Hi, I'm new to the forum

PS - I am also v. lazy about housework! Now I’m widowed, there is only ‘me’ to please, so if I don’t care about the cobwebs, no one else is here to care either (sad but true - but at least I don’t have to clear the cobwebs away any longer).

Funny about housework - some chores I love (eg ironing) some I hate (eg hoovering). I like cleaning surfaces, I hate going down on my hands and knees to do floors! I like washing up, never use a dishwasher. etc etc. All very personal. A lot of dirt I just don’t ‘see’…and I don’t care either!

(I can still, though, hear my mum telling me to rinse handwashign PROPERLY the few times I ever do handwashign! She had a ‘thing’ about rinsing till not a single sud showed up in the rinse water…!)

My mum was a hoarder, obsessed about things being clean to, everything was in one plastic bag, then another so the first didn’t get dirty, then labelled with a piece of masking tape saying when the contents were cleaned, then they were all put away safely, never to see daylight again until after she died. Oldest label was dated 1968, the year they last moved, when I was 16, so 50 years ago.
I prefer to live differently!!!

Hello all,

It’s a while since I posted as I’ve been away on holiday. I’m seeing both my brothers at the weekend and I’ve asked them to meet me for coffee before we take Mum out for lunch, to discuss her situation and various issues. I sat down to make a list of points I wanted to discuss with them, and then thought to come back and re-read this thread, which was a great help, so I’ve got the basis for what should be a constructive discussion.

The issue really continues to be how much responsibility I should take - not so much for doing chores and errands, but for making decisions. And I want all of us to agree a a joint approach on various issues, and what the main priorities are, so that we back each other up. Eg, that we all nag her to wear her alarm pendant/bracelet. We all get on well, so I don’t think we’d contradict each other on purpose, only accidentally if we hadn’t discussed something.

Thanks again,
Jo