Tips for Streamlining Your Care Efforts for Your Parent on Simplicity Day

July 12th is Simplicity Day. As a family caregiver, this is the ideal opportunity for you to evaluate your care efforts for your aging parent, and find ways you can simplify your efforts and streamline your daily activities. This not only can reduce your stress and save you time, but can also make your efforts more beneficial for your aging parent. Simplifying daily activities can boost your parent’s independence and reduce their dependence on your input with every need, while ensuring the input you do have is as beneficial as possible.

Use these tips to streamline your care efforts for your aging parent on Simplicity Day:

• Create a routine. Routine and predictability are very important for elderly adults, especially those who are dealing with cognitive functioning decline. Having a routine allows your parent to know what to expect, structures their day, and can help to give them things to look forward to, which is important to to mental and emotional health. Work with them to establish a routine that manages daily tasks such as getting dressed, eating meals, and caring for their home, as well as extra activities such as outings with you.
• Use a calendar. A basic a calendar can be one of the most effective and beneficial tools you can use in your care routine. Having a large calendar easily visible in your home, as well as your parent’s home, lets you write down everything you need to do, which reduces the chances you will over schedule a day, and gives your parent the ability to check the calendar and handle tasks on their own. Consider using color coding for easier reference.
• Use meal planning. Set aside a day out of every week to plan meals for the rest of the week, or even plan meals for the month. Having these plans in place eliminates the “what’s for dinner?” questions, eases your planning for each day, and makes grocery shopping faster and easier.
• Multitask as much as possible. When you are caring for a parent, you are likely caring for your children and own home as well. Multitask in your care efforts to take care of as many things as you can at the same time. Grocery shop for both homes together, bring laundry from your parent’s home to yours to wash together, or run errands all at the same time rather than breaking tasks up by household or person.
• Accept help. When friends or family offer help for caring for your parent, be willing to accept it. If you do not have a care team, consider elder care. A professional care provider can take on tasks to reduce your stress and streamline your daily life.

Simplifying your daily routine can make life as a family caregiver not only easier, but also more effective. Introducing senior care into your care routine can be a fantastic step toward simplifying without sacrificing quality or effectiveness of care. With the personalized services of a senior home care services provider, your parent has access to support, assistance, and care designed with them as an individual in mind. This means their specific needs are addressed in ways that are right for them while also encouraging them to enjoy an overall higher quality of life. This not only helps them, but also gives you the ability to step back, take more time for the other responsibilities of your life, and experience far less stress throughout your care journey.

If you are considering elder care in Southington, CT for your aging parent, please contact the caring staff at Franciscan Ever There Care. Call today 203-630-2881.