One-Page View
Help That Helps
A one-page guide for each regular helper, so their goodwill arrives in the right shape.
A keep-close version. Read it here, or screenshot this page to have it on your phone — print and PDF copies will appear once final files are attached.
The test of any offer is what remains after the helper leaves: if the house is calmer and the load is lighter, it helped. This page is written with you, kept by them — what to do, what to skip, what never to move.
This page is for
The helper's name
e.g. Margot (mother-in-law)
What to do
- The tasks that genuinely help — listedA soup left at the door on Thursdays
- The form that worksDoorstep drop, one text to say it's there, no visit
- The times that workThursday mornings; never before 10
What to skip
- The deep clean that costs a week of finding things
- Reorganising — placement is the system here
- The visit that needs hosting
- The questions that need answers
What never to move
The things that look like clutter and are infrastructure — rest stations, the launch pad, where medication lives.
The untouchables
e.g. Anything within reach of the sofa stays within reach of the sofa
The sentence that resized a big helper kindly
The appreciation
- “Your help means a lot —”
- “You've been so generous —”
- “I want your help to land right —”
The resize
- “would you mind leaving it at the door? I can't manage visits at the moment.”
- “the soup helps more than anything. Could we make that the Thursday thing?”
- “could we keep it to the list on the fridge? It's what genuinely works.”
Help that must be managed is company in a helper's coat. Resizing it isn't rejecting the person — it's teaching the love where to land.