Senior News Line: Spring cleaning and safety

It’s time to begin my annual spring cleaning, and this year it’s going to be a bit different. Instead of just sticking with the window cleaning, closet organizing and dryer vent vacuuming type of activities, I’m going to concentrate on safety.

Grab bar in the shower: I’m going to bite the bullet and admit I probably should have one. I’ll hire a handyman to make sure it’s done right with the screws put into the studs so it won’t come out.

New batteries in the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors: While the handyman is here, I’ll have him install them because, yes, I’ve given up ladders.

Small rug: The little rug I have in front of the kitchen sink has to go. It has a curled corner, and while I’ve managed not to trip on it, I need to remove it.

The pantry: After stocking up on extra items for the last few years because of the COVID pandemic, it’s time to be sure I didn’t let any items slip past their expiration date.

I’ll need to pull out every single thing and check the dates. This will include olive oil, spices, rice and all canned goods.

In the laundry room this will include bleach, which can go stale and lose potency. I’ll need to look up the production codes to see when it was manufactured. After one year, it’s probably degraded.

Clutter: Yes, I’ve let certain things accumulate. I let myself get lazy over the winter about taking stacks of magazines to recycling — mostly because of the ice that always surrounds the recycling bins downtown. But they have to go.

Drugs: Expired drugs will need to go to the drop-off for disposal so they don’t end up in a landfill.

Consider whether you want to add these ideas to your own spring cleaning list this year.