AbcdeDooDah Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 (edited) nm Edited December 1, 2019 by AbcdeDooDah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 If I can’t find an item in the usual places, I look in the unusual ones- especially if I am retracing my steps. I have absentmindedly put my phone in the fridge before. No symptom of anything other than absentmindedness. And a smart strategy (and sometimes desperation) to find things. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 I have put some things in some ridiculous places due to absent-mindedness, as have others here. So I have been known to look in ridiculous places when something doesn't turn up in logical ones. For example, milk in the pantry and clean dishes in the fridge. Usually people are trying to do a series of tasks - get distracted and skip something and mix up the intended actions. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
school17777 Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 (edited) Apparently my dh’s grandmother did things like that when he was young and growing up. Everyone thought it was funny when it happened. Eventually, she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Looking back, they wonder if those were early signs. Edited January 14, 2019 by school17777 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 That does seem strange, but sometimes when I've looked in absolutely every obvious place I can think of, I look in the strange places. I've been known to place odd items in the refrigerator, for example. Usually it's if I'm in a hurry or about to run out the door, and I put something away quickly and very absent-mindedly! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lecka Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 If I am in a loop of looking in the same places where the item is NOT, sometimes I will start looking in places I know it can’t be, because the item is in a place I don’t think it could be, or I would have looked there already. Also my kids have moved things to ridiculous places a few times. It’s been a while, but one my car keys were in the seat of a little ride-on push-car thing, and *I* did not put them there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEmama Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 7 hours ago, AbcdeDooDah said: Say a person asks where an item is, like a belt, for example. The person looks everywhere in the house, under couches, etc. But then they go look in the kitchen cabinets where the plates are, the pot cabinet, even the spice cabinet. Like we wouldn't notice a belt on top of the ginger! It has happened a handful of times with items that would be absurd in the kitchen but not regularly. A symptom of being a teenager? Being elderly? Being a harried mom? Being thorough? Being a creative problem solver? I'm sure I've done this countless times, and I'm a generally organized person. While I'm unlikely to misplace a belt with the kitchen plates, I am not the only person living in my home. Also, I have done unusual things and wouldn't be terribly surprised. It's comical how often I reverse track to put things in the appropriate place simply because I'm tired or on autopilot. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherry in OH Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 When I can't find something I had recently, I try to retrace my steps. So, if I remembered being in the kitchen, I might open cupboards or the refrigerator in hopes of jogging my memory. In my head (and sometimes out loud) , "I walked into the kitchen... noticed the milk on the counter...put it in the refrigerator... there were dishes in the drying rack ... put them away ... " 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AbcdeDooDah Posted January 14, 2019 Author Share Posted January 14, 2019 56 minutes ago, Sherry in OH said: When I can't find something I had recently, I try to retrace my steps. So, if I remembered being in the kitchen, I might open cupboards or the refrigerator in hopes of jogging my memory. In my head (and sometimes out loud) , "I walked into the kitchen... noticed the milk on the counter...put it in the refrigerator... there were dishes in the drying rack ... put them away ... " Yes, that totally makes sense. I do that. A lot. 😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AbcdeDooDah Posted January 14, 2019 Author Share Posted January 14, 2019 (edited) nm Edited December 1, 2019 by AbcdeDooDah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 In my house that would be a symptom of someone “looking everywhere” but hoping I’d notice their valiant effort and find the thing for them. 8 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AbcdeDooDah Posted January 14, 2019 Author Share Posted January 14, 2019 7 minutes ago, KungFuPanda said: In my house that would be a symptom of someone “looking everywhere” but hoping I’d notice their valiant effort and find the thing for them. Probably some of that, too. It makes me stabby, though(which is fully my problem, I know) so I just can't. 😀 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 It would be worrisome to me if the first place they looked for a lost belt was in the spice cabinet, but if they're only looking there after checking many other places, it doesn't seem so odd. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanin Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 Well... I put left a big container of yogurt in the spice cabinet last week, and only noticed the next day when I was making dinner. Argh! Like Selkie said, if they look in the weird place first, that would be odd. I would think maybe they don't know categories very well - for example, belts go with clothes, so I should look with the clothes first. Lots of people have trouble with categories. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 I once found my bank card in the refrigerator, so I look even in silly places when I lose anything. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teachermom2834 Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 We have found the TV remotes in the kitchen cupboards before. I live in a house with several absent minded professor types. So it doesn’t sound that strange to me and I wouldn’t think it a symptom of anything except being very desperate to find said item and having already checked the most obvious places. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 2 hours ago, AbcdeDooDah said: Both sides of the family for this person. There are other worrisome behaviors i am documenting but it seems as if many of the responses here make this particular behavior seem not all that unusual. I think the key here is "other worrisome behaviors". By itself, it could be a symptom of not getting enough sleep, having too much on your mind, being absentminded etc. In conjunction with other things including forgetfulness about things like turning off the stove, going to appointments and other daily tasks that a person might have not had any trouble with in the past, it can be a symptom of cognitive decline. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garga Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 14 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said: I think the key here is "other worrisome behaviors". By itself, it could be a symptom of not getting enough sleep, having too much on your mind, being absentminded etc. In conjunction with other things including forgetfulness about things like turning off the stove, going to appointments and other daily tasks that a person might have not had any trouble with in the past, it can be a symptom of cognitive decline. Or sleep apnea. Not getting enough sleep will cause a host of memory issues. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alicia64 Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 I couldn't find the cat's laser pointer toy anywhere. I looked and looked. I finally gave up and found it months later in the freezer. I notice that there are times when I'm racing to get chores done and not paying attention at all to what I'm doing. I've tried to slow down and be more present. You're not alone, Alley 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender's green Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 Sounds like the norm in our house. I stash things in special places "so I won't forget about them" (LOL), DH has an absent-minded professor thing going on, and we all hide stuff from each other. Like if a toy or the remote is becoming a problem, I'll tell the kids it needs a time-out and I'll throw it in a hidden place. Often the kitchen because it's central and has lots of hidey-holes. The kids stash stuff from each other in random places all the time. Each of my kids have gone through a phase where they have a certain toy they like to keep in the freezer. Right now it's vampire teeth. But you know your person best. :) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 Sounds normal. And usually the item being looked for ends up in some super logical, normal place. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathnerd Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 Once a small pumpkin I had was missing. My mil was living in my house at that time. I had given up looking for it. Found it in the freezer (full pumpkin) after my in-laws left. My mil does a lot of things like that. So, I search every where when she visits including spice cabinets. Not unusual behavior for some. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scholastica Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 9 hours ago, Seasider too said: Please tell me I’m not the only person who has left a cordless phone on a shelf in the pantry or refrigerator. We have a locking metal storage cabinet. I once left a cup of tea in it while putting some stuff away. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 10 hours ago, Seasider too said: Please tell me I’m not the only person who has left a cordless phone on a shelf in the pantry or refrigerator. You're definitely not the only one. Most recently, I finally found mine under some sheets and guest towels in the linen closet. I must have ended a conversation, put it there, and then continued folding and putting things on top. It took me quite a while to find it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
***** Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 I may be one of the only ones to say I understand what you are going through. Sure, I agree with looking in logical places first, but when they don't, it is purposeful or impulsive, and just plain odd. My relative is like that. Once, when he was looking for something, I told him to look maybe under the couch cushions, as I had seen it last on the couch. So he proceeded to look everywhere as if he were looking very, very hard, BUT the couch area. So, I went and looked at the place where I suggested, and lo and behold, what should I find? Yes, the object he was looking for...grrr... That has happened other times as well, where he will look in the oddest and most unlikeliest of places. Once, when his sister was in the room with me, he did his act of, 'hmmmm, where did I put that?' (we were in a rental for a few days, and he looked on top of the credenza where we would definitely not have put anything and I knew it...) I think it was his way to start a conversation and like you, I wasn't going to budge. If he had something to say, he could just say it. I didn't look up or ask. Finally, he went to bed...Sounds cruel, but not when you are the recipient of this behavior over and over. Enough already! I do not believe it is always a dementia thing either... And I always catch myself now when I have lost something. I don't say, 'Now where did I put...', because he might start tearing into things in illogical places, and leaving a bigger mess than things were before... So for those of you who have not experienced this kind of behavior, count yourselves lucky. You truly are. I have shared, but please don't bash or quote. Remember, until you have walked in another man's shoes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AbcdeDooDah Posted January 16, 2019 Author Share Posted January 16, 2019 ^^^ You get it! Lol. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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