I am happy to introduce you to my guest blogger today.  Please welcome Scott Sanders of Cancerwell.org.  Because, like most people, unfortunately, I personally know of someone who is fighting cancer, I find this blog helopful and want to share it with you. I hope you find it helpful, as well. 

How to Make Space for a Loved One Who Is Fighting Cancer

There’s a lot to consider when a family member moves in with you. When it’s a loved one who has cancer, your worries are understandably amplified. From cleaning and sanitizing to organizing and making space, you have a laundry list of steps to take before they come home. Here are ways you can create the ultimate recovery space in your home.

Organize Storage Space for Everyone

Whether you need to clear out a room or make space in the garage for your loved one’s belongings, staying organized is vital.

Of course, if you don’t have a garage, you’ll need another long-term storage option. Adding an outbuilding to your property can help protect your or your family member’s belongings and keep them nearby. Choosing the cheapest option isn’t always the best value, though. Think about what materials to choose — whether steel or wood — and how climate can affect them.

For example, steel has the benefit of being resilient against the elements. However, it can be far more expensive than wood. It also heats up in warmer weather, which could affect your items stored inside. Wood may be less durable, but it’s also more affordable than steel. However, wood doesn’t stand up to weathering as well as other materials. Some wood, like cedar, can resist outdoor conditions better than others, however.

You should establish a budget, then research your area and what materials are most suitable for storing your loved one’s and your own belongings.

Consider Home Care Services

Although you may have the best intentions when choosing to move your family member home for recovery, it can be stressful. Many family members of patients wind up feeling anxious, depressed, helpless, and more when they face caring for their loved one full-time. For everyone’s health and well-being, it can help to seek support.

Cancer.net explains that many types of home care services can help you and your loved ones live fuller lives. Assistance ranges from home health aides who provide nursing care to volunteers who merely sit with the patient so the family can have a break.

Living at home rather than in a facility is often preferable for patients with cancer. Considering in-home help can make the transition easier and less intimidating for everyone involved.

Make Safety and Accessibility Modifications

Depending on your loved one’s health status and mobility level, you may want to add safety features to your home. Side effects from common chemotherapy drugs can include a weak heart, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, poor coordination, and other health issues. In short, the effects of treatment may cause safety challenges at home.

Steps like incorporating grab bars in the restroom or non-slip flooring in the halls can help your family member feel safer and more independent. A shower seat can enhance stability while bathing independently, and a first-floor room means less exertion than climbing stairs.

Think about modifications you can make without renovating your home, but don’t discount the possibility either. Fortunately, many renovations can be low-cost and even DIY.

Give Your Loved One Their Independence (and Privacy)

Undergoing cancer treatment can be stressful, painful, and scary. But it can also be frustrating for a loved one who was formerly independent. For family members with strong personalities, focusing on independence and privacy can help you all live together harmoniously.

Ensuring that your loved one has a say in their moving decision is a good first step. Providing choices for where to store their belongings, how to decorate their room, and what type of home support they have can do wonders for their self-confidence. After all, they’re a person first and a patient second. something many people with cancer want you to recognize.

Studies also suggest that patients who self-manage feel more empowered and confident in their recoveries. Therefore, having a say in medical and other decisions is crucial. Programs like prehabilitation, where patients undergo physical and social training before surgery and treatment, can also help your loved one maintain their strength and independence.

Moving your family member home for cancer recovery is a significant commitment. By working together, you can see them back to good health, and beyond.

Photo via Unsplash

Wishing you all the best!

It's been a while since my last blog. Besides working with my client's, this year I am working to declutter and update my own home, from top to bottom. I am giving myself this entire year to do so.

My son recently moved out and that now leaves me with an extra bedroom. I took my time to figure out what I wanted to do with that room. About a month ago, I decided to create a reading room with a beach theme.

Two of my passions are the beach and reading. Since I live in suburbs outside of Philadelphia, PA, our beach season does not last as long as I would like. Therefore, I am extending that feeling of calm and relaxation within my own home.

I have painted the walls a sandy beach beige. The carpeting is dark blue and I am leaving it that way. (It will represent the sea.) I will be putting a small area rug in front of the love seat I am repurposing from my family room with a beach theme inspired design.  I purchased new window treatments with decorative sea shell beads along the top, a seashell filled lamp, a wicker end table and new bookcases to fill with books that I treasure. I will be purchasing some wall decor and other items to complete the look.

The reason I mention all of this is that I want to make a point.

It is very important that, as we go through life changes, we make sure that our real estate reflects those changes. Whether it's a child moving out the home, like mine, or the birth of a new baby, a marriage, a divorce, the death of a spouse or elder parent who had lived in the home, we need to be sure that the real estate we own is being used to its best potential.

Time and time again, when working with new clients, I always make sure that all of the areas of the home are being used.  Often I find that there are bedrooms that lay idle and become a dumping spot for clutter, or a basement is not utilized as good storage space, a garage is so cluttered it does not have enough room for a car.

Over the years, I have transformed many under-utilized rooms in my client's home into something they can use and enjoy, creating a space that reflects their interests.

When life creates change, be sure that your home reflects that change. Reassess the rooms in your home and transform them into something you can use and enjoy. Leaving your precious real estate idle is a waste of space and money. You paid for the real estate; use it.

If you are overwhelmed with the prospect of creating a new purpose for an old space, don't hesitate to contact me. I can not only help you to visual a room to meet your needs, but help eliminate the clutter, get it organized and take the steps needed to see it come to fruition.

It's all about having A Better Space!

I know it's been a while since I last wrote a blog.  I have been spending some much needed time on my own home for a change.  

I decided at the end of 2015 that I was going to go through my home and thoroughly declutter, clean and organize each and every room of my home. I had been so busy last year organizing others that I, unfortunately, neglected my own home.  It was quite an undertaking, I must admit, but the results are great!

I feel so much better when I walk throughout my home now.  I went through my second floor in November and the first floor in December and am finishing up my basement this month.  

I took time to assess my possessions and ask myself if I really needed everything I had.  The answer was an astounding "NO"! I went through my wardrobe, including my collection of shoes and accessories, got rid of old nick knacks that no longer represented who I am, organized closets, cabinets, shelves, drawers and hung some new artwork.  I gathered quite a large number of items for donation and for sale and a lot for the trash.

I organized my home office to get ready to rock it in 2016 and moved old files and paperwork into my storage area of my home to archive.  I went through all of my filing cabinets and got rid of four boxes of paperwork at a recent shredding event too.  

One of the things I paid attention to was whether or not I needed to repurpose any of the areas of my home.

When was the last time you did that?  When was the last time you looked around your home and identified areas or rooms in your home that no longer serve you?  

Have your children grown up and no longer need a play room?  Has one of your children gone off to college or gotten married and no longer lives at home?  Is that well-intended exercise room no longer being used?  Do you no longer spend time in the living room, but rather use the family room instead?

It is so important to use your real estate.  If a room in your home is no longer being used as it was originally intended, it's time for a change.

Start to re-purpose a room by eliminating what no longer suits you.  Determine how that space can be better used and re-create a room that you love.  Add a fresh coat of paint and perhaps an area rug to give it a fresh look. 

Perhaps you do not have a home office and the paperwork in the home ends up everywhere.  Wouldn't it be great to have a dedicated room where all of the paper management in the home can live?  You could turn your unused living room or a bedroom into a home office.  

How about that sitting room you have always wanted?  How about taking an unused bedroom and creating a dressing room?  The possibilities are endless.  

You don't need to have a living room if you don't use one.  You don't need to keep a bedroom unused.  It could become a home office, a work-out room, a sitting room or whatever you have envisioned that you would like to have.

Take some time and go through your own home and look at it with fresh eyes and see how you can repurpose your home.  "The purpose" of your home is to create an environment that you use and love to spend time in.

If you need assistance creating a room that you love, some interior redesign might be the solution.  Feel free to contact me to talk about your particular situation.

Until next time, happy organizing!