Whether your mom or dad is moving from a big house to an apartment or just downsizing for the end of life, it can be a very emotional experience to sort through their home and give away things. You must want to be part of this experience and share the joy and sadness that comes with downsizing. If you live out of state, finding the right companion care at home to help them through this process and be there for emotional support can be crucial. Here are some of the best tips to help your family get through the process of downsizing.
Follow the One Year Rule
If you haven't seen a senior use something for a year and it's collecting dust, ask them to donate or throw it away if it's broken. If it's collecting dust, they probably don't use it or need it. This helps a senior focus on what they use the most, so they can keep it around. This is useful when it is not something of sentimental value or practical use, and allows you to focus on things that need to be tossed before you get to the harder stuff.
Avoid Clutter
Keeping memories and photos can be a great way to save space. It can be hard for your senior loved one to get rid of every pot or pan with a story, and it can take encouragement from companion care at home to toss certain things. If your senior has too many photos, you may convert them to a digital file to allow your senior to look at them whenever they want. Memories are impactful, but clutter can be dangerous to a senior.
Try Donating Things
Your senior mom or dad may keep things because they don't want them to go to waste. This is a reasonable explanation, and by recommending they donate an item, you can assure them it will go to a good home where it is well taken care of and used more than they're using the item. Knowing that something they own will make a difference in someone else's life feels good.
Give Meaningful Items to Family Members
Maybe your mom has a collection of valuable jewelry. Instead of selling it or fighting over it, allow your mom to sit down and think about who each piece should go to. Keeping things in the family can be wonderful for future generations, and can mean a lot to the future kids who receive the items.
Let Go Of Things
A senior may want to keep something that one of their parents had. You can explain that these feelings are totally normal, but if something isn't being used, it's taking too much space for them to hang on to. Especially if they are trying to downsize. Sentimental value is personal, and it does not mean they need to hang on to the physical object for it to be special or important to them.
