Yes. Lots of little household chores make someone look for help with senior care in Grayson. Care Pros help with routines, organization, reminders and other daily tasks. Older adults retain control over their money and choices. We do not aim to take complete control of the household.
A growing to-do list or an untouched pile of mail does not imply an inability to live alone. Maybe all the small duties that need constant upkeep have become even harder to juggle now. In Grayson, the right kind of support may allow someone to keep their independence by restoring the workable routine.
Which Organizing Tasks Can a Care Pro Support?
A Care Pro can help someone by establishing a system for daily tasks without taking control of someone’s finances.
This is very important. Let’s say there is mail on the kitchen counter. The first step may be for the Care Pro to place all of the mail on the kitchen counter in one spot and separate mail for the household from ones that the older adult needs to review. The Care Pro does not need to prioritize which mail should be paid, disputed, should be canceled or needs to be changed.
Based on the Care Plan, support may look like:
- Collecting mail to be placed in a designated spot
- Separating mail from junk mail
- Gently reminding the senior about tasks they want to do
- Putting a calendar in a high traffic area of the home and writing a list of tasks
- Supporting a routine of the home
- Supporting completion of a long series of tasks by breaking them into smaller tasks
- Being present during the completion of tasks (especially longer and more complex tasks)
While other support services offered are based on the older adult's routine, our goal is not to 'redecorate' someone's home to suit someone else. Our goal is to identify areas in someone's day that may be the most challenging and offer support while maintaining someone's chosen routines.
This may mean supporting tasks around the household, or it could mean supporting the mail getting to its usual spot each day.
What Should Stay With the Older Adult, Family, or a Financial Professional?
Managing paperwork versus managing money is extremely different.
The Care Pro is not a decision maker about someone’s finances. The choices about bill payment, financial transfers, account changes, signing financial documents, investing, and deciding what to do with someone’s money should remain with the older adult or an authorized family member or financial professional.
How can you tell the difference between tasks that deal with structuring an environment vs. making a financial decision?
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Tasks that deal with structuring an environment |
Tasks that deal with making a financial decision |
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Putting mail in one place |
Whether or when a bill should be paid |
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Categorizing paperwork based on choices made by the older adult |
Authorization of payment or transfers |
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Writing a task on the calendar that another person agreed to do |
Authorizing checks or other financial documents |
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Reminding another person to do a task that they planned |
Banking or investment decisions |
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Making sure paperwork that needs to be done is easily available |
Taking possession of finances or records |
Delineating the line makes the older adult more independent. It also lets everyone know their assigned tasks.
Families can still be involved as needed. If a parent would rather that their son or daughter, an accountant, lawyer or other trusted person, take care of some financial matters, the household routine can easily be adapted so those things can be reviewed. The Care Pro can maintain the routine and be a support, but not make the decisions.
What are some good ways to make a routine with mail and household chores?
The system that is used tends to be the system that gets used.
I would prefer something that is already familiar and closer rather than using a complicated filing system. For example, if someone has always kept bills on one side of the kitchen table, there is no reason to put everything in color-coded folders in another room.
Creating a routine can start with these five actions. First, decide on one mail pick up spot. Choose the same basket, drawer, or tray for mail every day.
Second, decide on three or four categories. These could be keep, review, or recycle.
Third, set a paper work due date. Setting a specific day or time of day can help alleviate the burden of having to do paper work daily.
Four, keep your chore list separate. Mixing work, grocery, and appointment lists can make everything overwhelming.
Five comes the financial split, If financial matters are handled by a family member or a professional then this should be clear.
This method can be used for household tasks. Instead of looking at the entire house and thinking everything has to be done at once, assess what affects the person’s daily routine the most.
This could mean the person having clothes prepared to wear, or having a workable kitchen. Maybe the biggest issue is them remembering what tasks they have already done.
Good support should limit the number of steps necessary to complete a task without making a person feel like they’re a guest in their own home.
When does sudden disorganization need a medical follow up?
A gradual loss of the ability to take care of yourself isn't the same as a sudden loss of your ability to do common tasks.
When older adults confuse commonly performed tasks, safety concerns extend beyond homemaker service agencies. Family members should reach out to the person's primary care physician.
Non-medical home care is not equipped to determine causes for memory, judgment, attention, or organizational impairments.
A Care Pro can ease the physical environment, but answering medical questions legitimately deserves professional healthcare. Families can be in this situation and need both forms of assistance at the same time. Someone can benefit from assistance maintaining a household routine to be assessed for a new or progressive medical condition.
Additionally, not every stack of mail should be viewed as a crisis. Rather, take note of the task and evaluate the situation and how quickly it changed. Determine if the individual has other problems completing routine activities.
Frequently asked questions regarding senior care in Grayson
Can a Care Pro assist in mail and paperwork organization?
Yes, a care Pro would facilitate a Care Plan involving the organization of the mail and paperwork. This may mean moving all the mail to one spot, eliminating visible clutter, establishing an activity reminder system, and putting personal papers in order. The older adult should make the final decisions regarding the organization of their personal documents.
Can a Care Pro manage the finances of an older adult?
A Care Pro should not take the place of someone who makes financial decisions. Paying bills, authorizing transactions, signing financial documents, account management, and deciding how financial resources are allocated should be taken care of by the older adult or a family member or financial professional who has been authorized. Home care services can assist with organization, but should not take over financial management.
What tasks can senior care help with around the house?
The support depends on the specific needs of the individual and the Care Plan. Home care provides support for daily household routines. In addition to routine tasks, home care workers can help with a supportive schedule and other tasks that are needed to be done on a daily basis. Prior to care, families can talk to the local Home Instead team about which tasks have become too difficult.
What do I do if my parent does not want someone to reorganize the home?
The focus then should not on reorganizing the home. Initiate a conversation with your parent to find out what they are needing help with. The older adult may want or need someone to support them with a task once or twice a day, but still want to maintain the house unchanged. It is important to maintain the same daily routines.
How do we figure out how much help is needed?
Look at the tasks that are often left unfinished or causing distress. It doesn't mean that someone is in need of assistance for every day to day task when they miss a bill or forget to do a load of laundry. Care Plans are made based on an older adult’s wishes to retain as much independence as possible and where they would require help.
When should “messy” be a concern for the doctor?
Messy doesn't become a concern until there is a significant, sudden change and/or the disorganization is no longer normal behavior for them. Although disorganization can be managed through home care, they cannot offer a reason for changes in memory, concentration, or the ability to carry out routine tasks.
Are we able to get him/ her the senior assistance before it's too late?
Yes. There's no reason to wait until every task becomes a struggle. Older adults may benefit from help for some tasks whilst still retaining control over their routine. Starting to address the problem first helps retain the most control rather than completely losing it.
If mail, paperwork, and household tasks are starting to get too much for Grayson, we are more than happy to provide our suggestions on what would make a complete Care Plan. This can be done either by our Home Instead team serving the Lawrenceville area or by our Home Instead team at our local office. There we can help build a complete Care Plan for an older adult.
About the Author
Matt Cohn has spent more than 25 years helping older adults and their families find the right support to remain safe and comfortable at home. As an owner of Home Instead locations including Lawrenceville, he has worked closely with families and care professionals through many of the decisions that come with aging and in-home care.
