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I thank everyone for feedback but there is more to this OCD task. When she packs up all her belongings, it makes it all to easy to disappear. I spent $140 on a few outfits and underwater AGAIN because so much just seems to disappear. Anyhow the next day she went to the hospital. when we came back after a day and a half the only thing left in her room was a blanket and a pair of socks. Everything was gone because she had packed it up. I guess a fellow patient wandered in and grabbed the bag or the pillowcase or the laundry basket , whatever she used that day to pack up for Home, And took it to their room? I have found. wet towels packed up with her clean clothes. As this task persist, I wonder if anything is clean at all because the dirty clothes get packed up too. And now I’m finding stuff when we unpack that does not belong to her at all. I was the one ranting and raving about the theft and misplaced items and now I can’t say a word because she’s doing it too. I swear I have to buy a 8 pack of underwear every two weeks. The aids at her facility, I was told do not have time to look for her stuff so it’s just igone and I guess I’ll never get it back.
Brand new jogging suit that she never got to ware, , a pair of good shoes and her only pair of glasses is probably the worst item we have lost so far. I finally got around to getting her hearing aids that she needed for years and that was a big mistake and a waste of money because they to are gone. Numerous times I would come in to take her to an appointment and it would take us 20 minutes to find her toothbrush, and another 10 to find toothpaste to go with it. I guess I’ll just have to live with it as long as I have to live with it. Soooooo, I’m over it!!!!
See? Just talking about it made things all better. lol!
Thank you all for listening.

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Give Mom 2 boxes that you label and say

“ Please return to Alice Smith , room 249”.

Let the staff know you are doing this and if they should notice the boxes somewhere during their shift to please return them .

Maybe some of it will be returned .
Bags are easily picked up or will be assumed are trash . A box may be more difficult for another resident to pick up.

Is Mom in memory care ?
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Reply to waytomisery
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waytomisery Jun 26, 2024
Maybe even a visitor may return it
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OP, it is impossible to guard against pilferage in a facility, unfortunately, and as you have found out, your mother is doing it too. Name tags help sometimes to recover ‘mis-placed’ items, but they don’t solve the problem. The sensible thing to do is to avoid buying anything expensive, particularly clothes. It just makes so much sense to get OpShop stuff, where it doesn’t really matter if it goes missing. Just have two or three outfits available in her room, keep the rest at home, and swap with different ones when they get dirty or she gets bored with them. No valuable jewellery, a cheap watch if she wants one. The biggest problem (as you have found) is things like false teeth, hearing aids, glasses (although the best match out of the ‘chemist specs’ will often do OK). Keep the number of ‘things’ to a minimum, go for ‘cheap’, and you will help to drop down at least the financial impact of this.

Commiserations, Margaret
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Reply to MargaretMcKen
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Mamma, I'm sure that's really frustrating, someday you will look back at this and see some humor in it all.

Vent anytime we are here to help though this really difficult time. And one way or another we have all been though this or are going through it.

Best of luck
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Reply to Anxietynacy
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That sucks, just totally sucks.
(I would prefer a worse word)
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Reply to Beatty
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