Caregiving at Home: 12 Practical Ways to Make Everyday Life a Little Easier
- Donna Sparks Farmer
- Aug 6
- 8 min read
Updated: Aug 13
When I was caring for my late husband, Mike, at home, I learned something no handbook could have taught me: you don't have to do everything the way you've always done it.
As his dementia progressed, ordinary parts of our day became harder. Getting dressed, taking medications, going to the bathroom, preparing meals, leaving the house and even sleeping required more thought and planning. Underneath all of it was the constant responsibility of keeping him safe.
For a long time, I kept trying to figure out how to make our old routines continue to work. Eventually, I realized I was asking the wrong question. Instead of asking, “How do I get us back to normal?” I started asking, “How can I make this easier for both of us?”
That simple change in thinking made a difference in the way I approached caregiving at home.
If you're caring for someone with dementia or Alzheimer's at home, here are some of the things I learned along the way that may make your days a little easier too.
1. Make the House Work for the Life You're Living Now
As dementia progresses, your home may need to change too. That doesn't mean turning your house into a hospital. It simply means looking at familiar rooms through a different set of eyes.
Walk through your home and think about what could happen if your loved one became confused. Could they trip over a rug or piece of furniture? Can they safely find the bathroom at night? Are medications, household chemicals, tools and other potentially dangerous items secured? Could they walk out a door without you knowing?
Something that was perfectly safe for years can become a problem as dementia progresses. I learned that sometimes changing the environment was much easier than trying to change Mike's behavior.
Your home doesn't have to function the way it always has. It needs to function for the life you're living now.
CareDonna Recommendations:
2. Make the Bathroom Easier Before You Think You Need To
The bathroom can become one of the most challenging areas of the home. Wet surfaces, getting in and out of the shower, sitting and standing, and nighttime bathroom trips can all become more difficult as mobility and cognition change.
Depending on your loved one's abilities, grab bars, a shower chair, handheld showerhead, non-slip surfaces or an elevated toilet seat may make personal care safer and easier. Good lighting is important too. Something as simple as motion-activated lighting between the bedroom and bathroom can make nighttime trips easier.
The important thing is not to wait until after a fall or frightening incident to start looking at the bathroom differently. If you see something becoming difficult, that's your opportunity to make it easier.
CareDonna Recommendations:
3. Simplify Getting Dressed
Getting dressed can become frustrating for both the person with dementia and the caregiver. Too many choices can be overwhelming, and tasks that once happened automatically may suddenly require several steps.
Instead of opening the closet and asking, “What do you want to wear?” try offering two choices. You can also lay clothing out in the order it needs to be put on. As dressing becomes more difficult, comfortable clothing with simple fasteners may be easier than complicated buttons, belts, shoes or clothing that is difficult to pull on and off.
And if the outfit doesn't match? Let it go.
I eventually learned that not everything needed to become a battle. The goal wasn't a perfectly coordinated outfit. The goal was getting through the morning with as little frustration as possible.
4. Create a Caregiver Station
This one isn't really for your loved one. It's for you.
Caregiving comes with an unbelievable amount of information and “stuff.” Medication lists, insurance cards, doctors' phone numbers, appointment information, medical paperwork, thermometers, blood pressure monitors, chargers and notebooks can quickly end up scattered throughout the house.
Create one place where the things you regularly need live. It might be a basket, drawer, cabinet or binder. The exact system doesn't matter nearly as much as knowing where everything is.
When you're exhausted—or suddenly heading to the emergency room—the last thing you need is to be searching through drawers trying to find an insurance card or medication list.
CareDonna Recommendations:
5. Simplify Medication Management
Medication management can become surprisingly complicated when you're already juggling everything else. Even something as simple as remembering whether the morning medication was given can become difficult when you've been interrupted five times.
Depending on your situation, a pill organizer, medication chart or medication dispenser may help. I also recommend keeping an updated medication list with the medication name, dosage, when it's taken, prescribing doctor and any important allergies. Keep that information somewhere you can grab quickly if you suddenly need to go to the hospital.
And don't guess when it comes to medications. If you're unsure whether something can be crushed, skipped, combined with another medication or given at a different time, ask the pharmacist or prescribing healthcare professional.
CareDonna Recommendations:
6. Think About Wandering BEFORE It Happens
This one is very personal for me because Mike disappeared one night for more than 13 hours. It was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life.
After that night, I had cameras and trackers everywhere I reasonably could. I used them on doors, the driveway, keys, his wallet, vehicles and even clothing when I could manage it. I couldn't physically watch Mike every second, but technology could give me another set of eyes.
I learned the hard way that you don't want to create a wandering plan while your loved one is already missing.
If wandering is a possibility, consider what would help in your particular situation. That might include door alerts, cameras at entrances, motion sensors, GPS trackers or identification. Keep a recent photograph of your loved one easily accessible and know ahead of time what you're going to do and whom you're going to call if they disappear.
Preparing doesn't mean you're expecting the worst. It means you won't have to figure everything out while you're terrified.
CareDonna Recommendations:
7. Make Nighttime Safer
Nighttime can become an entirely different world with dementia. Your loved one may wake confused, look for the bathroom, believe it's daytime, wander around the house or try to leave.
Keeping pathways clear and providing enough light to safely navigate frequently used areas can help. Depending on your circumstances, door alerts, cameras or other safety measures may also give you another layer of protection.
But there is another person's nighttime needs that matter too: yours.
If you're regularly staying awake because you're afraid of what might happen while you sleep, tell your loved one's healthcare team what's happening. Exhaustion affects everything, including your own ability to safely provide care.
Caregivers need sleep too.
CareDonna Recommendations:
8. Make Meals Easier, Not Perfect
There were days when simply getting food prepared and eaten felt like one more enormous job. I eventually realized this wasn't the season of life when every meal needed to look like it came from a cookbook.
Use shortcuts when you need them. Keep easy foods available. Make extra portions on days when you have the energy. Use convenience foods when they make life easier.
Pay attention to changes in eating, though. If your loved one begins coughing or choking while eating, frequently holds food in their mouth, loses significant weight or seems to have difficulty swallowing, contact their healthcare provider.
Fed and safe is more important than perfect.
9. Keep a “Grab-and-Go” Caregiving Bag Ready
Appointments can be stressful enough without trying to remember everything you need five minutes before leaving the house. Keeping a bag packed with commonly needed items can take one more task off your plate.
What goes into it will depend on your loved one's needs, but you might include a current medication list, insurance information, a change of clothing, incontinence supplies, wipes, snacks, water, a phone charger, a comfort item and important medical information.
Then when you have an appointment—or an unexpected trip to the hospital—you can grab the bag and go.
CareDonna Recommendations:
10. Let Technology Be Another Set of Eyes
One of the things I had to accept was that I couldn't physically watch Mike every second of every day. No caregiver can.
Cameras, door sensors, trackers and other technology aren't replacements for caregiving. They're tools. For me, they became another set of eyes when I couldn't possibly be everywhere at once.
There is no prize for making caregiving harder than it already is.
If something safely makes your day easier, helps prevent an emergency or gives you a little more peace of mind, use it.
CareDonna Recommendations:
11. Ask People for Specific Help
Caregivers hear “Let me know if you need anything” all the time. I believe many people genuinely mean it, but when you're already overwhelmed, figuring out what “anything” means becomes another responsibility.
Instead, try giving people something specific they can do. Ask someone to stay with your loved one Tuesday afternoon while you get your hair done. Ask them to pick up groceries, bring dinner or sit at the house for an hour while you take a nap.
I've heard “take care of yourself” more times than I can count. The problem is that telling a caregiver to take care of themselves doesn't create the time or opportunity to actually do it.
Sometimes caregivers don't need another person telling them to take care of themselves.
We need someone to come give us the time to do it.
12. Give Yourself Permission to Choose the Easier Way
This may be the biggest lesson I learned.
Caregiving does not have to be done perfectly. The house doesn't have to be perfect. Dinner doesn't have to be perfect. Their clothes don't have to match. And you don't have to accomplish everything you accomplished before caregiving entered your life.
You will probably have to change routines that worked for your family for years. Some days you'll choose convenience. Some days you'll lower your expectations. Some days success simply means everybody made it safely to bedtime.
That isn't failing at caregiving.
If something makes caregiving easier without compromising your loved one's safety or dignity, that matters.
What I Wish I Had Known Earlier
Looking back, there were so many things I learned only because something happened and forced me to find a solution. That's one of the reasons I created CareDonna.
I don't want another caregiver to have to discover everything the hard way.
If you're caring for someone at home today, take a few minutes and look around your house. Instead of thinking about everything that needs to be done, ask yourself one simple question:
“What is making our day harder than it needs to be?”
Then start there.
Maybe you organize the medications. Maybe you put a light in the hallway. Maybe you pack an emergency bag. Maybe you order something that makes bathing easier. Maybe you finally ask someone to come sit with your loved one for an hour.
You don't have to solve the entire caregiving journey today.
Sometimes making one thing easier can change the whole day.
And sometimes making tomorrow just a little easier is enough.
💜 Donna
Founder, CareDonna
💜 My Caregiving Recommendations
Over the years, I found that having the right tools could make an incredibly difficult job just a little easier. I've put together products and resources that may help with different parts of caregiving at home.
Disclosure: Some links on CareDonna may be affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these links, CareDonna may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products or resources that I believe may be useful to caregivers.
This article is based on my personal caregiving experience and is provided for general educational purposes. Every person's needs are different. Talk with your loved one's healthcare professionals about medical concerns, medications, swallowing difficulties, mobility issues, significant behavioral changes or other individual safety concerns.
