It’s estimated that approximately 44 percent of all U.S. Make sure you have wide areas in your living room that will allow you to pass by using your mobility device, like a walker or wheelchair. Your day-to-day safety is more important, and any guests will just be happy for the chance to visit. Don’t worry about not having enough space for guests. It can be easy to accumulate furniture, chairs, end tables, and other items throughout several decades living in a home, but ask yourself what pieces you use the most, and which ones no longer fit your needs. If a mobility disability is a new development in your life, consider relocating, or parting with, pieces of furniture that may make navigating your living room a challenge. Follow the tips below to organize your living room to keep the space clutter-free and safe. Since the living room is a place where we spend so much of our time, it can easily become a place where papers pile up, unnecessary furniture is placed, and knickknacks and souvenirs take up every possible surface area.Ī cluttered living room can be difficult to navigate in a wheelchair or with a walker, and it can become a distraction or confusing environment for an adult with a memory or cognitive disability. Throughout the day, the living room is the family’s home base for reading, watching television, socializing, and completing other hobbies. Most Americans spend a considerable amount of time in their living rooms. Organization and Decluttering Tips for the Living Room By taking a proactive approach to maintaining a clean and tidy home, you and your loved one can live with confidence for as long as possible in home sweet home. Review the recommendations and best practices in this guide, and plan your own home organization project. This guide was designed for seniors, disabled adults, and their caregivers, to offer a room-by-room decluttering and organizing resource. In addition, according to the Community for Health Strategies, individuals with intellectual disabilities are 4 to 6 times more likely than the general population to die in a fire, a fall, or from drowning, while studies have found that 75 percent of injuries to intellectually disabled youth, occur at home.įor seniors and disabled adults who want to remain in their homes, a decluttered and well-organized living space is essential to personal safety and wellbeing. Such home accidents could lead to health complications and serious injuries, such as hip fractures, head traumas, and in the worst cases, death. Each year about one-third of seniors fall at least once.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), falls are the leading cause of injury deaths for Americans age 65 and older.
Or a bathroom medicine cabinet packet with expired medications could pose a safety risk if an individual with a cognitive disability becomes confused as to which medication to take.Īccording to the U.S. For example, a cluttered living room with too many closely placed pieces of furniture could pose a trip and fall risk. A disorganized, or cluttered home on the other hand, could pose serious health risks to seniors and disabled persons.
It’s also the reason that adults with disabilities would rather make accommodations to their own home in order to stay there after experiencing a life-changing disability, than move into a facility that can better accommodate their immediate needs.Īside from making modifiable renovations to a home to better accommodate equipment such as wheelchairs or walkers, some simple decluttering and organizing can help ensure your home, or that of a loved one, remains a safe, comfortable, and familiar place of them to live long-term. That’s why, according to the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), nearly 90 percent of seniors say they want to age in their own home. Tips to Declutter and Organize Your Home for Seniors and Individuals with Special Needs It’s an old adage, but it’s true: Home is where the heart is.
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