As your parents or other elderly loved ones start to get older, there’s a good chance that they won’t be able to take care of themselves anymore. When this happens, you have a few different options. For some people, moving their elderly loved one into their home with them is ideal. However, this might require you finding a new home with more space or making renovations to accommodate your loved one.
If this is the circumstance in which you find yourself, here are three ways you can prepare your home for an elderly loved one moving in.
Spend Time Decluttering And Reorganizing
Unless your home is already large, you’ll likely need to spend some time decluttering and reorganizing so that you have space for your elderly loved one to move in.
If there are items that you don’t need or don’t use anymore, don’t be afraid to donate them to those who might get better use out of them. Additionally, if you’ve been holding onto papers for past record keeping purposes, consider scanning those into your computer so they aren’t taking up space anymore. And if your elderly loved one has accumulated a lot of things over the years, try to help them declutter and pare down their belongings as well.
Prioritize Safety
Your elderly loved one will likely have a harder time getting around your house than you do. Knowing this, you should try to make some changes that will prioritize their safety and help them to be comfortable and secure in their new home.
In many homes, some changes that need to take place include things like adding grab bars in the bathroom, removing rugs that could easily be tripped over, adding more lighting to certain rooms, and making seating options more supportive and easy to stand up out of. Taking any and all of these measures will allow your elderly loved one to maintain their independence for as long as possible.
Think About Other Necessary Adjustments
There will likely be quite a few other adjustments that will have to be made when your elderly loved one moves in with you.
Regardless of how far they are moving from, they’ll want to put in a change of address notification so that they can get their mail to the right address. Additionally, if they are moving from far away, you’ll need to help them find a new doctor and get their medications properly moved to a closer pharmacy. You’ll also want to consider helping them settle in with new routines and make friends that they can connect with to stave off loneliness.
If you’re going to be having an elderly loved one move in with you soon, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you prepare yourself and your home for this transition.