Hoarder's move to assisted living requires planning Caregivers Corner

Dear Mary, My mother has Alzheimer's disease. We would like to be able to let her stay in her home with help from family and professional caregivers. However, over the past several years, she has become a hoarder and most rooms in her small home are wall-to-wall and ceiling-to-floor junk.

Since she can no longer take care of herself and neither I nor my sibling has room in our homes, we are going to have to look into assisted living. How do we help her make this transition when she holds on to all of this stuff as if it's all important?

Dear Reader, Packing up the home to transition to assisted living is challenging enough, but having to go through piles of belongings and deciding where it all needs to go adds another whole layer of difficulty to the task. Unfortunately, you don't have the team from A&E's "Hoarders" television show to help you sort through years of accumulated collections!

You and your sibling need to first develop a plan so neither of you becomes overwhelmed by the task before you even start. Enlist as much help as possible among family and friends.

Set a firm date to start the process and work one room at a time. As you go through each room, set up boxes for charitable donations, keepsakes for your mom to take with her and those to share with family and friends and, of course, a large container for trash. Try not to get frustrated - set manageable goals and enjoy even small accomplishments.

If you are able to have your mother move into the assisted living facility before the cleaning process begins, let her choose a few objects to take with her. If the move is scheduled during or after the cleaning process, have someone take her out on the days sorting and cleaning are taking place. Try to keep the doors to the rooms you are working on closed when she is around.

Take pictures of any prized possessions that will not be able to go with her to the assisted living and put them in a photo album. Even without the actual object, she will be able to reminisce and share the object and its story with others after the move.

Dear Mary, My husband and I attended several of the caregiver workshops offered by the Department of Aging and Disabilities this past year and found them very helpful. We didn't have an opportunity to participate in the Virtual Dementia Tour but would like to do so. Will the department be offering workshops and the VDT again this coming year?

Dear Reader, I am happy to say that, though the National Family Caregiver Support Program grant, the department will be offering seven workshops and seven opportunities to participate in "Communicating through Behaviors" (with the Virtual Dementia Tour) throughout the county during 2016-2017.

We have some great topics lined up for the coming year including bathing and nutrition, meaningful pursuits, traveling with a dementia loved one and - by popular request - a return of the mechanics of caregiving.

You can find the workshop brochure online at www.aacounty.org/aging or by calling or emailing me directly.

I look forward to seeing you and many others throughout the year!

Questions and comments can be sent to Mary Chaput at the Department of Aging and Disabilities, 2666 Riva Road, Suite 400, Annapolis, MD 21401, or by contacting 410-222-4339 or agchap01@aacounty.org.

Credit: Mary Chaput