Having been down this road a couple of times, I'm with @markansas. There are other options before true Assisted Living, and it is not just cost. If your only concern is their ability to keep up housecleaning, you can get regular housecleaning services come in part time without as big a change for your parents. If you're worried about meals, or help with hygiene/dressing, etc., part-time housekeeper/caregivers are fairly available and there are plenty of online senior caregiver websites to help you find them, make the best match, even help with the pay/tax issues. Assisted Living is really for those with severe mobility challenges or heavy medication needs where more than part-time help is required, because the cost of full-time one-on-one caregivers is prohibitive for most of us. Quite frankly, the cost of Assisted Living is as well.
The other aspect you have to consider -- and both @markansas and I have alluded to -- are the self-esteem and social issues. While you can see their abilities to take care of things are slipping badly, but in their eyes the slightest acknowledgement of that is giving up their independence, and the bigger the change the bigger the jolt to their feeling of self-worth. Which is another argument for a gradual transition, if that is an option, with part-time housekeepers and caregivers to help without totally taking away their sense of freedom. And the good caregivers are great at this; worth their weight in gold.
But the other aspect to consider is if they are getting enough social stimulation -- are they interacting regularly with other people, getting out of the house and doing anything? If not, bringing in housekeepers/caregivers on a part-time basis will help with this as well, and you can hand pick individuals most likely to mesh with your parents' personalities. Far better than throwing them immediately into an Assisted Living situation, where they strive to make sure the patients are socially active but it is all group activity with more limited choices. If you can afford it, the transitional facilities are a great option: they can start out in a mini-apartment of their own with their own furniture with full maid service, some limited kitchen capabilities but full meal service in the common dining room, and a variety of common social rooms with different kinds of pursuits for small groups of residents with like interests. Panic buttons for 24/7 emergency situations in the apartment. Then as their needs become greater, they can move into the Assisted Living section, and ultimately the nursing care wing. But expensive.
If you want to discuss further, direct message me. Like I say, I've been through it with my mother, my late wife, and my recently departed partner.
