We had to remove all my father in laws clothing from his room, due to him taking clean clothes out and throwing them on the floor and him also throwing his soiled depends and other dirty clothes in the mix. To save on all the laundry, and frustration, this has resolved that problem. As a caregiver with my husband, we decided whatever needs to be done to lessen our stress is best. You do what it takes to keep your peace. We have the clothes hidden and out of his reach, and it works. As caregivers you have to take care of yourself too. Do what works best for you and call in help when needed. We use Continuing Care, for assistance where needed. Hugs to you, and will pray for you.

Nursing Home Care locks patients clothes away.....I was finding my hubby is constantly changing his clothes whether they are clean or not...just so much laundry.....and then when I tell him to change due to BO he says theres nothing wrong with his clothes...those I have to steal when I can.....have gotten use to clothing worn inside out or backwards....pick my fights so dont bother with this....and seeing as how he has forgotten to hang clothes up, it is easy to pick out the used ones.....now I am limiting the number of choices he has....and he doesnt seem to notice....

I agree with that it is hard to take their autonomy away from them, but we have to make decisions to keep them safe. I have an 89 year old mother who likes soft drinks with lunch and dinner, and cared nothing for water. That is until she began staying with us 4 days per week. I give her healthy balanced meals with nice chilled water. When she asks about her soft drink I remind her of the UTI she suffered recently, and what the doctor said about her drinking more water. She always agrees, and drinks water now with no problem. I have to distract her as I would a 3 year old, which is hard because she is my mom. What it comes down to, I believe, is taking care of her and not allowing behavior that i know will cause her harm. The same as I would with a young child. She is still rewriting history, and I am still letting her. She likes to talk about what she can remember, and embellishes where she can't remember. Hugs all around. It has been a rough patch for me. This disease is a beast. Still finding my footing.

Hi, Brenda. Good to see you again. I’d say challenge your scruples. If your motives are pure and your method causes no harm - which sounds like the case - then helping your sister to come to good outcomes where her own damaged brain would lead her to poor ones sounds OK to me. What you have done is no different to locks / alarms to stop wandering, hiding or locking away food to prevent over-eating etc. Yes, it’s intrusive, but more intrusive than meds that would quash her spirit? And it’s great that you hate it. That makes you examine your actions in service of making the best of a bad job. It is love but not as we ever imagined it. S

You are doing the right thing by locking up her clothes! YOU need sleep. You need to take care of you so you can care for your sister. Bless your heart!! She just needs to stick to a sleeping schedule. You are doing the best thing for her too! <3