Clothing storage is something that your elderly family member might not have thought much about in the past, because the systems that were most commonly used likely worked for her. As she ages and as her needs change, she may also need a new system for dealing with her clothes.
It Might Be Time for a Closet Purge
There might be more clothes lurking in your senior’s closet and dresser drawers that she doesn’t wear than you realize. It could be time to go through and do a bit of a purge. This is especially important if your elderly family member’s health needs have changed how she dresses and the types of clothing that’s easiest for her to wear. Anything that doesn’t fit or that doesn’t meet her needs either needs to be donated or put into deep storage. The most accessible clothing should be the items she wears often.
Reconsider How Things Get Stored
Your senior’s clothing storage might have worked well for her in the past, but does it still? People with cognitive challenges might find that they forget about clothing in a closet, for instance. Or your elderly family member might find it difficult to fold clothing if she has arthritis. Look at her health issues and evaluate whether switching to something like open bin storage might be more helpful.
Make Sure She Can See Her Clothes
The biggest thing to consider is whether your elderly family member can see her clothing well in order to decide what she wants to wear. In some situations that might literally mean is the lighting bright enough for her to see her clothes? In other situations the question might be whether there’s room in whatever storage your senior is using to be able to easily see individual items.
Take the Time to Find the Right System
The key part of all of this is to take some time and find the right system. It doesn’t have to be immediate or the prettiest solution at first, but when you take your time you’re going to be much more likely to land on the answer that your senior needs. Don’t focus on whether it’s “right” other than whether it solves problems for your senior.
Keeping up with laundry and other household tasks may also be making clothing storage difficult for your senior. Elderly care providers can help, with this chore and many others.
If you or an aging loved one is considering elderly care in Eden Prairie, MN, and the surrounding areas, please contact the friendly staff at CareBuilders at Home Minnesota. Call today 612-260-2273.
