I Hate Wasteful People!

I hate wasteful people!

I get homecare help twice a week for a shower. I manage to get into the shower on my own once or twice and the rest of the week I sponge bath at the bathroom sink.

Their girl who comes to help me is so wasteful when it comes to "product."

I buy the large bottle of Oil of Olay Body Wash. It's 1 Litre, basically 4 cups. It's not cheap! One bottle is something like $14.00 and while that may not seem like a lot, when you are living on a fixed income you can't go out and buy that kind of every month, nor should you need to!

I know how much I use and how long a 1 Litre bottle lasts me if I shower every single day; about 6 to 8 weeks because you don't need very much because it's very sudsy and I'm the only one using it.

She uses so much that between her usage and mine I'm lucky if a bottle lasts me 4 weeks.

I went grocery shopping on the 1st and bought some cheap store brand body wash, actually I think it's just liquid hand soap, because my budget for Octobr is extremely tight. I filled up my 500ml shower gel bottle and today when I showered before Physio I noticed that it was nearly empty! She's been here 4 times this month (I cancelled one day because of an appointment and there was a Holiday), and she's used nearly 1/2 a litre of body wash.

Let's not talk about the destruction of my bath sponges because of her rings which get caught and tear the mesh. I go through 1 or 2 per month!

I washed out my shower gel bottle and instead of refilling it I filled up a hand soap bottle with a pump dispenser. Maybe that will curb her excess waste. There is sure no reason to use almost 1/2 cup of soap in one shower!!!!!!

Seems like you have a right to request that she remove her rings... the soap can't be good for her jewelry, anyway.

Does she have a supervisor that you can talk with? Maybe you should bring it up with her as well.

I just wish I didn't need her to come at all.

The thing is that I can probably manage to get myself into the shower the 2 days that she is here; well maybe at least once. However if they take away my shower assistance they also take away my home cleaning help too and that is what I really need at least until I get physically stronger and more conditioned which I'm currently in physio working on but it will be months yet. And right now I need the help with the heavier cleaning like bathroom, vacuuming and floors. I can do the lighter stuff like dusting and my dishes on my own.

So I have to keep having the shower help in order to continue having the cleaning help.

I can't wait until I'm more healthy and stronger that I can do it all myself without it taking me all month to just get my vacuuming done.

Before I got homecare I was expending all of my energy trying to just do the bare basics in cleaning and had no energy for anything else. And my apartment was always in a perpetual state of being cleaned and my vacuum was a fixture in my living room. No word of a lie, until I got homecare help my bedroom aside from my bedding hadn't been cleaned in 2 years because I ran out of energy before I even finished the living room and bathroom.

Originally Posted by lunasmom

Does she have a supervisor that you can talk with? Maybe you should bring it up with her as well.

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I don't want to get her in trouble by calling her supervisor. How do you approach something like that? I've thought about mentioning it to her but it's been going on for some months now and how do you approach something like that after all of this time?

That's true...try seeing if you can buy the bath sponges in a bulk package and hide them under the sink or even the shower gel. See if Costco has it, usually they come with refills.

I'm sure sorry to hear you're being inconvenienced in that way. My dad is in assisted living, and I'm experiencing the very same thing with toiletries I buy for him -- in no time, they're gone! And I put his name in indelible marker on each product, but I don't see them all there when they should still be there. It bites! And you're so right -- not all of us are millionaires, and even if we were, overusing and wasting is the #1 reason the planet is going to hell in a handbasket. It's so senseless, and it frustrates me very much as well -- especially since those who use the most care the least about how it affects anyone else.

I did home health care for some time (including while working through Nursing school)..and if my client asked me to remove my rings, and be careful on how much body wash I was using, I'd have honored that.

I would imagine she's just not aware. I'd try a talk and let her know you are on a budget, and that her rings are snagging - causing the bath sponges to shred (not comfy for you) and potentially a way she could have one of her rings pulled off. Suggest she pin them in a pocket pre shower.

Do you by chance ever have tea or coffee together before her shift with you is over? If so, this would be when I'd bring it up...I found a number of my clients enjoyed having tea with me, and it was part of our routine..usually before I began cleaning, and in some cases if bathing assist was requried, after they were dressed for the day.

Is there any way you could say that YOU wanted to put the soap on the sponge before the shower? If she seems offended by that, just tell her the truth...that your shower gel is not cheap, and you would like it to last as long as possible. You're right, it doesn't take much with a net sponge...I've normally get 3-4 months out of a bottle of body wash.

And, I agree she should take off her rings. Maybe just bring it up that you've noticed that the netting is getting ripped and you would hate for her to lose her settings. If may be something she hasn't thought of (WHY she hasn't thought of it is beyond me )

I'm a home health aid right now and I try my best to think about the person and their belongs, but sometimes people have their weird niches. She just might be one of those wastfull people and thinks you are the same way? I drive some of the people nuts that I help because I turn off the sink water any time they aren't using it. If they have the brush in their mouth I turn the water off. I assure them I will turn the water back on when they need it

Honestly I think you should just ask her if she could use a little less soap and possibly take her rings off. Say this nicely, which I'm sure you will, and explain to her why you would like her to do both of these things. She should understand where you are comming from and do her best to help you.

I've been asked to do strang things, things OCD people do and I just tell them I will try my best to remember next time, but they might have to remind me if I forget by then.

Good luck

I would just take the sponge & apply the gel before she even starts the bath. If she wets you down beforehand I would then use TWO sponges & let her know that one is for the wetting and the other has the gel.

ETA: If she snags your sponges why not switch to washcloths then?

I think the pump is a good idea, but also asking her to please use less. Maybe do it along the lines of saying you've had to tighten your budget recently and don't want to sacrifice your favorite body wash so you are going to have to make it last a lot longer. That way she not take offense at it and you'll still get what you want. And don't be afraid to ask about the rings too.

Originally Posted by PookieBoy

I would just take the sponge & apply the gel before she even starts the bath. If she wets you down beforehand I would then use TWO sponges & let her know that one is for the wetting and the other has the gel.

ETA: If she snags your sponges why not switch to washcloths then?

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She snags the cloths too and sponges are cheaper to replace than my terry face cloths.

Originally Posted by MoochNNoodles

I think the pump is a good idea, but also asking her to please use less. Maybe do it along the lines of saying you've had to tighten your budget recently and don't want to sacrifice your favorite body wash so you are going to have to make it last a lot longer. That way she not take offense at it and you'll still get what you want. And don't be afraid to ask about the rings too.

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I have asked about the rings. She is very aware that they snag and rip things because she even said that she's lucky if her own sponges last a few months at home because the mesh keeps getting caught in the claws and ripping.

I have to go to Walmart at the end of the month so I'll look for my regular body wash there (Safeway seems to only have the age defying stuff now which is even more expensive!). If I can find it I'll try the "tight budget" and see how that goes.

Another thought: she could just wear latex gloves over the rings!

I think I found a solution.

I tried the liquid hand soap in a clear bottle, pump dispenser, only for her to use 5 times or more the amount needed each time. She comes here twice a week and in 2 weeks she used more than 1/2 of the bottle!

I went to Safeway the other day and purchased another type of body wash and when she came yesterday I told her that it's a NEW one and is really sudsy and the instructions state to apply a small amount to the bath sponge. I saw her apply about 1 teaspoon and low and behold it generated enough suds to wash me front and back from top to toes with suds left over.

It's not my body wash of choice but if it will stop her from wasting it and me having to buy it every single month, I'll stick with it until I no longer need homecare help anymore.

Sounds like you found a good solution!!!

Yea, I think pumps are worse. I find too much enjoyment in harshly pressing something, so I'll overdo the pump myself.