By Lisa Schmidtke
Stressfree
Living Magazine
September, 2005
Whether you're limited in time, mobility, resources or
money, I'll bet you'd like to shorten your list of weekly
errands. If you live in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area,
you're in luck! The Twin Cities offers a wide variety
of products and services delivered right to your door.
You may already know of some, but what's holding you back?
You may feel guilty about hiring someone to deliver a
product or perform a task that you could do yourself,
but what's the trade-off? With one in four American households
caring for a relative age 50 or older as well as being
employed full or part time and raising children under
18 years of age (NAC/AARP, 1997) it's obvious, people
are busy! A Wilder Research Center study predicts, the
number of Twin Cities area seniors to grow by 115 percent
over the next 25 years so begin scoping out resources
now beginning with these 5.
1. Grocery Delivery
For grocery delivery, most everyone has heard of Simon
Delivers. The novelty is that for a $5.00 delivery charge
(on orders over $80), they'll deliver a wide variety of
quality products to your door the very next day. When
my husband challenged me that we were spending more with
Simon Delivers than we used to at the grocery store, I
did a little test. The result, after 1 month of shopping
at my local grocer, we spent $100 more than the previous
year, same month. The reason, impulse buying increased
when I was in front of the food, smelling it, and often,
hungry. But beyond Simon Delivers, people should know
about Dave's Dairy Delivery, Meyer Bros. Dairy, Schwans
and Tastefully Simple. And there's Meals on Wheels and
Seattle Sutton for meal delivery. Do your own test and
discover a life free of long lines at the grocery store
and bagging your groceries.
2. Professional Cleaning Services
When the subject of having a "cleaning lady"
comes up with my friends, my first impulse is to feel
guilty about the two times per month that I walk in
the door to a Pine Fresh Scent and dog hair-free floors.
Then I ask them the question, "Does your husband
or father know how to change the oil in the car?"
When the answer is yes, I ask, "Do they?"
Having a professional clean your home is not the sign
of a lazy homemaker. I simply call it, delegating. Next
is issue of finding a high quality, reasonable cleaning
service. First, ask your neighbors. A person not contracted
through a professional cleaning service will often be
cheaper and more accommodating, especially if they're
already in your neighborhood. If your neighbors don't
want to admit they have a cleaning person, try Cleaning
Authority or Molly Maid. If you're a senior, organizations
such as Common Sense Services for Seniors and Senior
Community Services offer housecleaning and light chores
on a sliding fee scale.
3. Healthcare
The age of doctors performing "house calls"
is long-gone in most cities. However, business offering
chiropractic, massage and physical therapy in a patient's
home is becoming more popular. For an "adjustment"
that doesn't require you to adjust your schedule, try
Crown Chiropractic or Home Care Chiropractic. No Knots
will give your back a nice massage that those expensive
massage chairs can't even touch. Healthcare for seniors
ranges from strength and balance training by Seniors
Abilities Unlimited to In Home Personal Care which aids
clients with physical disabilities.
4. Personal Care Attendants
I had to laugh at my co-worker's frustration when her
ailing mother-in-law called her while she was busy at
work to tell her to bring her some bananas. This may
seem like a simple request (or demand in this case),
but other tasks needed by people with limited mobility
aren't so simple. Bathing, dressing and medication distribution,
if not performed by a trained or careful person, can
often be dangerous to the recipient. If you're looking
for someone to perform light housekeeping while they're
visiting, try HomeWatch or Comfort Keepers. The Alzheimer's
Association has an extensive list of home companions
which is especially helpful for those afflicted with
the disease and requires specialty care. Just having
a caregiver from Visiting Angles check on your loved
one may provide the companionship they need until you
can visit in person.
5. Daily Living Aids
The irony of needing a wheelchair, scooter or other
mobility product is that most cannot transport themselves
to a store to buy one. That's when you call 1-800-Wheelchair
to have one shipped to your door. Internet users over
the age of 55 represent around 14% of the Internet population
(Internet Retailer, November 2004) so for lift chairs,
bath transfer systems and fun walking canes, take to
the web! Visit online shopping sites such as All Lift
Chairs, Clever Products, Colored Plastics Canes and
Housecalls Network.
If you're just craving for more resources, call or
visit First Call for Help, Minnesota Help and Housecalls
Network to find a broad range of products and services
to help those limited in mobility and their caregivers
provide the assistance they need to live independently.
Contact information for all of the above businesses
and organizations can be found at http://www.abledeluxe.com
Lisa Schmidtke is the President and Founder of Housecalls
Network. Its website, www.abledeluxe.com, contains
a directory of informational resources, shopping and
home services and charities who can help the growing
population of seniors and disabled people and their
caregivers live independently. Housecalls Network also
sells aids for daily lving and adaptive clothing through
their website, phoned catalog orders and personal home
visits. They also buy and sell used, non-motorized adaptive
equipment.Lisa Schmidtke can be reached by email at
lisa@housecalls-network.com or by phone at 952-221-0722.
Housecalls Network does not endorse any particular provider.
We assume no responsibility for transactions between
the readers of this article and listed organizations.
Housecalls Network does not endorse or recommend any
particular provider. We assume no responsibility
for transactions between the users of this site and listed
organizations. 
