Hoarding is a major cause of clutter which can be very harmful for aging adults in many ways. Hoarding behavior worsens the condition of aging adults with dementia and can make things frustrating for them and their caregivers. When your loved ones begin to express anxiety about parting with a lot of useless belongings, they need help.
Hoarding leads to clutter which causes difficulties in moving around as aging adults with dementia are confused in a disorganized environment. It has various effects on the physical, emotional, and mental well-being of an aging adult as hoarding can affect their way of holding onto their past memories. Below are ways which memory care in Tarrant County, TX can help with hoarding problems.
Ensuring Physical Safety
The safety of your elderly loved one comes first, and any object that comes in the way of their safety should be removed first. Knowing that hoarded objects can be very harmful to the health and wellbeing of your aging loved one is enough reason to avoid clutter spaces
A retirement community provides a clutter-free environment for all residents as the environment is free from objects that get in the way of safety. This includes hazardous objects such as cleaning fluids, metal objects and many other harmful objecs in the entrance, hallways, and stairways.
Decluttering Their Room
After their safety is secured other unnecessary objects can be removed and sorted. A disorganized room is not good for a resident who has been diagnosed with dementia. Our Memory Care community ensures that all residents’ senior apartments are clutter-free.
It is important to avoid conditions that make residents with dementia anxious or confused. It is helpful to sort items out, and put them where they are meant to be.
Educate Them on Why They Need to Be Safe
Aging adults need to know why decluttering their rooms is in their best interest. It might result in arguments if they do not understand why it needs to be done. The team members of the community might need to arrange some objects without their help, just to ensure the safety of the resident. They also allow residents decide where each belonging should be so that they can easily locate them.
When an aging adult understands that decluttering their apartment is in their best interest, they can be involved in the process. With their knowledge of the danger of hoarding, they can pick out useless items that need to be trashed. It helps their senior living lifestyle when they know where to find their belonging since they know where they wanted each object to be.
Celebrate Small Wins
If your loved one agrees to get rid of a lot of old items, it calls for celebration. They would be able to declutter a whole lot more when they are rewarded for the little victories. When you visit your loved one and you notice that they still have items to declutter in their senior apartment, promise to reward them with something you know they have always wanted if they see it through.
