The first sign that a house is slipping almost never looks like a crisis. It looks like the trash can at the end of the drive one day past its pickup, and the mail stacked on the table a little higher than last week. Nobody is in trouble. The slip is small, and it is easy to explain away.
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That is exactly why it is worth catching early. Small chores do not fail one at a time. They pile up, and by the time someone notices, the whole house is behind.
Make a short list of the small jobs
Write down the jobs that happen at Mom's house on a regular rhythm: bins to the curb, mail brought in, dishes put away, the spare key where it belongs, the light bulbs, the thermostat, the grocery run, the pile of paper that needs a home. Keep it to ten or twelve items. A list that is too long gets ignored, and you need to be able to scan it in a minute.
Mark who owns each one
Next to each job, write one name. If the answer is we all do it, the job has no owner, and it will slip first. A shared chore with no name is the most common way a house goes quiet behind your back. Pick a person for each, even if that person is a neighbor you already trust, a family member who lives nearby, or you on the days you can manage it.
Watch for the same miss twice
One missed bin day is nothing. The same job missed twice in a row is a signal. Ask why, without blame. Maybe the schedule changed, maybe the job has become too heavy for the person who owns it, or maybe nobody remembered the pickup day moved. Fix the reason, not the person.
Also check what you see when you walk in the door. Stacked mail, a full recycling bin, or food in the fridge that has quietly gone past its day are all early notes, and they are worth a short, kind conversation with Mom. Ask her what she has noticed herself. She often knows before you do, and she may be relieved you asked.
Keep the list where people can see it
Stick the list inside a kitchen cabinet or in the shared notes app everyone uses. Update it when a job changes hands. A house runs well when its small jobs are written down and owned, and it starts slipping the day the list lives only in your head.