to slowly clean the space. If it is simple clutter, sort items out to discard or keep and put them away. If the problem is bigger, consider hiring help to come in once or twice a week. You could also have deep cleaning done once a month if light cleaning is not an issue.
• Get involved and hire help as required: When possible, come over and help your loved ones with cleaning up their house. If you live far away and cannot be there to help you can always hire a housekeeper to come in and help out your loved one whether it is on a weekly basis for light housekeeping or deep cleaning once a month.