The Dementia Diaries:Tales from an unprepared carer

One of my numerous worries was that dad would leave his key in the front door. If a key is left in the lock on the inside of the door, it is not possible to insert a key from the outside. This would mean that neither we nor the carers could enter the property if it was locked. I needed another means of accessing the property if this happened, so gathered together a full set of keys which would enable me to access the property through the rear conservatory and kitchen if needed.

I already had a labelling machine. It has been so incredibly useful in these last few weeks! The first thing I did was to place a label under the inside front door lock reminding dad not to leave the key in the lock. I also labelled the fob of the front door key with FRONT DOOR KEY on one side and KEEP THIS KEY BY THE TELEPHONE on the other side. This was important as I realised that if the key was not by the front door, dad would not be able to lock up at night and might then panic, as this has always been part of his daily routine.

I have also used the label maker to label the tv remote controls, which dad was getting muddled up and individual keys, as they all look the same! The label maker I have is a Brother P touch. I love it because you can get different coloured labels. You can also change the font siI would be mindful of using colour though, as they aren’t all as easy to read – useful if you are labelling small items such as keys.