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Business Journal Reprint from June 14, 2010 / Pages 34-35 NORTH BAY BUSINESS JOURNAL • 427 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa, CA 95401 • 707-521-5270 • www.NorthBayBusinessJournal.com © 2010 North Bay Business Journal. Reproduction in any form prohibited without permission. I Hoarding is a major problem for seniors How to see it, understand it, prevent it and be of help BY JULIE ANN ANDERSON, HOME INSTEAD SENIOR CARE OF SONOMA COUNTY If you begin to notice these signs in senior loved ones or their homes, clutter could start creeping up on them: 1. Piles of mail and unpaid bills 2. Difficulty walking safely through their home 3. Frustration trying to organize 4. Difficulty managing activities of daily living 5. Expired food in refrigerator 6. Jammed closets and drawers 7. Compulsive shopping 8. Difficulty discarding items 9. A health episode such as a stroke or dementia 10. Loneliness In the kitchen, a senior can fall as a result of trying to reach for pots and pans in a cupboard or cabinet that is stacked with too many. They can suffer food poi- soning or malnutrition if food is kept be- yond expiration dates. Or they can have heat or air conditioning turned off as a result of unpaid bills. In the bathroom, expired medications in the medicine cabinet can mean missed medications and can lead to accidental overdosing. Cluttered shelves can prevent a senior from finding necessities. In the bedroom, stacks of newspapers or magazines can be a fire hazard, and too many clothes or shoes can lead to confu- sion. Magazines on stairways or steps can be a tripping hazard, and basements can often be a catch-all for everything caus- ing unwanted mold, mildew, insects and even rodents. Understanding Why There are many reasons why seniors tend to hoard. There’s the sentimental at- tachment to a prom dress, the sense of loyalty to someone who may have given them a gift or the need to conserve be- cause they went through the Depression. There’s also a change in health, where they may not have the energy to clean up like they used to. Perhaps they really en- joy shopping each week and continue to buy unnecessary things. And loneliness can often be a contributing factor to keep- ing too many pictures, keepsakes, news- papers, magazines, clothing and anything else that might be considered clutter in the home. What to do Getting rid of stuff is actually a two-step process: 1) sorting and deciding and 2) dis- posing. But convincing seniors to go through the process can be challenging. If you help your senior by clearing off the table together, you can cheer a small victory by celebrating the accomplish- ment together. Or you can gently ap- proach the idea that too much clutter can actually keep them from being safe in their homes, which could jeopardize their ability to stay there. Clutter is all about control, but so is being the one who decides where stuff goes. Reminding your loved ones if they don’t decide where something will go – donate to charity or give to a family member – someone else will. Caregivers Can Help At Home Instead Senior Care, our CAREGivers can help reduce seniors’ loneliness and fear associated with parting with possessions they have col- lected over the years. Visiting each week, we can help your elderly loved one clean a table, closet or cupboard so that progress is made and a sense of ac- complishment is felt. Our CAREGivers can also spot clutter creep before it gets to be a serious problem or health hazard. Having someone there on a regular basis to help your aging loved one clean up and stay organized can mean all the difference in whether a senior can remain living independently in their own home. For more information about seniors and hoarding, visit our Home Instead blog at http://homeinsteadsonoma.com, where we’ve posted all kinds of helpful resources for you on this topic, including tips from Vickie Dellaquila, certified pro- fessional organizer and author of Don’t Toss My Memories in the Trash. And for a complimentary home care assessment of how a Home Instead CAREGiver can help a senior or elderly loved one get organized, simply call your Sonoma County Home Instead office at 707.586.1516. Or visit us on the web at http://homeinstead.com/sonoma.�
