Moving ageing parents and other loved ones from their memory-filled, long-standing home to a smaller space in a new community can be a difficult task for them as well as those who help them. The person moving should allow time to organize, sort and pack belongings.
In this case, family and friends may have to work through decades worth of belongings. You want the transition to be as smooth as possible, regardless of whether it is in a retirement community or assisted living. Your loved one may have a hard time adapting to the stress of a move.
Moving Help: Senior Move Managers (SMMs)
If you are living far from your loved ones or have strained relationships with them, a Senior Manager Manager can provide professional moving help. An SMM can be a lifesaver even if everyone lives close and loves one another.
An SMM can be a problem solver, a wise friend, a neutral third party, a professional downsizer, and an adviser. They help families get rid of the unnecessary stuff while keeping the memories. SMMs don’t carry the baggage of family history. They know that the loss of an elderly parent is devastating for the entire family.
While services can be ordered individually, some SMMs offer packages that include two or more moving services. Before you decide on one, interview them and ask questions.
These services can include:
- Plan your move
- Organizing, sorting, and downsizing
- Selling remaining items via auction, estate sale, consignment, or donating with an itemized receipt, tax valuation,
- Arrange shipment and storage
- Supervise professional packing
- Set up your new home and unpack items
Make sure you are prepared
It is important to be patient and allow the process to unfold over time. It can be difficult to let go of a home. The good, the bad, the forgotten, the emotional, and unexpected are all part of dividing and sorting. This makes it difficult for everyone to deal with the family shift. It’s more than just going through things; it’s also going through the memories.
Make a move manageable
Step by Step
Step 1. Ask your loved one what six possessions are most important to you. Jewelry and smaller items don’t count. Maybe it’s the blanket that your mom wrapped around your newborns, or the bureau your grandfather made. Keep the chosen items.
Step 2. You can label them Move, Sell or Toss, Donate, up for grabs, Pass On, and Donate.
Step 3. Begin with the rooms that are used the least because that’s where you most likely keep the things that you don’t use that much. Before you start, you should first agree that you’ll get rid of things that are worn out, cracked, or broken, unless the item is an heirloom.
Step 4. Toss the unwanted items in the Throw or Donate box.
- Your loved one can choose what will stay and what will go.
- Place small and medium items, such as lamps, art, or candlesticks, in the boxes. Large items can be labeled with appropriate labels and assigned a different sticky note color.
- Books that are donated to libraries or used-book stores get their own toy boxes.
- Hangers should be used for clothing going to consignment shops. To make a garment bag, cut a 3-inch hole in the bottom end of a large bag.
- To ensure that it fits in the new space, measure everything marked Move.
- If the Pass Along is for a person, write their name on the item.
- If you’re undecided, put a question mark on a tag. Within a week, you can decide.
Step 5. If your family member has spent many years building their personal collection, find a way to remember all of it without having to bring them all with you. One good example is to take pictures of the items in the collection.
Step 6.
- Anybody can grab anything from the Up for Grabs Box.
- All unclaimed items go to Donate/Toss.
- Don’t forget to collect donations regularly.
- You should move any Pass-On items as soon as possible.
Moving Tips to Reduce Stress
- It can be easier to part with loved items if they are given to a family member.
- Phrases such as “You don’t need that!” It’s junk!” They are not helpful. When the to-go pile swells, offer a gentle “This-one-or-that-one?” choice.
- Draw a floor plan for your loved one’s new house. To represent furniture, cut rectangles, squares, and circles to scale. Without being told, your loved one will be able to see which pieces will fit.
- Concentrate on the positive. What are you going do with the profits from the sale of patio furniture?
- Ask if your loved one can use an outdoor bench or birdbath if he or she is moving to an assisted living community.
- After your loved one is done deciding which items to give up, ask them for a brief rest. Take the opportunity to bag donations.
Call Brunswick Organizing Solutions now and let our team of professional organizers help you make your move more memorable and less stressful.
Brunswick Organizing Solutions
Leland, NC 28451
910-477-3768
https://www.getorganizednc.com/
Brunswick Organizing Solutions
Shallotte, NC 28470
910-477-3768
Brunswick Organizing Solutions
Myrtle Beach, SC 29577
843-429-8158
Cities Served
Leland, Wilmington, Shallotte, North Myrtle Beach, Myrtle Beach, Southport, Bolivia, St. James, Oak Island, Ocean Isle Beach, Sunset Beach, Carolina Shores, Calabash, Castle Hayne, Burgaw – Brunswick and Horry County