Does Your Elderly Parent Need to Downsize?
Moving is something that many people only think of as something that younger families do. When it comes to elderly adults, most people think that these seniors have established their homes and that is where they will be for the rest of their lives. While this might be true in some instances, there are times when moving might be the best option for your aging loved one. Downsizing is the idea of streamlining belongings and transitioning into a smaller home. This can offer exceptional benefits for an elderly adult, particularly one who is dealing with challenges and limitations, or who requires more care than you are able to give them if they are living at a distance. As a family caregiver, recognizing when your senior may benefit from downsizing can help you to support them in preparing for this process and going through it as smoothly and effectively as possible.
Some signs that your elderly parent might need to downsize include:
- Financial considerations. Most elderly adults are living on a fixed income. Even with savings, it can be challenging for them to maintain their lifestyle comfortably. Downsizing can help your parent to save money by reducing the cost of their home, giving them the boost of the money they receive from selling their home, and even reducing the cost of their utilities due to smaller space.
- Feeling overwhelmed by their home. If your elderly parent is struggling with physical challenges and limitations that keep them from utilizing them home safely, comfortably, and conveniently, this may be the right time to downsize. Transitioning them into a smaller home or one with a more accessible layout, such as without stairs, can help them to feel more confident in their home and to reduce the risk that they will suffer serious injuries as a result of trying to use inaccessible or challenging features.
- Unused portions of their home. Along with feeling overwhelmed by their home, you might notice that your senior does not use all of their home. They may no longer go upstairs, leaving bedrooms, bathrooms, and other rooms unused, or they may have limited all of their living to only one or two rooms in the home. This wastes the home and the utilities, and diminishes your parent’s quality of life.
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Too much storage. Most homes are full of memories, and this can be particularly true for elderly adults who are holding on to a lifetime of reminders of their lives, their partners, their children, and their grandchildren. If your parent is storing a large amount of belongings in their home, in storage sheds, and even in rented storage units, it is time to go through their belongings and cut down on their emotional and financial expense by trimming down on what they own.
If you have been looking for ways to boost your elderly loved one’s quality of life as they age in place, starting senior care for them might be the ideal solution. A senior home care services provider can be there with your elderly loved one on a customized schedule that ensures that they get all of the care, support, assistance, and encouragement that they need while also keeping you at the forefront of their care routine. The highly personalized services of such a care provider are tailored not just toward their individual needs, challenges, and limitations, but also their personality, goals, and preferences. This means that your loved one can stay safe, healthy, comfortable, and happy while also pursuing a lifestyle that is as active, engaged, fulfilling, and independent as possible as they age in place. As a family caregiver this can give you tremendous peace of mind knowing that your elderly loved one is getting everything that they need both when you are able to be with them and when you are not.
If you or an aging loved one are considering senior care in Dresher, PA, contact the caring professionals at Reliant At Home Care today (610) 674-6860 .
