House cleaning can be difficult for seniors. Therefore it is important for family, friends, or a caregiver to help seniors with their house cleaning. As we age, it becomes more difficult to accomplish certain house cleaning tasks so making sure to keep in mind what the senior can or cannot do for cleaning tasks based on their age and ability is very important.

When you notice that the senior’s home needs cleaning, start by creating a list of what needs to be done, splitting the list by regular cleaning and deep cleaning tasks. The regular cleaning tasks should be tasks that senior can handle to keep their home tidy. The deep cleaning tasks should be tasks that you will help the senior with to ensure their home has a good starting point and stays clean. Deep cleaning tasks may include window washing, cleaning the furniture, scrubbing the inside and outside of appliances, and other more difficult tasks. Regular cleaning tasks can be listed based on areas of the senior’s home with the most frequently used areas being first in the list. You can start with the kitchen, then move on to the living room, bathroom, and bedroom.

Every home needs decluttering, but it's especially important for seniors. A cluttered home can be dangerous for seniors as it can cause the senior to trip or fall in their home. It can also lead the senior to be more stressed with all the extra clutter in their home. When you help a senior clean their home, always start by decluttering any spaces of their home you can before cleaning. Decluttering the home will help it be easier for the senior to keep the home clean on a regular basis. Decluttering the home does not mean the senior needs to get rid of everything but finding the items in the home that the senior doesn’t need anymore will help reduce the risk of falling and make tasks like dusting easier.

Another important part of cleaning the home of a senior is going through and cleaning out the medicine cabinet, fridge, and panty. These are areas of the home that seniors may collect old items that they may not remember to throw out as they expire or get bad. Cleaning out these areas are important to ensuring their food and medicine is not expired.

Making sure to support the senior in the way they need is an important part of helping them with their house cleaning. Every senior is different so some seniors may need more help than others.