With the new year, you may need to make room for fresh items in your home. If someone gave you a great TV for Christmas, but your old one still works, what should you do? Garage sales can be time-consuming, and they aren’t exactly popular in the winter.
There’s a cool and free way to find local buyers online. Kijiji is eBay’s no-charge, family-friendly local classifieds website. It’s easy to post your free ad. According to a recent survey by Kijiji, 24% of respondents are getting rid of unused household items to make room for guests and new gifts this holiday …read more

Finding reliable care for a senior can be stressful, and, time consuming, I’ve done it.
Care.com is a newly launched service that matches families and individuals with senior care, child care, per care, and, tutoring providers.
It is a subscription-based business, and, the fee is as low as $10/month for care seekers.
From the press release:
The website offers a single destination for people seeking expert advice and practical tools for finding the best options and resources that address their specific care needs. It also offers a reliable platform for qualified caregivers to promote services and connect with prospective families on …read more

The Center for WorkLife Law, at the University of California Hastings College, of is a nonprofit research and advocacy organization that seeks to eliminate employment discrimination against employees who have caregiving responsibilities for family members, such as mothers and fathers of young children and adults with aging parents.
This form of discrimination is known as Family Responsibilities Discrimination (FRD). The Center for WorkLIfe Law works with employers, employees, attorneys, legislators, journalists and researchers to identify and prevent FRD.
According to the Center, discrimination includes:
refusing to hire or promote caregivers based on the assumption that they will not be dedicated workers;
creating a hostile …read more

Freddie Mac, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation in the United States, recently announced back-up elder care as a new employee benefit:
The new elder care program, offered through Bright Horizons, a national provider of work-site child care and now elder care services, will assist employees whose elder relatives need non-medical care such as meal preparation, bathing, grooming and companion services. Those eligible include employees’ and their spouses’ or partner’s direct relatives, including parents, grandparents and other adult dependents. Employees pay a minimal fee of $15 per day for in-home elder care services for up to 20 days per year and …read more

AARP has announced a pilot of a new member benefit thisholiday season called AARP MarketPlace.
This discount shopping site features name brands such as Sony, Motorola, Sharper Image and Panasonic. You can find discounts up to 35% on items such as toys, electronics, digital cameras, luggage and small appliances.
There’s even free standard shipping now through December 18th!
I’m not a member, and, I don’t get anything from this, I just thought you might want to know. Or, not. Whatever.
However, in the interest of science, I am currently accepting any gifts you want to buy me. You know, just to try it out, …read more

While I know that many services that help care for the aging population are valuable, especially to those of us in the Sandwich Generation, something about associating elder care with franchising sits wrong with me.
I know there’s nothing wrong with it being a business, I have used them myself. I think it’s just the term “franchising” that bugs me. It just makes me feel like there’s people out there trying to decide, “Hmm…do I want to start a Dairy Queen or a Home Health Agency?”
Just my deep thoughts for today.

If you are in the viewing area (country?) be sure to check out the aging special on PBS Frontline called, Living Old:
For the first time in American history, “the old old” — those over 85 — are now the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population. While medical advances have enabled an unprecedented number of Americans to live longer, healthier lives, for millions of elderly, living longer can also mean a debilitating physical decline that often requires an immense amount of care.
And just as more care is needed, fewer caregivers are available to provide it. FRONTLINE producers Miri Navasky and …read more

While the sentiment is good, I don’t think the Home Helpers company is helping itself with this press release:
Cranford, NJ, October 27, 2006 –(PR.COM)– Home Helpers offers services to make life easier. Imagine the peace of mind a “sandwich generation” woman would have if she knew her elderly parents had a caring and reliable companion … someone to take them to doctors’ appointments, shop for their groceries, do their laundry and prepare their meals.
The Sandwich Generation knows no gender. Both men and women can be, and, are card-carrying members of this group
That language alone might dissuade someone’s son from hiring …read more

My youngest child, The Preschooler Formerly Known as Busy Baby (OK, so that’s not really his name, but, that’s how people inside the computer have come to know him over here) goes to daycare on a campus with several other services. In addition to senior living facilities, one of the services is an Adult Day Care. So, theoretically, if I had a parent unable to care for themselves, I could take both my youngest and my parent to the same daycare.
It’s a wonderful program for both the adults and the kids. As a matter of fact, The Preschooler Formerly Known …read more