While it can be hard for some people to create and maintain an organized living space, it can often be even harder for people to do this as they grow older. Not only do you seem to acquire more and more possessions the longer you’ve been alive, but your options for storage often shrink as well, since you don’t want to store anything in places too high, too low, or too deep. But with the right planning, you can create a strategy for organization that will be easy to accomplish and simple to maintain.

To help you see how this can be done, here are three tips for organizing living space for the elderly. 

Let Your Loved One Be In Charge

As you start to offer your help in organizing the life and belongings of an elderly loved one, Kalena of CareAparent.com, shares that you should always let your loved one be in charge of their own space. Even if you think you know what’s best, it’s important that you keep in mind that it’s their stuff and their life. While you should do your best to make life easier to manage for them, you should absolutely get their opinion on where to put things, how to organize or categories, and what will work for their life or not. 

Try To Reduce Clutter

Because most elderly people have a lot of belongings that they’ve accumulated over the years of their life, many may struggle with having too much clutter around their space. But according to CaregiverStress.com, having too much clutter in the living space of a senior citizen could be a real safety hazard. 

Knowing this, you should try your best to be patient with your loved one as you help them reduce clutter as much as possible. If they’re comfortable with it, talk to them about gifting or donating their unneeded items to those who could use them. Especially if your loved one is about to move into an assisted living facility or is otherwise trying to downsize, reducing clutter by getting rid of things is a must. 

Hide Cables and Cords

Another safety concern that you need to keep in mind when helping your elderly loved one organize their space is how to keep them from tripping or getting tangled up in cords and cables. 

While you might be ok with cords or cables running along the floor in certain areas, Halle Summers, a contributor to SeniorNews.com, shares that having cords or cables on the floor should be avoided at all costs for the elderly. With this in mind, make sure you help your loved one find a way to organize their cords and cables so they’re up and out of the way. 

If you’re wanting to help organize living space for your elderly loved one, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you with this.