Spring Cleaning Tips for Caregivers

This time of year is often thought of as a time to refresh your life and home; and if you’re a caregiver, this may mean also putting some time and effort into cleaning your loved one’s home. With this in mind, we at Concordia like to emphasize the importance of cleaning for the safety of our loved ones. Spring cleaning can help to avoid accidents from happening – whether it’s replacing batteries in carbon monoxide detectors or de-cluttering your love one’s home to avoid falls.

Tackling this chore can be overwhelming, but if broken up into a few doable tasks over time, it can be less stressful and may even become an event that enables you to spend quality time with friends and family. Below are six tips to get you started:

1. Create a To Do List – Start your spring cleaning off by creating a to-do list to stay organized and help make your tasks more manageable. Remember that you don’t have to tackle all of the items at once, and you may want to include your loved one’s input when making the list.
2. Keep Safety at the Forefront– Safety is one of the main benefits of spring cleaning. Test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, inspect your loved one’s adaptive equipment for malfunctions, and check the expiration date on food and household items.
3. De-clutter – This time of year is a great excuse to go through household items and discard or donate items that aren’t being used and are cluttering your home. This may include organizing and/or safely discarding paperwork.
4. Clean Areas of the Home that Aren’t Routine – You may want to check areas of the home that aren’t a part of your normal cleaning routine such as washing drapes, wiping down cabinets and cleaning out drains. You may also want to clean window screens if you plan on installing them for the warmer months.
5. Ask for Help – Don’t forget that you’re not on your caregiver journey alone. Reach out to friends and family to help you with the items on your to-do list, and give them specific instruction on what they can do, so everyone is on the same page. While your tasks will seem more manageable and you can cross them off more quickly with additional help, you may also enjoy spending the time with these special people in your life.
6. Evaluate Your Loved One’s Needs – Spring cleaning can also be a time to evaluate your loved one’s needs. If you find that you’re questioning whether or not you are able to provide your loved one with the assistance they need, you may want to look into additional help such as Adult Day Services, Memory Care and In-Home Care.

We hope your spring cleaning tasks are something you can get done with little to no stress, and you are able to take in the fresh, spring air with your loved one! If you have other spring cleaning tips that you’d like to share, we welcome you to comment below.

If you have questions about Concordia or are interested in how we can help you and your loved one, please feel free to contact us any time via our online contact form or by calling our administrative headquarters at 724-352-1571. Or, visit the care levels & services page of our website to learn about the types of care we offer.