Incredibly Easy Tips for Organizing An Older Adult's Home

I have worked with seniors for several years. From my experience, organizing seniors is different. They are more likely to be the ones that want to downsize and get rid of their stuff. Some of them get stuck with their kids' stuff too. And others are likely to have health issues, like bending, knee problems, walking up steps, etc... This post discusses organizing an older adult's home tips for a safe place to retire in their own home. Read on and share with your family member. These tips are greatly useful for family caregivers and older adults to have easy access to everything they need in a secure place to live.

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• Raise stored items to waist height.
• Clear clutter from steps and add lights to dark areas like near stairways.
• Hang baskets on walls near stairs. 
• Buy sturdy rolling carts in the kitchen.
• Take as much as possible off the floors.
• UPDATE 2022: Check out their laundry process to ensure it is not difficult for them.
• Have all essential documents in one place. 
• Keep a recent copy of the medication list posted on the kitchen refrigerator.
• Keep valuables in a hidden place altogether under lock and key.
• Keep all the bills in one place.
• Get helping hands from others.
• Create a "Who does What" list.
• Have a daily used items area in the kitchen.
• Additional Tips for organizing an older adult's home:

Here are helpful tips for organizing an older adult's home. Feel free to check the post out. How to Create a Safe Place for Your Senior Parent.

Raise stored items to waist height.

The first tip to help make your senior parent's home safer is to store items no lower than the upper thigh. Too much bending may be an issue. Take a look at the laundry baskets and other important things that would need a person to bend.

Clear clutter from steps and add lights to dark areas like near stairways.

Adding railings if there is only one to the steps area helps too. Below are examples of adding light to the steps. They are from Amazon.com (affiliate).

Please note these are affiliate links through Amazon, and at no additional cost, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through and decide to make a purchase.

Hang baskets on walls near stairs. 

The next tip is to hang baskets on walls near stairs, so they have a place to hold items to remember to bring them up the steps.  Here is a great hanging basket from Amazon that you can hang at the bottom and the top of the stairs:

Please note these are affiliate links through Amazon, and at no additional cost, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through and decide to make a purchase.

Buy sturdy rolling carts in the kitchen.

If they have a larger kitchen, buy a small, sturdy rolling cart to help move stuff around without carrying it. Below are examples of ones I found on Amazon.com (affiliate). I liked it because the middle basket has sides. 

Please note these are affiliate links through Amazon, and at no additional cost, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through and decide to make a purchase.

Take as much as possible off the floors.

Remove furniture that is no longer used regularly in the senior parent's home. The more space they have, the better. Have multipurpose items, like a table, that also store their documents. Below are some coffee tables that pop up for mealtime or a place to do bills. (affiliate ads from Amazon.com)

Please note these are affiliate links through Amazon, and at no additional cost, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through and decide to make a purchase.

UPDATE 2022: Check out their laundry process to ensure it is not difficult for them.

The laundry can be tricky for older parents. Checking out their laundry process will help you see any fall hazards or issues they may have. Bending down to pick up laundry can be hard for them. Try changing the laundry basket so it is on a table or has wheels. Add a table near the washer and dryer, so they do not need to bed when folding or placing laundry in the washer or dryer. Removable bags work well, too, so they can easily toss or drag the bags to other areas of the home.

Have all essential documents in one place. 

In one secure and locked area in the home, have all important items, like passports, life insurance, will, power of attorney, S.S. cards, and account statements. See this image below or visit the post for 20 PERSONAL IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS TO KEEP SAFE. Visit our HOW TO ORGANIZE IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS IN A FIREPROOF SAFE for a DIY way to organize these documents.

There are plenty of options to store these items. Look for things that are fireproof if possible. There are also estate planning books where they can right the contact information and where the documents are located for easy access. Below are some I found on Amazon (affiliate).

Please note these are affiliate links through Amazon, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through and decide to make a purchase.

Keep a recent copy of the medication list posted on the kitchen refrigerator.

A sheet protector works well to keep the items visible and will not get dirty. Here is an example of a medicine list.  You can even add where these pills are located in the home, like the medicine cabinet in the bathroom.

You can also make a medication schedule that can be hung on the fridge or bathroom wall - wherever they take their medicine.

Below are some items I found on Amazon:

Please note these are affiliate links through Amazon, and at no additional cost, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through and decide to make a purchase.

Keep valuables in a hidden place altogether under lock and key.

Valuable items can easily be stolen if they are out in the open. If you have caregivers coming in and out, you can rest assured that their valuables are protected. Ensure that another family member knows where these items are in the home. You can also remove these items and place them in a bank safe that you and your parent have access to often. Below are some examples of hidden safes you can use from Amazon.com (affiliate).

Please note these are affiliate links through Amazon, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through and decide to make a purchase.

Keep all the bills in one place.

Use an accordion folder that can stand with enough tabs that you can write large words on it. One 13-tab accordion folder works for any single older adult. Visit our what to keep in your bill-paying station checklist below.  

Below are some 13-tab accordion folders from Amazon (affiliate):

Get helping hands from others.

Don't expect to do it yourself. It's OK to ask your other family members to help you remove the clutter. If they want the best for you, they will be happy to help.

Create a "Who does What" list.

This list of contacts should be for nonmedical purposes. It's for the children and extended family caregivers to know who deals with which part of the parent's affairs. Include the person's name, phone number, email address, and what they do for the parent. If there is more than one child, most likely, there will be tasks split between several children.

Have a daily used items area in the kitchen.

This area is intended for an older adult to have all their things in one spot that they use daily. The items can be placed in a clear bin labeled items for today. Leaving these items on the counter or table helps remind them of what they need to take. Some things that could be in this area are medicine, vitamins, reading glasses, pencils/pens, and a notepad.

A pillbox is excellent for pills and can be stored in this area. However, someone will have to divide the pills up each week.

Please note these are affiliate links through Amazon, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through and decide to make a purchase.

Additional Tips for organizing an older adult's home:

Starting slow when organizing an older adult's home, it is important not to overwhelm your parent or loved one.

Stuff could have been around for 30, 40, or 50 years. They may be attached to it because it is familiar, not necessarily useful. Moving items into the garage or basement in secured and safe boxes will get things out of the way and make the loved one feel like they are not losing anything.

Label every bin to help remind the senior what goes in the bin.

You can pack stuff away if they are uncomfortable with getting rid of anything. This is especially true if the elderly have a lot of memorabilia that they want to keep. In this case, you can store it in the garage or attic space in a secured, labeled plastic bin for safekeeping.

Keep closets closed when not in use.

Keep in mind closets can be a hazard for senior citizens, so examine these places while they are using them and then visit our post: THE ULTIMATE CLOSET ORGANIZATION TIPS FOR SENIOR CITIZENS

Make sure when they are mobility challenged, that they have clear paths.

If the senior has mobility issues, take into account where they would be throughout the day and ensure where they would go throughout the house will be safe. Have the elderly parents walk through their day with you, or better yet, spend a day or two with them during the week to see where they go and what they are doing.

Visit the house often.

And lastly, make sure you visit the house periodically to help clean and organize the home, like during spring cleaning.

Visit our other posts on gently speaking with your parent on difficult topic series.

TIPS TO HELP YOUR PARENTS WITH LEGAL DOCUMENTS

DISCUSSION TIPS TO HELP YOUR PARENTS WITH ONLINE ACCOUNTS

TIPS TO HELP YOUR PARENTS WITH PAPER MANAGEMENT

TALKING TIPS TO HELP YOUR PARENTS WITH MONEY MATTERS

TIPS TO HELP YOUR PARENTS DOWNSIZE THEIR STUFF

DISCUSSION TIPS TO HELP YOUR PARENTS DECIDE IF DOWNSIZING IS RIGHT FOR THEM

Getting the older adult's home organized will help everyone and give you peace of mind, not just the seniors living in the house.  If family members know where things are, it will help a great deal if someone can not make it to do a task, it is easy to hand off the task to someone else who knows where things go.  

I hope this helps you get your seniors organized in their homes. Now it is your turn.

What is your best time for organizing a senior's home? Please leave a comment below.

Here are some additional Organizing Elderly people's home articles to help you. 

How to Help Your Elderly Parent Organize their Home

The ‘4 Boxes’ Approach to Helping Elderly Parents