Independence-4-Seniors Home Care in Chicago knows that most of us have at least one area of the house that’s designated as the catch-all for everything from our high school yearbooks and stacks of photo albums to boxes of clothes, tools, and assorted sports memorabilia that we may have a use for “someday”. Garages, attics, closets, and hope chests were made for just such a purpose, right?
But what happens when “someday” never arrives, and those piles of things are actually more of a problem than a benefit? For seniors who’ve amassed an entire life of mementos, it can seem impossible to tackle the duty of figuring out what to do with everything through the downsizing process that a lot of aging adults experience in later years.
A helpful question to ask yourself for each item you are trying to determine whether to keep, throw away or give away is, “Does it spark joy?” This tactic, according to the strategy in Marie Kondo’s book “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up,” allows for significant decluttering along with an opportunity to revisit the past and come to peace with it. It can be an emotional process, but the end result is freeing.
A general change in mental attitude tends to make all the difference between the drudgery of downsizing and the comfort of making certain an older adult’s Chicago home is well organized. An expression has even been coined to get rid of the negative connotations of “downsizing”: “rightsizing”. It encompasses making the living environment perfectly suited for the next phase of life, and celebrating that change. It places the focus on treasuring the things being kept, instead of on the loss of items that may, in point of fact, have simply been accumulating dust.
Independence-4-Seniors Home Care is available throughout the Chicago area to help with home organization tasks, and can coordinate larger scale work such as removal of home furniture and other large items. Our friendly aides are also on hand to share in reminiscing over favorite treasures, going through picture albums, and being attentive as the senior shares life experiences, in addition to hands-on help with the “rightsizing” project itself. Contact us at (630) 323-4665 for assistance.