Organization Tips for those with Visual Impairment

By having a place for everything and remaining consistent with your home organization, you will make it easier for you or your loved one with low or no vision to be confident in knowing where things are!

Here are some of our favorite tips!

Store Items in the Same Place
Take out the guesswork! Everything from toiletries to cereals should be kept in the same place each time you stock up so that finding them becomes routine. When adding new items to your home, label them until accustomed to locating them!

Use: Braille labels, labels with large, contrasting print, or pens that create raised print or dots on items for easy identification.

Reduce Clutter
Declutter expired, broken or rarely used items, and you’ll be able to see whether you have duplicate items that you can donate. By reducing clutter, you will make it easier to make room for necessities and organize them for identification and location.

Labeling with Rubber Bands
Create an identification system for items that are the same size and shape and use different numbers of rubber bands to distinguish between them. (ie – put one rubber band on cans of corn and two rubber bands on cans of peas)

Organize Clothes by Color
Some people opt to put their clothes away by color so they know where to go for their red shirts and blue jeans because items are grouped accordingly. Putting socks in a drawer by color also is helpful.

Home Office?
Want to organize the home office in a functional manner? Make equipment, accessories, and files easy to access. Use multi-colored folders and label them with large print or Braille. Consider using open-drawer filing systems instead of filing cabinets that have closed drawers. Make sure the desk promotes workflow.

If you or your loved one has a closed circuit television (CCTV) or video magnifier, make sure that it sits off to the side with the computer directly in front of the person and the printer to the left. With this desk layout, the computer can be accessed first because it is the equipment used most often and then printed materials can be used in the CCTV as needed.

xo

Eryn