Indianapolis Housekeeping Services says that the task of maintaining a clean, safe home becomes increasingly challenging anywhere in the world, as our physical bodies show movement limitations and caution as we grow older. When you have parents, friends, or family members who live independently you may have noticed that they are not as active as they used to be. You might also see and observe them struggling a little more to do house cleaning practices just to keep and maintain their home as clean and neat as it used to be.
You may have been doing house cleaning for an elderly family member, friend, or loved one in your life, and you’re looking for ways to make sure they stay independent. Here are some tips to make your housekeeping efficient and, at the same time, reduce some of the unique risks that seniors face.
Make a Checklist
Organize and create a checklist of all the basic housekeeping chores and discuss it with the seniors. Try to ask them what they can do versus what they can’t do. In this way, it will help you gauge the things they may ask for help from. This will also build honesty and transparency between them and the house cleaner which will help in avoiding possible future accidents and injuries. Include some day-to-day chores, weekly chores, as well as noting some deep cleaning tasks that might require a few helping hands.
Organize the Cleaning Supplies
Look for a safe, accessible place that should be reserved for all house cleaning supplies. Consider storing a second set of cleaning supplies upstairs if you live in a multi-story home to avoid carrying heavy or awkward cleaning supplies and tools up and down the stairs. A house cleaner or a maid is often better suited for transporting things like vacuums and mop heads to avoid falling off the stairs and injuries one can get from carrying heavy materials.
Write a note.
In order to stay safe, remind the senior citizens to hold off on certain tasks until assistance is available. Record additional tasks that may be difficult to accomplish alone when cleaning as a way of instructing them to wait for help when needed. Some examples of house cleaning tasks to ‘ask for help’ are moving heavy furniture and rugs sweeping and/or vacuuming or taking out heavy trash bags.
Taking care of a loved one’s house cleaning can be a challenge. Whatever relationship you have with the elderly, try to understand that asking for this kind of help can also be difficult for them. They may be frustrated, embarrassed, or ashamed to ask for help to accomplish things they’ve done without a second thought their entire lives.
Here are some tips that may help you in managing your time as you help and approach an elderly with house cleaning:
Safety First
Identify tasks that are beyond the physical capabilities of an elderly person. You may wish to tackle housekeeping tasks for them that require heavy lifting, bending, or twisting like taking out the trash, vacuuming, taking heavier items up or downstairs, moving furniture to clean, scrubbing floors, cleaning the bathtub, and cleaning the toilet.
Organize Dangerous Clutter
It is common for seniors to accumulate a lot of valuable items during their lives, but those items can also pile up, creating a potential hazard. As part of the house cleaning, Indianapolis Housekeeping Services suggest that you encourage them to eliminate clutter as much as possible to reduce the risk of falls. Donating items seniors no longer need is a great way to reduce the amount of clutter around the home. It will also make cleaning a little easier too!
Accessible area for everything
Work with your loved ones to establish an easily accessible location to place everything they may need throughout the day. This will reduce clutter and help them feel and stay more organized. These items may include cell phones and chargers, coats, shoes, medicine, and even car keys. Regardless of age, we all forget things from time to time. Placing items we need and use every day in a common area can help minimize the frustration of misplaced items and keep things better organized.
Partner with us
Aging is a natural and unavoidable process, but it doesn’t mean giving up everything you used to do. With the right support, seniors can age comfortably in their homes longer and with less risk. So if you’re helping an elderly family member or friend around their home, you may find that you need help keeping up with it all. We will be very happy to assist you with any Indianapolis housekeeping services. We offer daily, weekly, monthly, or appointment cleaning services that can help you get it all done. Feel free to contact Maggy Maid of Indianapolis and we’d be glad to send you quotations and offers.
