Super Family Caregiver

It’s hard to stay on top of house cleaning while managing caregiving responsibilities and your “regular” life of work, family, and taking care of yourself.

One way to keep up with everyday and deep cleaning tasks is to:

1. Create a weekly cleaning schedule: Designate specific days and times for different cleaning tasks to avoid overwhelming yourself. For example, vacuum on Mondays, do laundry on Tuesdays, and so on.

2. Break large, deep cleaning projects into smaller chunks. For example, instead of deep cleaning the entire living room at once, focus on windows one day and dusting furniture another day.

3. Delegate tasks: If possible, involve other family members or consider hiring help to share the cleaning responsibilities. This can free up extra time for you.

To help you with planning and tracking your cleaning chores, I created this Cleaning Spreadsheet. It’s fully customizable, and you can create cleaning checklists for every room in your home. Then add your cleaning lists to one of the trackers and check off each chore once it’s done.

Be sure to use Code SPREADSHEETS25 to save 25%!

Cleaning Spreadsheet | Super Family Caregiver Family caregivers have the important responsibility of ensuring cleanliness in both their loved one's designated area and the entire home. Utilizing this Google Sheets Cleaning Spreadsheet can help with scheduling and tracking these tasks effectively.

If you live in Vancouver, WA and need help finding an assisted living facility for you or a parent, then give Family Values a call.

My brother and I contacted them to help us find a new home for my mom. Raisa & Jackie scheduled tours of adult family homes and assisted living facilities. They wanted to show us the difference between the smaller and larger facilities. They answered questions and gave us the pros and cons of each place.

They're both friendly, caring, and very knowledgeable. When my mom changed her mind on an adult family home, I contacted Raisa. Two hours later, she and Jackie met me at a smaller assisted living facility. I took my mom there the next day, and she loved it and signed the papers to move in.

Without their help, I would have spent hours calling around and touring on my own. Raisa & Jackie made the whole process easier and less overwhelming.

Family Values Adult Placement Agency | Helping Seniors Find Great Care We connect seniors with licensed assisted living communities in the Vancouver and Southern Washington area. Call for a consultation today!

If you live and work in Washington, a new payroll deduction goes into effect on July 1st. It’s for the Washington Cares Fund which will help with long-term care expenses such as medical equipment and paying family caregivers. Though it won’t help me with taking care of my mom, I’m glad that it’ll help other seniors and family caregivers in the future.

Washington Cares Fund lauded as valuable safety net Christina Keys was chasing the American dream while working in the technology field when her mother, Patricia, suffered a stroke, leaving her paralyzed on one side and in need of full-time care.

This Self-Care spreadsheet is designed to help caregivers add more self-care to their daily life. It includes activities, trackers, affirmations, gratitude prompts, and a fun bingo card!

Self-Care Spreadsheet | Super Family Caregiver This Self-Care spreadsheet is pre-filled with self-care suggestions, affirmations, and gratitude prompts, so you can easily choose what works for you. Then, you can stay accountable by using the trackers or even challenge yourself with a fun bingo card. Take care of yourself, starting today!

Saving money can be tough for family caregivers, especially if they quit work to take of their loved one.

The 52-Week and 30-Day Savings Challenge spreadsheet helps with getting a savings account back on track.

You'll enter your savings goal, and the spreadsheet will calculate how much you need to save each week or day. As you deposit money into your savings account, you'll see how much progress you made towards your goal.

Even though the deposits may be small amounts, they do add up over time.

Use code WEEKEND20 to save 20% through April 17th!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1462046913

Self-care is an essential part of being a family caregiver. Not only does it help to maintain good physical and mental health, but it also helps to keep the stress of caregiving from becoming too overwhelming.

Hi everyone! Sorry for being absent for so long. I had a lot of things and changes going on.

One change is changing the name to Super Family Caregiver. This is because I wanted the website and Etsy store names to be the same. I couldn't do that with FamilyCaregiverPrintables and FamilyCaregiverTools.

These fun caregiving t-shirts offer a way to brighten your day while raising awareness about the challenges of caregiving!

https://familycaregiverprintables.com/pages/t-shirts

Do you suffer from caregiver burnout?

Signs of Caregiver Burnout and How to Prevent It Know the warning signs and prevent burnout before it happens.

New caregiver t-shirts coming your way. Here's a fun one to wear while caring for your loved one.

Available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BSXQWTHP

I’d like to compliment all family caregivers out there. It’s wonderful that you selflessly help a loved one every day. Give yourself a high-five! You’re amazing!

A new blog post about a "bathroom" problem that my mom and I had at the casino last week.

Casino Bathroom Problem A family caregiver story about needing to take mother to the bathroom at the casino. There wasn't a handicapped stall in the first restroom that we went to. This posed a problem for us.

Do you know about Aging Care's Caregiver Forum? I discovered it recently.

I like that it provides a place for caregivers to ask and answer questions. Here are a few recent questions

- What techniques can I use to clean parent who won't let me?

-I told my mom I have to go home and she's angry about it. What do I do?

-How can I help my wheelchair bound mom lose weight?

Besides learning from the questions and answers, I learned that I’m not the only caregiver facing “the challenges” of caring for a parent.

Caregiver Forum and Support Group - AgingCare.com Caregiver forum and support group providing caregiving advice and tips on elder care, caring for a parent, caring for a spouse and other senior health issues.

Happy New Year! I know it may be hard for you to find the time to take care of yourself. But it’s important for family caregivers (and everyone!) to take time to work on their goals.

In my experience, I achieve more when I work on my goals:

Consistently: I do my best when I commit to “taking an action” for any 5 days out of the week. This gives me extra flexibility in my schedule and I don’t feel like “I failed” on a goal if I have a bad day or take the day off.

For 10 minutes: Because ten minutes isn’t long, I find it easier to get started. It’s less overwhelming to say, “I’ll spend 10 minutes on decluttering the bedroom closet” than it is to say, “I need to clean the whole bedroom closet.” Most times, I do end up working longer. But if I don’t, it’s ok.

Over time, those 50 minutes (10 minutes a day x 5 days a week) do add up.

I printed this Habit Tracker and wrote down daily actions. On Feb 1, I’d like to see at least 20 days checked off for each one.

If you would like a copy of the Habit Tracker, it’s included in the 2023 Planner Set. It’s free and you can print as many copies as you like for your personal use.

Don’t worry if you don’t have a color printer, as there’s a black and white version too.

https://familycaregiverprintables.com/products/2023-planner

If you like, post your habit tracker below and let’s stay accountable together!

Wishing you a very happy 2023!

Quick Question: What challenges did face with putting your loved one in an assisted living home or other residential facility?

My brother and sister-in-law came to visit during Christmas. One thing we discussed among ourselves was putting my mom in an Adult Family home.

The Pros:
1. She’ll be around other people besides me. She’ll have more people to talk to and maybe make some friends.

2. She and I would do more fun things together. Right now, we hardly do anything fun because it’s hard for me to be her caregiver, daughter, and friend. Usually after I do my “caregiving” tasks, I need time to myself or there are other things that need my attention.

The Cons:
1. It’s expensive at $6,000 - $7,000 a month. My mom doesn’t qualify for any financial aid. It wouldn’t take long for the monthly expense to eat up her retirement.

2. My mom doesn’t want to move to a facility.

I know we need to have more discussions and I need to research our options a bit more. But if you've been through this, please share how it went for you.

Merry Christmas to those of you that celebrate it! If you experienced cold weather, I hope it didn't disrupt any travel plans or make your holiday weekend less enjoyable.

I hope you enjoy your last week of 2022 and have a fantastic 2023!

My 86-year-old dad lives alone in Arizona. He started having memory problems earlier this year. My brother (lives in California) has been visiting my dad off and on to help him.

While there, he arranged for a caregiver to visit my dad twice a week.

My dad reluctantly agreed to the caregiver. He also agreed to pay the caregiving service with his credit card.

Earlier this week, my dad looked over his monthly credit card statement. He didn’t recognize the charges from the caregiving company. He also forgot that he’s now paying weekly for a caregiver.

So, he called his CC company and disputed the charges. The caregiving company called my brother to tell him the charges were reversed. My brother called my dad and explained what the credit card charges were for.

My dad said he’ll pay, but didn’t offer to pay with a check or other credit card. Therefore, my brother paid the caregiving company with his credit card. He now needs my dad to reimburse him.

What would you do so this situation doesn’t happen again?

For what it’s worth, my dad has the $$ to pay for the caregivers. That’s not the issue.

What are you giving your loved one for Christmas?

I'm giving my mom:

1. Sweat pants (she said she needed some)

2. A banana hanger - she eats a banana day and the bananas go ripe very quickly. Someone told me that they don't ripen as quickly if you hang them.

3. Cupcake body wash bars - just for fun! I posted the link so you'll know what they look like.

4. A bottle of Arby's Horsey Sauce - a gag gift that's practical! She enjoys Arby's roast beef sandwiches with horsey sauce on them.

Your turn!

Kitsch x Sprinkles Body Wash Collection For a delicious, moment of self-care, indulge yourself in the rich, creamy lather of our body wash bars inspired by your favorite Sprinkles Cupcakes flavors. It’s a decadent shower-time treat that feels first-bite-of-cake good. Whether you’re craving chocolatey red velvet, a sweet strawberry del...

The Anger Management Journal has just been added to the shop!

You'll find it here: https://familycaregiverprintables.com/products/anger-management

Be sure to use Coupon Code Winter50 at checkout to save 50%.

Hello! I'm glad you're here. I thought that it's time that I introduce myself. I'm Diana and I take care of my mom. I'm also married, have a bird, and have an online business.

Please introduce yourself too!

Looking for an inexpensive gift for your mom or dad that has everything?

I always give my dad a photo calendar! He loves seeing pictures of my brother and I when we were little kids. If you have kids, your parent will love pictures of the grandkids.

It's a nice gift because your parent can use it all year!

I buy mine from Snapfish. Be sure to use their coupon code and use a cash back site like Rakuten. Even with shipping, the gift is under $20.00.

Online Photo Printing & Personalized Photo Gift Ideas | Snapfish US Snapfish digital photo printing service helps you print pictures, create photo canvas prints, customize photo books, mugs, greeting cards, invitations + more.

I believe that I get enough "me" time. But I usually have to work it around my mom's schedule. How about you?

Mornings are when I get my “me time.” This is when I get a few hours to myself while my mom is still sleeping.

My typical mornings go like this:

1. Wake up between 3:00 am and 6:00 am. The time depends on when my husband has to go to work. His shift varies, and he can start as early as 4:30 am. Even if he's not working, I'm usually up by 6:00 am.

2. Light chores: I don’t spend a lot of time on housework, but if needed, I’ll empty the dishwasher or start a load of laundry. If my husband goes to work, I’ll make his lunch.

3. Coffee and Computer Time: Next is a cup of coffee in front of the computer. This is when I check things – email, Facebook, Etsy orders, and other business things. I also review my to-do list or create a to-do list if I didn’t do so the night before.

4. Exercise: After coffee, I exercise for 20 to 25 minutes. I’ve been doing Pahla B workouts for the past 2-3 years. I like that they don’t involve pushups, jumping, or burpees.

5. Shower, Dress, and Eat: Not much to explain here!

6. Work: I earn money by blogging and selling digital and physical products online. So, after I’m dressed and ready to go, I work on my business until my mom gets up. This is my best time to work because the house is quiet and as a morning person, I’m at my mental best.

My mom usually gets up around 9 am. Once she’s up, then it’s time to weigh her, administer her breathing treatments, put on her compression socks, and make her a cup of coffee!

What’s your morning routine?