If you are about to pay a visit to your grandparents soon, and you are feeling rather reluctant, it might be because you just don’t want to enter a home that has become too cluttered.
On one hand, your senior loved ones might be unable to keep up with the work required to keep the place organised. Another problem is that often times there is just too much junk that they hold on to for sentimental reasons. You need to take some steps into giving them useful tips on downsizing, as that will enable easier cleaning service and overall provide their home with much needed free space. It is a delicate topic, which must be approached carefully. Here are few ideas on how to deal with the problem and solutions that have been approved by many Vancouver real estate experts:
- Assess your loved ones’ needs - time has passed since your relatives really used all of the items that are currently present in their home. Are there tools and equipment that is no longerusable? Could it be that your senior loved ones still have some equipment that they are no longer able to use? It is such items that only take up space and collect dust, which then makes home cleaning all the more difficult. It is obvious that they are not going to be used, so you might as well help your relatives dispose of them.
- Re-organise the home - sometimes it is not the extra volume of junk that creates the problem, but rather how it is organised. Ideally, everything should be easy to reach and easy to stash, but that is not always the case with the homes of seniors. Take a walk around and evaluate the storage space and whether it is adequately used. It could be that the items are located all around the home, while they should be all placed in a drawer that is unoccupied. Some domestic cleaning may do wonders to remedy the clutter problem of the home.
- Talk about the clutter problem with your relatives - regardless of the method you use for decluttering, one thing is for certain: you have to first approach your senior relatives about the issue. Do consider that senior people tend to think highly of every single item at their possession, as often that is accompanies by a ton of memories. They are afraid that if they lose the item, they will lose the memories. Assure them that is not the case, and tell them that memories can be preserved through photos for example, which take up less space than actual items. Next, all you will have to do is help them perform declutter and cleaning service. Experience shows that in many Vancouver homes, the main problem was that the senior people were simply unable to carry out the task of downsizing on their own. To learn simple steps in downsizing please attend our next FREE workshop. Contact Michael for next scheduled event.
- Introduce the way of disposal - some senior homeowners don’t want to downsize because they don’t know how to. It might be physically challenging for them to perform the task, or they might not be aware of the ways of doing so. You can put up their items online for sale, or donate them to a local charity. It is such options that can make them more willing to part with their items.
Downsizing is a difficult task that your senior loved ones are certainly going to need help with. Do consider the specifics and provide some assistance? Contact Michael to schedule a FREE consultation.