I can relate to keeping your things hidden or away from your loved one. The moment that I leave anything anywhere - somehow my mom gets hold of it and then we are on the search to look for it. Sometimes, it is literally within minutes. That either goes well or not so much. But it is really irritating and I am getting better with just letting it go (although tricky for me because I love the order of things having their place). Things show up in the strangest places. She gets really upset when she misplaces her things and typically dad gets blamed for it, I do as well - but typically dad's always to blame.

We've noticed that the kitchen is the hot spot particularly when a meal is being prepared - many things are out on the counter because either my dad or I are actively cooking. It seems to create a lot of anxiety for her because she wants to immediately put everything away. In her mind - there is clutter. Interesting enough, this is only the case with the kitchen counter. She has mail clutter at the kitchen table but somehow that doesn't seem to generate any anxiety.

During meal prep - we usually have to encourage her to help with a task like setting the table and getting drinks for everyone. But that doesn't always work because she ends up trying to take over the process again. Often she is actively trying to clean things that we need to use while we are trying to use them to cook the meal. It can be extremely intrusive so you really have to pack your patience. When it gets a little overwhelming for us, we encourage her to find us something to watch on TV. This is the time we might also encourage relaxing where we have her dog sit with her and get a warm blanket to help calm her anxiety. This typically does the trick and often she will doze off for a bit until the meal is ready.