Your elderly family member may need to start thinking about reducing some of the belongings she has currently. That could be because it’s time for her to move to another living situation or it could be because she’s endangering her own safety by having too much in her home. But no matter the reason, it’s likely going to fall to you as her caregiver to help her to work through the issues she has about downsizing.
Everything Has a Memory Attached
For so many people, keeping belongings is about keeping the memories and the sentiments attached to those belongings. Rarely is it the item itself that warrants keeping it for a long time, no matter what. You may find that if you’re trying to convince your elderly family member to reduce the number of belongings she has, sentimental attachments make this difficult more often than you expect.
She May Have to Face Some Feelings and Thoughts
Beyond sentimentality, there are other thoughts and feelings that this process can trigger for your senior. The reasons behind what you’re doing, whether this is to help her to be safer at home or this is to help her to move to a smaller home, indicate that her life is changing. These changes are big ones and might be a stark reminder that she’s nearing a stage of her life that she may not be ready to face just yet.
She May Have an Overwhelming Amount of Belongings
The sheer volume of items that your senior owns may be simultaneously the reason you’re tackling this project and the reason it’s such a difficult set of tasks. This can particularly be a problem if your elderly family member has lived in her home for a long time and has never really gone through any of these items. Putting off that task for years does present a big problem now, but it’s something that you may have to just push through together.
There’s a Lot of Effort Involved
Even if the basement and attic of your senior’s home aren’t packed to the rafters, there may still be a lot of work involved in this project. The physical and emotional effort that she needs to exert may seem like way too much to your senior. If you can spread this task out over a span of months, that may be helpful to her. But if you’re doing this as part of resolving a safety concern, you may not have time to do that.
In most cases, minimalism can be immensely helpful for your senior both in terms of safety and in terms of improving her quality of life, even if she’s not changing where she lives.
If you or an aging loved one is considering hiring Home Health Care in Tierrasanta, CA, or the surrounding area, please contact the caring staff at Love 2 Live Care. Call Today 1-619-291-4663