What does “Going Green” have to do with Alzheimer’s?

What does “Going Green,” that popular slogan nowadays, have to do with Alzheimer’s.  How does Alzheimer’s connect with the lists of green movies, green singers, green concerts?  And what does “going green” actually mean?

Well, it certainly doesn’t refer to St. Patrick’s Day, eating vegetables, being sick and “green around the gills,” or something new in this application.  “Going Green” appears to refer to being “environmentally conscious” or “earth friendly” in today’s context.

So maybe you can “go green,”if you have a mind to, in your caretaking tasks and activities with your Alzheimer’s patient(s).  Become conscious of the environment in your daily life.

*Enjoy the environment around you and take your family member for a stroll or drive outdoors.  We would push Mother in her wheel chair around the flower gardens at the nursing home.  When she still lived at home, she enjoyed going for drives, especially in autumn when the colored leaves were at their peak.

*Watch birds at a feeder or bird bath.  My mother thoroughly enjoyed this activity in her home, our home, and later the nursing home.  I’ve noticed many nursing homes have bird feeders outside their windows for the residents to watch.

*Involve your Alzheimer’s patient in  art and craft projects  that make use of recycled materials.  Cut pictures from magazines and paste them in a scrapbook or on a piece of colored paper for a collage.  Talk about them and reminisce.

*Use recycled paper in your correspondence, photocopier, printer, and other tasks

*Recycle the trash from your home.  Some towns require that you recycle, while in others it’s voluntary.

*Use cleaning products that are biodegradable

*Pass along clothing no longer used.  When Mother had to change from regular clothing to back opening styles, we found others at the nursing home, who had no family to provide for them, could wear hers.

Do you have other ways of “going green” as you go about your daily life caring for patients or family members with Alzheimer’s?