Caregiving …. taking away some of the stress by being better organized

Helpful hints on how to reduce some of the stress of caregiving has been written by Jean F. Wales, Author of Do it Now, An Organizing Handbook for Seniors and Family Caregivers

Stress is the name of the game if you are caring for an older adult. It doesn’t matter if the care recipient lives with you, lives alone (with or without needed help) or in a residence where help is provided 24/7, 365.

You know that you are responsible for this person’s well being and health care. Do you feel up to the task? Not to worry … most of us who are caregivers often have days when we know we are not doing the best possible job. So, give yourself a break and take credit for what you are doing well.

Journaling is a fantastic way to let go of some of your stress. As often as possible, write down what you are feeling, make a list of your achievements and give yourself a pat on the back.

Some Helpful Organizing Hints to Reduce Stress as a Caregiver

What are some ways to be better organized? Let’s start with the not-so-simple job of opening and sorting the mail.

Keep a wastebasket handy and immediately throw away junk mail. Try to have a designated place for handling mail.

Organizing tools you may want to put in your “mail opening and sorting place” include:

• Wastebasket
• Scissors/Paper shredder
• Letter Opener
• Stapler and Staples
• Paper clips
• File folders
• Mail Baskets
• Expanding folder
• File cabinet

Then sort your mail by some kind of system such a stack or basket for the person to whom it is addressed or if it is in regard to insurance etc. Have folders or baskets in which to put mail as you sort it. This system will keep you from losing important items.

Open all the mail at once (use a letter opener if possible, mail will look neater). Then deal with each item separately. Can any of this mail be filed immediately—such as an explanation of benefits form from an insurance company?

Then file it! Don’t pile it.

If you get more magazines than you can read and have a stack of these old fellows lying about—get rid of them! Recycle old magazines. Then Cancel your subscriptions.

Throw away solicitations from charities you don’t recognize. Cut up or shred offers for credit cards and insurance. Make sure all your personally identifiable information is removed from an envelope (if it has an account number on it) before throwing it away.

Cut up or shred old insurance cards or credit cards if you have closed the account. Make sure you are keeping only the most current information in your wallet or in a fire resistant box.

A plastic expanding folder with several pockets that can be labeled will help you be more organized—keep all your information about the older adult in this folder.

Another good tool for organizing is a 3 ring binder with dividers to keep medical, legal, financial and other important information separate. Use sheet protectors or pockets with holes punched for the binder for small documents.

Not all of us are born organized—but we can work at retraining some of our disorganized habits. It is important to take this in small steps—start with an easy project such as the mail, then move on to more complicated projects like a box of old papers or one or two stuffed to the brim file folders.

Have a place in which to sort this information such as: Trash, File, Give to someone else, etc. Stick to such a project for only an hour or two, then take a break—you will need it! Reward yourself with a cup of tea or coffee and give yourself a hug for a job well done.

If you can’t face organizing paperwork, or anything else, on your own, go on-line and search for a professional organizer who can help you with your mounds, stacks and piles.

Once you get a sense of having control over something in your chaotic life as a caregiver, you will feel better about tackling other challenges.

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