tips on organization/household maintenace

[BlueK58]

Second Post woohoo (think i posted it in the wrong category the first time...ops:shock

I am caring full time for my mom. Over the past 2 years things have been so crazy that yardwork/general household maintenance has piled into a mountain. A friend came over recently and cleaned up our yard which was so sweet and an immense relief. Almost all of the cleaning has been left to me (live with messy man-children lol). In their defense, they have been much better about cleaning up but still have a long way to go. Now with hospice visiting daily I am in a frenzy to get the house somewhat clean before they come. I am still teaching the aid how to understand and work with my mom (which takes up time rather than giving me some to clean). Any tips on how to keep things handy/organized or from piling up?
I do overnights with my mom and about 8+ hr days so the quicker and more organized the better! I know I could be better organized but this is not my strong point. I began spending a few hours preparing and freezing casseroles or putting easy things like chopped chicken into tupperware for easy meals because that is all I could think of. But dishes laundry trash and so on get out of hand so fast. Also we tried a chore chart that was a total flop and just caused arguments--so I know this is something I just need to take charge of. Any tips or advice would help. thank you!

 

[Barbie]

You need to ask a friend to help you organize everyone you know. Many people want to do something they just don't know what. To do and it is exhausting for you
To do the supervising . Thee is a website called many helping hands and another called caring bridge. They help organize helpers. Or u can have a friend send out. An email with specific jobs u need don:laundry weekl vacuuming lawn care groceries dinners dogs to vet etc.

Hospice is not there to critic your housekeeping so don't worry about that!

 

[minnesota]

Hello,
Here are a few things I've found helpful:
1. As Barbie mentioned go to Lots of Helping Hands or Caringbridge and sign on to their free website to coordinate help
2. Make a list of everyone you can possibly think of who will help (even if for one job per year)
3. Find a trusted friend you can relay the jobs to and who will post the jobs so you know who's coming and going
4. Or designate the jobs to people and explain exactly what you need (i.e. bathrooms and kitchen floor cleaned Friday between 4-6pm and can't visit, because you are resp for other things)
5. Consider asking neighbors to rotate doing the laundry--you drop on the front step in a basket (Monday and Thurs) and they return the laundry the next day folded and in the basket
6. Take a look at Share the Care book for ideas

Hope that helps a little.

 

[BlueK58]

Thank you Barbie and Minnesota! I will check out those websites and make a list of people who I think can help. I really appreciate it!