It’s easy to brush off chores and household projects with statements like I don’t have time and I’ll do it later. However, now that Ohio is open, but in a limited capacity to slow the spread of COVID-19, you may still find yourself with a little more time on your hands. Now is the perfect opportunity to tackle those little projects that have been piling up around the house. 

No matter what project you want to get started on first, we’ve got some tips for seniors to help you get through your list. We have general tips as well as project-specific ideas, so you’re sure to find what you’re looking for here.

Photograph courtesy of Episcopal Retirement Services

Getting Started 

For many people, getting started is the hardest part. The first thing to do is prioritize. Think about all the projects you want to do. Maybe you’re looking to organize your photo collection or go through a coat closet. Or maybe you’re wanting to go through a collection of knick-knacks you’ve built up over the years. Don’t try to tackle all of these projects at once. Choose one to start first. Either pick the one that’s most important to you (maybe the photos) or pick the one that will be quickest (probably the coat closet).

If you’re trying to declutter, look at each item carefully and make sure it’s something you truly love. If you enjoy looking at it, keep it! Otherwise, it might be time to throw it away or donate it to someone in need.

It’s also a good idea to plan out your projects first before you get started. Know what your end goal is before you start tackling your project so you can know when you’re done.

Organizing Photos

Like many of us, you probably have stacks photos you’ve been meaning to go through for months or even years. Maybe your kids and grandkids have given you these pictures, or maybe you took them yourself. Either way, simply having the pictures sitting around isn’t going to do you very much good. Start by gathering all the photos you can find.

Then, start sorting them in whatever way you’d like. You might want to organize them by date, or maybe group them by the people in them. If you’re interested and tech-savvy, consider scanning the photos into your computer to create a digital back-up copy.

Once you have everything organized, fill your photo albums and frames so you can look at and enjoy your beautiful pictures! Put any photos you don’t want to display in a watertight box to protect them from damage while still keeping them accessible.

Organizing Knick-Knacks

It’s also a good time to go through any knick-knacks you might have piling up. You can do the same thing with those as you did with pictures. Begin by collecting everything into one place so you can see all of the items at once. Then, go through and see which pieces you like best and which you’re ready to get rid of.

Once you’ve picked your favorite pieces to keep, decide where you want them to be. Put your absolute favorite pieces on shelves you see frequently, and then distribute the others throughout the house as you’d like. Enjoy!

Organizing a Coat Closet

Another often-ignored household project is cleaning out coat closets (or normal closets)! With these, you don’t necessarily have to take everything out and put it all in one pile, although you can if you want. However, if you keep things that aren’t clothes in your closet, consider pulling all of those objects out first.

Then, when you want to start organizing the clothes, you can keep things a bit more controlled and organized by pulling out one piece at a time and deciding whether it’s something you’d like to keep. If you’re looking for a place to donate clothes in Cincinnati, there are plenty of options including GoodWill, St. Vincent De Paul, and Matthew 25 Ministries.

So there you go: our best tips for seniors to tackle home projects while sheltering in place. Which project are you going to start first? Even if we didn’t talk about your favorite project, you can still use these tips to help you cross it off your to-do list!