Posted on:
September 30th, 2024
Last reviewed:
January 3rd, 2025
What should I do with belongings that hold deep sentimental value?
While creating a dementia-friendly home and clearing clutter that might pose a trip hazard at home, it’s important to recognise that some items hold really deep sentimental value for you. Some people become attached to certain items. Sometimes certain items represent a way of you holding on to treasured memories and happy times from the past. Others may not see those objects in the same way and find it hard to understand why you want to hold on to them. If you have someone helping you to sort your belongings out, ask them to: *Only clear things out for health and safety reasons *Help you to organise the things you want to keep. Buy lidded boxes and store these away from stairs, main thoroughfares and heat sources. Take photos or draw pictures and stick these to the outside of boxes so you know what’s inside *Take photos of the things you agree to get rid of to help you remember them *If possible, put items that are important to you in storage somewhere For things that you really hold close to your heart, let people know that you do not want to part with them. Also try: *Creating a memory box – decorate it and label it up so that those around you know it contains items that are important to you *Organising paper items like photos, tickets, postcards, leaflets etc in an album for safekeeping *Box things up and label ‘to be kept’ *Document the things you’d like to hold on to, especially if valuable and/or you wish to pass them on to someone in particular. Documenting your wishes in this way is worth discussing with those closest to you as part of financial and legal discussions when getting your affairs in order. You can read more here Sources: https://www.alz.org/media/greatermissouri/rummaging_hiding_and_hoarding_behaviors.pdfOther relevant FAQs you might like...
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