Why Is Clutter Becoming a Problem for Your Senior?

Your senior’s belongings may be more important to her than you realize. What seems like clutter without a cause can actually have a lot more riding on it than she’s let you know. Understanding what you’re up against can help you to make the right choices for her.

Everything Triggers a Memory

One of the biggest reasons that anyone holds onto physical items is because those items have memories associated with them. That’s not a bad thing at all, but sometimes there are too many items that have memories attached to them and they might be overpowering your senior’s home. Often by the later stages of life, your senior has collected items from her past that she wants to share with other family members. That heritage might be better served by handing down those items now to clear the space your senior needs.

She’s Dealing with Other Issues

Poor health, whether that’s from physical ailments or from mental health issues like depression or anxiety, can create issues for your senior with clutter, too. It can become too much or too painful to be able to manage the items that have built up over time. In the past, those items might not have posed a problem, but when your senior’s ability to deal with them fades, that can indicate that she might need to pare them down a bit.

Disposal Seems Impossible

Many of the items that are “cluttering” your senior’s home might not be small at all. They might be larger pieces of furniture. Or they could be smaller items that seem overwhelming simply because there are so many of them. Regardless, disposing of this type of clutter can feel really impossible for your elderly family member, so she may simply try to ignore it.

She Doesn’t Want to Lose Anything

Loss and fear of loss can drive a lot of what your senior chooses to do, especially with clutter. Your elderly family member may reach a point where having lost a lot throughout her life, it becomes painful to think about losing anything else, even if that item seems to serve no purpose in her life. Many people who experience this issue can become hoarders, which can bring with it other problems.

Safety is the biggest concern for your senior overall. That may mean that it’s time for you and her to talk seriously about the clutter she’s got in her home. Elderly care providers may be able to help your senior to maintain her home after you’ve done the decluttering.