Housekeeping & errands — what's included, what's not

Your housekeeping tasks are the ones in the care plan and they exist to keep the CLIENT safe and healthy — the client's laundry, the client's meals, the areas the client uses. Housework for other household members is not part of the job.

1. 1Typical in-scope (when in the plan): client's laundry and bedding, cleaning the client's bathroom/bedroom/kitchen areas they use, client's dishes, client's grocery shopping and errands, taking out garbage.
2. 2Typically out of scope: laundry/meals/cleanup for the rest of the family, deep cleaning (windows, carpets, garage), yard work, pet care not in the plan, moving heavy furniture.
3. 3Shopping with the client's money: get a receipt every time, return exact change, keep a simple written record — this protects YOU.
4. 4If the home is unsafe to work in (hoarding, pests, no heat), report it — don't just push through or refuse without telling anyone.
5. 5When family pressures you for extra tasks, use the boundaries script and report it (see the boundaries guide).
6. 6Hours matter: care plan hours are for care plan tasks. Extra tasks squeeze out the care the client is entitled to.