scavenger hunt

l7pla1w2

I seem to spend a lot of time tracking down things DW has "lost".

Prime suspect #1 is DW's eyeglasses. DW panics that she's lost her glasses and says she's desperate and can't see without them. She only needs them for distance, not close vision, so she takes them off a lot. I got her an "eyeglass chain", but DW decided she liked it more as a necklace and doesn't use it for her glasses. The glasses are nearly always out in the open on some horizontal surface, but they can blend into the background on some of them. One time she put them in a locked drawer in her closet. Another time she put them in an eyeglass case, which she nearly never used before, and put the case in a dresser drawer. I'm getting pretty good at tracking them down, but it's very disruptive to do so.

Wallet. DW's wallet finds its way into drawers and jacket and pants pockets. The wallet is relatively nondescript, so it can hide easily. Usually we end up hunting for it in a panic at the last minute when we're going out and she needs to bring ID. (NB: Because DW has trouble associating objects and their names, she has to ask what her wallet looks like, and when she searches she doesn't know what she's looking for.)

Checkbook. Same story as the wallet, but fortunately she doesn't need it often.

Rings. It would be nice if DW took off her wedding and engagement rings and left them in the same spot, but she doesn't. They usually surface on their own, and I like to say they've fallen out of the 4th dimension.

Keys. DW has a specific housekey that has a plastic ID tag for entering the YMCA. That key disappears and reappears, depending on whether DW remembered to take it out of her pocket and put it in "the usual place." In a pinch she can take a different key.

Pots, pans, dishes. I do the cooking. DW washes and dries the kitchen utensils and dishes. (The dishes go into the dishwasher if she remembers.) If I'm nearby, she'll ask me where to put an item. If not, she will put it in an often unexpected place. It's not terrible. It's usually the wrong shelf or the wrong drawer, but still in the kitchen.

Just about any specific printed document. DW's desk is a cluttered jumble of overlapping papers, and they've started to overflow into the bedroom. We argue a lot about facts that I can corroborate with one of those pieces of paper, but it's a challenge to find it. I know, I know, it's pointless to try to argue with someone whose reality is different from mine and can't be persuaded.

Judy.T.

I called this squirreling with my DH. He places everything and anything in the oddest places. Ice cream in the sock drawer, shoe out in the shed, ect. I feel your pain on loosing glasses, lost those for a couple months. Found them after buying a new pair. I have had a bunch of neighborhood kids on hands knees looking for his hearing aids in the back yard. Found them!.

As for the wallet, I have taken out all the real credit cards and replaced them with the fake ones that come in the mail. He lost it so many times he stopped carrying one. For the key, put a Tile tag on it. you can track it on your phone (it has GPS) then when you are close it makes a sound.

I know how hard this can be and I am sorry you are dealing with this. I would not wish this on anyone. Know you are not alone.

ImMaggieMae

Ice cream in the sock drawer? Yikes! I nominate your DH for the most original “organizer” on the forum. Judy, I hope you found it before it melted!

harshedbuzz

We found in this stage it was best to remove or secure anything you didn't want to lose. I made copies of dad's ID, laminated it and tucked it in his wallet while mom tucked the original in her wallet. My uncle had the stone in my aunt's rings swapped out for CZs at a certain point. Sometimes it's useful to reverse the knobs on the doors to spare rooms to avoid things squirreled away in them.

HB

l7pla1w2

I'm fortunate that things have not progressed as far as most of that. I have started scanning some important documents to store on my computer. She hasn't really lost anything of consequence outside the house.

subversivevegan

I've gotten pretty good at finding the Roku remote (typically inside an eyeglass case, and in a zipped up overnight case).

Very secure remote! 😁

Judy.T.

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/190880#Comment_190880

No such luck. I had to do several batches of laundry as well as wash the whole dresser. I called my kids and cried.