Three Ways To Help Your Loved One Prepare For The New Year

We’re creeping up on the new year and with so many changes in the world it is important to sometimes focus on the changes that need to be made close to home to make your loved one who is aging in place more comfortable and safer during the new year. It can be good to have grandiose plans for your own personal goals, but when you’re dealing with a loved one who is aging in place, simple and small changes can make a big impact.

As we ring in the new year and welcome 2023 with open arms there are some small things you can do to help make your loved one more comfortable and feel more at ease in their home as they continue their aging in place journey. You don’t have to spend a lot of money or even a lot of time to make these changes happen, but they can have a tremendous impact on your loved one’s life.

So, where to start? The best place to start is making sure there are safety measures in place. A grab bar in the shower is a perfect entry point to making some of these small changes in your loved one’s home. They may balk at it at first, but who among us, no matter the age, hasn’t had a situation in the shower where we’ve almost lost our balance and would have benefited from a grab bar in the shower. This small change can help save your loved one from an embarrassing fall in the shower and can keep her/him upright as they continue to remain independent.

This one small change can be an entry point into having discussions about other bigger changes that might need to take place in your loved ones home. For instance, you may need to have a discussion about moving her/his bedroom to the first floor of the home. This can be a BIG and drastic change and one that requires discussion with your loved one before unilaterally making this decision so taking small first steps, can lead to discussions about bigger, high impact changes.

The next thing you can do that is a good small change that could make a big impact is to help your loved one figure out a meal service that they can subscribe to so they can continue to cook without the hassle of having to figure out dinner every night and doing all of the grocery shopping to get the ingredients for something to make. Cooking for themselves may be something that they enjoy doing and continues to give them great independence but it can also be tedious and time consuming. A meal service will deliver all of the ingredients needed, with complete instructions on cooking the ingredients and your loved one will still be able to have the freedom of cooking for themselves.

One final thing you can do for your loved one who is aging in place is to help her/him declutter their space. It can be easy when you are living on your own to let the clutter pile up, but it can also be debilitating when you are surrounded by things that need tidying up and you don’t have the energy or the mobility to do it yourself. Taking a few hours to help your loved one tidy up her/his space can make the world of difference and encourage her/him to keep the space tidy for the days ahead.

New Year’s resolutions don’t have to be big and scary, they can be small changes that help a loved one get to a place of independence with a little more flexibility. These small changes can lead to bigger changes that will make their lives aging in place more enjoyable for years to come. As we ring in the new year make sure you keep those who are aging in place in your life in mind as you decide on which resolutions you will tackle first.

Happy new year!