You can take Mom to brunch or otherwise celebrate her this Mother’s Day (May 12), but you can also do her a favor: Start helping her #declutter and #downsize. Her family home is likely the repository of decades of family memories, photos and other #memorabilia, and she probably could use some assistance in #organizing that legacy. Plus, she will appreciate the quality time you spend together sorting through that #stuff and streamlining her space. You’ll score major cheese points if you volunteer to do a few other #organizing and decorating chores such as framing family photos or hanging shelves. #HelpMomDownsize #MothersDay
Tag: downsizing
Helping Aging Parents Downsize
Most people will eventually face the fact that their aging parents won’t live forever — and they’ll likely need to adjust their living situations as they age. And that typically means that they need to sort out a lifetime’s worth of stuff before moving into a smaller space.
It’s a big job — especially when the parent or parents have lived in the same home for many years. Moving is stressful under the best of circumstances, but giving up a home filled with memories can get emotional even if the kids are there to help.
To help a downsizing parent, schedule bite-sized #decluttering sessions, Houzz says — no more than four hours per day, a few times a week. Spacing the sessions out will allow all parties to have some quality time together without getting overwhelmed by the task at hand.
For proper downsizing, try to get a picture of what the parent or parents’ new lifestyle will look like: Will they be cooking, entertaining, traveling or dressing up to go out? Their goals and interests can have a big impact on what they need to have in a new place.
Start by #decluttering the least sentimental items such as linens and clothing. Chances are that they have a lot of these and can pare them down easily to only what’s needed in a given week. Then gradually move on to the more difficult decsions.
Consider digitizing photos and other memorabilia, says Highgate Senior Living. Prints and collectibles can take up a lot of physical space, but digital photos or video scrapbooks can preserve the memories without the burden of extra #stuff.
One wholesale #decluttering strategy is to label everything with Post-it notes, designating what will definitely go to the new housing environment, what gets distributed to family members and what gets sold or #donated.
You aren’t really helping a parent #downsize until that extra #stuff is removed from the home, however; they can backslide on their decisions if things are allowed to sit there in limbo. Schedule a #free #donation #pickup — or multiple #pickups — at ClothingDonations.org.
It’s difficult to watch your parents get on in years. But with a little forethought, you can help aging parents adjust to a new space and lifestyle in their golden years.
Summer Reading for the Dedicated Declutterer, Part 2
As anyone who has ever moved after a few years in the same place knows, #decluttering often goes hand-in-hand with #downsizing. While its title has the unfortunate tendency to get people singing from the Frozen soundtrack, Peter Walsh’s Let It Go can help people going through a major downsizing resulting from a divorce, marriage, death in the family or move. The book can help readers sort out their feelings surrounding that #stuff, keep only the most meaningful #mementoes and divide up inherited possessions. After #downsizing, Let It Go encourages readers to focus on learning, experiences and helping others. #SummerReading
Help Mom Be More Minimalist
Moms — everyone has one. And this Sunday is the day many among us will celebrate them. You might do that by taking her out to brunch, giving her a day off, flowers, cards or a call.
There’s another option that can help you show you care, however, in combination with one or more of those classic options or separately throughout the year: Help Mom be more minimalist.
No two moms are alike, of course; some are packrats with closets full of clothes and big collections of tchotchkes and gewgaws; some are spartan neat-freaks. Wherever yours fits on that spectrum, she needs help managing and organizing her #stuff.
We at The Organizing Blog were fortunate to have moms who kept everything #neat and #tidy, never allowing unwanted or unused #junk to pile up. But there was nothing they liked more than a little help with their household tasks.
If your mom is getting older, it’s more urgent for you to help her #downsize. There may be many things that are easy to let go, says Aging Outreach Services, but handle sentimental items with care.
If a move to a smaller space is imminent, make an action plan to eliminate everything but the essentials, room by room. Recruit family members and friends to make a day out of a decluttering effort. And most importantly, be patient.
Repeat the process as often as as necessary to get Mom to a refreshed, #decluttered place. It might even be something you can bond over — especially if you have a #garage sale that helps fund a dinner out or a spa day.
Remember, you can schedule as many free #donation #pickups as you want at ClothingDonations.org to get any extra clothing or unused household goods out of Mom’s sight as quickly as possible.
Helping #Mom #declutter is a Mother’s Day gift that keeps on giving. Not only will she appreciate having a cleaner, more organized space, but both of you will cherish the time you spend together.