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Help Around the House for Family Caregivers

Job Jar Day, A Family Caregiver Awareness Day, is October 22

More than half of family caregivers go it alone in caregiving. And, more than half describe the caregiving experience as “very stressful” or “stressful.”
~ 2011 Family Caregiver Survey Results, Caregiving.com
(For more survey results, visit here.)

Do you have a sibling (or parent or cousin or close friend) who provides care to a spouse, child, adult child or aging relative? Would you like to help, but not sure how?

Caregiving.com is sponsoring Job Jar Day on October 22. The website encourages family and friends of family caregivers (persons caring for family members suffering from a chronic illness or disability) to take time on that day to help around the house at the home of the family caregiver and/or the caree (the person receiving care).

Would you like to help, but not sure how to approach the family caregiver? Simply call the family caregiver in your life and say, “I’d like to come by on Saturday, October 22, to help you around the house. Please let me know what jobs you’d like me to do.” (If October 22 isn’t a good day for the family caregiver, then schedule another day that works.)

Indicate how long you’ll be able to stay (although plan on at least two hours) and which jobs you feel particularly comfortable handling (i.e., grocery shopping, lawn care, simple home repairs). Ask the family caregiver what time you should plan on arriving. Don’t be surprised if your request stumps the family caregiver; often family caregivers are so overwhelmed it’s difficult for them to see what help they need.

To help everyone get off to a good and productive start with their Job Jar Day, Caregiving.com has compiled the following list of jobs that family caregivers may need help with:

1. Installing grab bars in the caree’s bathroom.
2. Adding no-skid backing on all throw rugs.
3. Weeding the garden.
4. Mowing the lawn and raking leaves.
5. Cleaning out the refrigerator.
6. Making, and freezing, enough meals to last a week.
7. “Winterizing” the home, preparing storm windows, cleaning the fireplace.
8. Washing windows.
9. Re-painting areas on walls marked up by wheelchair traffic.
10. Giving the caree’s bedroom a deep cleaning.
11. Cleaning the car that the family caregiver and caree use.
12. Getting caught up on laundry.
13. Mopping floors.
14. Organizing closets.
15. Re-arranging furniture to best accommodate care needs.
16. Removing stains on furniture and in carpeting.

Then, on October 22, show up on time with a smile, your tool belt or cleaning supplies and a box of donuts. Have fun!

***

Job Jar Day is one of four Family Caregiver Awareness Days Caregiving.com has developed; Kiss a Caregiver, Cook for a Caregiver and BBQ for a Caregiver (new in 2012) take place annually in November, March and July respectively. Through these days, Caregiving.com hopes to create awareness of the family caregiver role within the community and within the family. And, they create opportunities for other family members to get involved. Sometimes, both family members and family caregivers struggle to communicate effectively with each other; the Awareness Days try to eliminate some of the communication anxiety. For more information, visit www.caregiving.com. Or, email Denise M. Brown, Caregiving.com Founder, at denise@caregiving.com.

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