The seasonal clothing change looks small until it comes around twice a year. It means pulling heavy coats off a high shelf, checking shoes, washing what has sat in storage, and deciding what to donate. Some of that is a family decision and some of it is a task a caregiver can do. This guide sorts the job before anyone writes it into a shift.

Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.

Step 1: Write down the whole job

Stand in the closet and list every step on paper. Include the steps people forget: moving boxes down from a shelf, carrying a basket to the washer, sorting items that belong to the parent, and taking things out to the car.

Write here: ______________________________

Circle each step that needs a step stool, a reach above the shoulder, or a box heavier than a laundry basket. Those steps change the answer.

Step 2: Test each step with three questions

For each line, answer yes or no.

a. Does the parent need to decide something, such as keep, give away, or wear? If yes, the family keeps that step.

b. Is it a once-a-season job or a daily one? A seasonal job is a candidate for a planned visit. A daily one belongs on the regular routine.

c. Does it need the family's own supplies or a room the caregiver will not enter? Note those lines separately.

Step 3: Sort into three piles

Keep with the family: every decision about what stays, what goes, and what the parent wants to wear.

Hand to the caregiver: washing, folding, hanging, carrying, and returning items to the right drawer, once the family has made the decisions.

Wait: anything that needs a ladder, a second person, or a repair. Write each one as its own line so it does not drop out of the plan.

Keep: ______________ Hand off: ______________ Wait: ______________

Questions to ask before you add the task

1. Is closet or drawer work listed on the scope sheet, or is it an add-on?

2. Will the caregiver use a step stool or reach above the shoulder? What is the provider's written rule for that?

3. How long does this job take in a visit, and is that time inside the regular shift?

4. Who decides what goes to donation, and who drives it there?

What to listen for

A clear yes or no on each step, and a plain statement of the ladder rule. If the answer is loose, such as a promise to help when possible, ask again and have the job written into the scope sheet with its limits.

Walk-away signs

Stop and rewrite the task if the provider says the caregiver will climb without a rule about it, or will move the parent's belongings without a family member present to decide what stays. Stop if the scope sheet says nothing about household work and the answer keeps shifting.

Write it down

Put the three piles on the first page of the routine and keep a copy yourself. Revisit the list at the next season change, because the closet and the parent's needs will have moved.

For how this desk reads the pages it cites, see How We Write the Sheets. For the full order of hiring steps, see Start Here: Five Steps to Hiring.