Pre-surgery Home Preparation: Your Guide to a Smooth Recovery

Getting Your Home Ready Before Surgery

If you're having surgery or starting a treatment that will leave you tired or less mobile, the medical care isn't the only thing on your mind. You look around the house and know it isn't set up for someone who can't bend down or lift much. You wonder how you'll manage once you're home.

Often, people don't start thinking hard about the house until the date is getting close. By then there's too much to do. We help families get the house ready before that date. The person comes home to a place they can use while they heal.

Why Preparing a Home Before Surgery Is So Hard

You can see what needs doing. Furniture has to be moved so a walker can get through the hallway. Things you use regularly have to be moved off the low shelves so nobody has to bend down after a hip replacement. The problem is doing all of that when you may not be able to move the furniture or lift the boxes yourself.

• Heavy Lifting: You may know exactly what needs to be moved, but that doesn’t mean you can move it yourself. If you have back or knee problems of your own, shifting furniture and carrying boxes may not be an option. A dresser or a stack of heavy boxes is not something you should be tackling alone.

  
  

• Tight Deadlines: The surgeon gives you a date, and suddenly the things around the house that you meant to get to someday have a deadline. Furniture needs to be moved, rooms need to be cleared, and the things you'll need after surgery have to be within reach before you come home.

  
  

• Emotional Calls: Clearing a room means deciding what to do with the things that are already in it. Some may have been there for years. Deciding what to keep, move, donate or let go takes time, and the week before a hospital stay isn't when you want to rush those decisions.

  
  

It’s easy to put the house off while you deal with everything else. Then suddenly there’s a week left.

Clearing Paths and Bringing Things Within Reach

We take the heavy work off your hands. We start with what the person will need to do when they come home. They need to move through the house safely and reach what they need on their own.

• We clear the floor first. We take out the garbage, and we move anything that blocks the path. Now the routes to the bathroom and the bedroom have room for a walker or a cane. Clear paths matter even more when someone comes home tired and sore.

  

  
  

• We bring the everyday things within reach. After surgery you can't bend to a low cupboard or stretch to a high shelf. So we move the kettle, the mug you use every morning, toiletries and other things you use regularly to places that are easier to reach. We put them where you can get them sitting or standing. You shouldn't have to ask someone to hand you a glass of water.

  
  

• We set up the spot where you'll spend the most time. By the bed or the chair where you rest, we put what you'll want during the day, such as your book, phone charger, tissues or heating pad

  
  

• We work around your appointments. In the weeks before surgery you're busy with visits and errands. So we fit the home prep into the time you've got.

  
  
  
  

Coming Home Safely on a Walker

The work you do before surgery matters when you come through the front door. You're tired, sore and getting used to moving differently. That's not the time to discover that the walker won't fit past a piece of furniture or that something you need is on the bottom shelf.

Depending on your hospital, physiotherapist, or occupational therapist's instructions, we will set up the house this way. We can also show you how to keep the paths clear once everyone is coming and going again.

What This Looks Like in a Real Home

Preparing for Major Surgery

One client was going in for major surgery. She couldn't see how she'd get the house ready in time. We cleared the things she'd trip on. We opened up the paths so she could move through the house once she was home. We set up her kitchen and bathroom so she could reach what she needed without bending down. She went in able to think about the surgery instead of the house.

Support During Chemo

Another client was partway through chemo and worn out by it. She couldn't face the clutter on top of everything else. We cleared the hallways. We moved the furniture so she could get around easily. We moved her daily necessities to accessible places so she no longer had to bend over or search for them. What she felt most was relief. She didn't have to manage the house on top of the treatment.

If a Procedure's Coming Up

Someone in your home has an upcoming date, but the house hasn't been prepared for it. We can help you get it ready before the day arrives.

The medical team tells you what you'll need for recovery. We help make the house work that way before you come home.

Call Brad at 416-859-0518 or reach us through the site. We'll talk through what your home needs and how long it'll take.

Writer

Cathy Borg is a professional organizer with In and Out Organizing, serving Toronto and the GTA. She has spent 14 years helping older adults downsize, clear estates, and set up their homes to age in place. After her own knee replacement, she set up her house to manage on a walker, so she knows first-hand what a home needs to work during recovery.