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All of us have our moments when we are forgetful. I can not tell you how many times I have misplaced my car keys. The age does not matter when we begin to lose things but after spending a bit of time with seniors I know they have a fear of developing dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.

I know even at my age (older than my twenties and not near being considered a senior) when I am stressed with little sleep I spend more time looking for papers, keys or items I need to get through my day but can not seem to find when I need them. At first I blamed the clutter I have in my apartment. Too many papers and too little organization. Then I saw how the seniors around me behaved when they lose things.

How many times have folks said I just had it in my hand and now I can not find the darn paper. I realize there are many factors involved in misplacing items but I believe too much stress is the main reason. Forgetfulness can be scary when you are past fifty and you wonder, “What is wrong with me?” But it does not always mean you are becoming ill.

Should you rush out and get tested by your doctor because you lost your keys or your grocery list? No. But if you find these bouts of confusion and forgetfulness increase to the point where you can not account for lost time or you begin to put the butter in the closet and your clothes in the freezer then it might be time to get checked out.

I watch this show on the STYLE channel called CLEAN HOUSE and it is sort of a guilty pleasure of mine. You take a family that has a house of clutter that truly want to change their lives and become organized. So the hosts clear out the space, have a yard sale and use the cash to refurbish their home.

To see the before is frightening. It makes you want to race to the closet and grab the electrolux and several dozen plastic trash bags. The after reveal is amazing. Most of the time they just organize, paint, put up shelves and flooring but it makes a big difference in how the space looks.

This one lady who was said to have the house with the most clutter amazed me. Every room in her house had wall-to-wall clutter. She had mice in her basement living under her clutter. The woman was a shopaholic in major denial about her thirty years of clutter. In the end she flipped out and accused the show of stealing her grandmother’s purses which were in her major keep pile in the front of her house.

She became embarrassed and left before the show had ended. Even the daughter who showed major attitude during the sale seemed genuinely grateful in the end. This lady made the most money any one had ever made in the show’s history and the good thing was she donated it all to charity.

Getting back to the forgetfulness. I think your state of mind has a lot to do with how untidy your home is although I am sure there are folks who will disagree with me. Most of the people I have known including myself have had battled depression or had a traumatic event happen in the life then like magic the clutter began to pile up. Month after month, year after year until the emotional situation was dealt with and the person could see why things escalated beyond their control.

Everyone knows when enough is enough. You can blame everyone under the sun for a cluttered home. My kids are messy. I don’t have the time to clean. My husband only messes up when I clean. Whatever your excuse. Look around and SEE what is around you. If you find you can not think clearly and your life is out of sorts it could be you are depressed or simply messy. You be the judge. If you can not make that decision on your own, ask a relative or friend to be truthful with you. It might sting but sometimes it is best to know the truth.

Tags: clutter, confusion, depression

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