Homemaking and home helper
Homemaking help: meals, laundry, errands, and a clean house
Homemaking is help with the housework and errands that pile up when getting around gets harder. It’s often the first help families bring in, before anyone needs hands-on care.
Licensing and caregiver screening
Licensed Home Care OrganizationCDSS license #374700397
Caregivers on the state registryLive Scan fingerprint check (CA DOJ and FBI) and TB test
Owned by a registered nurseMildred Kiminyei, RN
Signs your parent needs help at home
These usually show up before anything dramatic happens:
- Expired food in the fridge, or hardly any food at all
- Weight loss, or eating the same thing every day
- Stacks of unopened mail or late-payment notices
- Laundry piling up, or wearing the same clothes several days in a row
- A house that was always tidy and isn’t anymore
- Missed appointments since they stopped driving
What’s included
- Light housekeeping
- Dishes, counters, vacuuming and sweeping, cleaning the bathroom, taking out the trash, and changing the sheets.
- Laundry
- Washing, drying, folding, and putting away. Stripping and remaking the bed after an accident, without fuss.
- Meal preparation
- Cooking to the diet the doctor ordered, like low-salt or diabetic, cooking extra for days without a visit, and clearing out old food.
- Groceries and errands
- Making the list, shopping, picking up prescriptions, the post office, and the dry cleaner.
- Rides to appointments
- Getting to the doctor, the dentist, or the hair salon, waiting with your parent, and helping them remember what the doctor said.
- Keeping things in order
- Sorting the mail so bills don’t get lost, keeping the calendar up to date, and making sure the pill organizer gets refilled on time.
Meals matter more than the housework
Poor eating is one of the fastest ways an older adult’s health slips. People living alone often stop cooking, and then stop eating well. A caregiver can shop, cook, and sit down to eat with your parent, which often matters as much as the food itself.
Caregivers follow any diet the doctor has ordered, like low-salt for heart failure or steady carbohydrates for diabetes, and let you know if your parent is eating less. If your parent gets delivered meals from Meals on Wheels San Diego County, a caregiver can cover the other days.
What homemaking doesn’t include
- Heavy cleaning, like moving furniture, washing outside windows, or shampooing carpets
- Yard work and home repairs
- Paying bills, or handling bank accounts and credit cards
Keeping caregivers away from finances protects your parent and the caregiver. A family member or a professional fiduciary should handle the money.
How much homemaking help people usually need
Often two to four hours, one to three times a week: enough to cook a few meals, do the laundry, and run errands. Needs usually grow over time. Homemaking is billed at our hourly rate, $40 to $48 an hour.
Where we provide this care
Related care
Personal Care
Help with bathing, dressing, toileting, and getting in and out of bed or a chair, with an eye on fall risk.
Companion Care
Regular visits for conversation, walks, and outings, plus a daily check that things are all right at home.
Respite Care
A caregiver takes over for a few hours, a night, or a week so the family member who usually helps can rest.
Common questions
Is a homemaker the same as a housekeeper?
No. A housekeeper cleans the house. A homemaker from a licensed home care agency looks after the person: they cook what your parent can eat, notice changes, and can help with personal care if it’s needed. Our caregivers are also on the state Home Care Aide Registry and background-checked, which housekeepers aren’t required to be.
Can the caregiver drive my mother to her appointments?
Yes. Rides to appointments and errands are part of homemaking. We’ll go over how it works, including whose car is used, during the consultation.
Can we add personal care later?
Yes. Many families start with homemaking and add help with bathing or dressing as needs change. We update the care plan and, when possible, keep the same caregiver.
Request a free in-home consultation
Tell us what’s going on and we’ll call you back to talk it through and set up a visit at the home. The consultation is free.
If it’s urgent, call instead of using the form.
- (858) 380-9599
- love@pendaseniorhomecare.com
- Office hours: Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Care available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week