As the world shakes off another winter, it’s spring-cleaning season once again. Spring will be here before we know it. 

At Philia home care agency, we recognize in order to provide top quality home care, keeping your loved one’s space clean and organized is important! 

For some, spring cleaning might seem like a big job to tackle. But the benefits for seniors, especially those who require – or may soon require – senior care are too big to sweep under the rug. As the weather warms up in DC and Maryland and things begin to thaw, there’s often a need to do some general spring maintenance. For aging seniors, some routine tasks around the home can be difficult to take on, especially if they have mobility issues. We created a list of some of the best senior care tips for spring cleaning so you can assist your loved ones and help make sure their home is a safe, secure environment inside and out.

With yearly spring cleaning, you can:

• Improve the safety of your loved one’s home by eliminating hazards
• Increase ease of living by reorganizing or replacing items
• Evaluate your loved one’s quality of life
• Identify if increased assistance is needed

With all that in mind, here are some of our top senior care tips for spring cleaning…

1. Have a Plan:  Before you start cleaning, make a checklist of the areas you need to cover and tasks that you want to accomplish. Go over this plan with your loved one and use their input to add to, modify, and improve your cleaning goals.
2. Invite Other Family or Friends to Help: Cleaning as a team makes spring cleaning easier and faster. More importantly, it gives you an excuse to get friends and family together, providing your loved one with company. Treat your loved one to a home-cooked meal or to dinner on the town with you and your fellow cleaners when the job is finished. Make sure to stay COVID safe!
3. Involve Your Loved One: As any senior care expert can tell you, getting your loved one involved in any task is important. With spring cleaning, your loved one will be able to provide useful information about what should stay, what should go, and what should be moved for improved accessibility. Even better, if your loved one has the strength to help with lighter tasks, cleaning can be great exercise.
4. Go After Clutter First: Getting rid of clutter helps improve home safety. It also makes it easier to clean. Maintaining a clear walkway for seniors inside the home can help prevent falls. Philia’s complementary Nurse Assessment pinpoints unsafe clutter that can be removed to increase home-safety. Pick up anything on the floor that could be tripped over, such as rugs and unnecessary furniture. If cords to lamps and other things become a tripping hazard, consider moving anything that is plugged in to a different area of the home. Organize items and get rid of unused clothing, furniture, and appliances. It will make your job easier and your loved one’s home safer.
5. Throw Out Expired Items: Having expired medication or food around can be dangerous – especially if your loved one struggles with memory issues. Do a thorough clean of your loved one’s medicine cabinet, fridge, and pantry to reduce the risk posed by expired items. Having a Philia caregiver in the home with your loved one can reduce the risk of ingesting unsafe foods or medications. 
6. Test Safety Precautions: When spring cleaning, use the opportunity to test any safety precautions or senior care safety items in your loved one’s home. Check the secureness and stability of grab bars or call Philia to find out the best way to have grab bars installed! Test fire and carbon monoxide detectors, and perform an overall evaluation of your loved home’s home safety. Change smoke detector batteries. Periodically checking smoke detectors, fire extinguishers and emergency kits is always a good idea. The U.S. Fire Administration recommends testing smoke detectors at least once a month, and batteries should be replaced at least twice a year. A good way to help remember to do this is to replace the batteries when you change your clocks for daylight saving time when you spring forward or fall back. Because smoke detectors are typically located on the ceiling or high on the wall, their location presents a fall hazard for the elderly. Helping your seniors with this important task can reduce their fall risk.

Sometimes, spring cleaning can reveal that your loved one is struggling with their current living conditions. If you feel that your loved one may benefit from in-home senior care, give Philia a call. Philia’s home care assistance provides caregivers who will keep your loved one safe and happy in their home! We are happy to discuss your loved one’s senior care options at (202) 607-2525.