If Costco understood my household, they would love Mom. The woman’s ability to use up paper products is astounding. I remember once when I was living on my own and Mom came to visit for Thanksgiving, she went to do “a little shopping” for me. She showed back up at my house with the largest pack of paper towels a person could ever need! At least, that was my naive twenty something opinion. At the time, I stashed the rolls away in a cabinet where they barely fit and didn’t need to buy more paper towels for a year.
Since Mom has moved in with me, I have come to better understand the jumbo paper towel package. Our household of three goes through that in no time at all. It would seem that to Mom, everything is made better by the addition of some kind of paper product.
As her dementia has worsened, this tendency seems all the stronger. She covers things with paper towels and tissues and wraps up various household items. It’s sometimes a fun game to see what Mom has wrapped up as a surprise. I restock several rolls of toilet paper in the bathroom only to find not a one just a day later. Every pocket must be checked when doing Mom’s laundry as there are tissues in every possible crevice.
My attempts to encourage the use of washable towels are rather pathetic in the face of this level of paper product enthusiasm.
So, every time I go shopping now, I find myself dragging home the largest packs of paper products I can find, only to repeat a month later. I just wish I could say that this abundance of paper towels was keeping our house a bit more spotless!
Not quite the plan 
December 30, 2014 at 9:02 am
Your generosity of spirit astounds me
December 30, 2014 at 9:10 pm
It is sad yet interesting what those with dementia become fixated with. For my dad, it was coins. He would pour a bunch of coins on the bed and try to organize them. If only we could understand the meaning behind their strange actions, but I wonder if they even understand as they perform them.
January 1, 2015 at 4:26 am
I understand and my husbands is wash rags and dish rags. He hides them and hoards them and I have no idea what for. I have a pile on his newsstand every night when he lays down just so he is not agitated and goes to sleep.
It is a small price to pay for a good nights sleep.
January 4, 2015 at 12:59 pm
Even without dementia, I know of quite a few elderly people who love to stash paper from restaurants, fast food places, and anywhere a napkin can be found. They are everyplace and I go crazy trying to get rid of them without causing a fuss. They know those napkins are going to be useful and if another depression happens (like it already hasn’t?) they will be glad they saved them. Yeah.