I recently read an article by www.caring.com that would be extremely helpful for those who are organizing a parent’s move to senior living in Pennsylvania. The task of moving a loved one out of their current environment which they may have called home for the last 50+ years is not an easy one. As a senior living community in Chester County, PA, we are often asked for recommendations on how to make the move as smooth as possible.
In preparing to move your older relative out of their home, here is a step-by-step guide to organizing the move!
STEP 1 Get the whole family on board
Moving an older relative from their family home to a new, and usually smaller, residence is labor intensive for you and emotionally disruptive for your loved one. Though it may seem like your best shot to downsize, it’s not a good idea to “surprise” a family member by sorting through their stuff when they are not around. If you try to make an executive decision about their belongings, chances are, you’re headed for a run-in with them or others in your family.
To help prevent emotional flare-ups and ensure a smooth process, schedule a meeting with the whole family, if possible, to discuss the plan of attack well ahead of the move-out date. (If you can’t get together in person, do it by phone.) Hash out some guidelines: Under what circumstances will you call each other on “keep or discard” decisions? When will you consult the person who’s moving? What key possessions would you and your other family members like to keep in the family?
Encourage the person who’s moving to actively participate in decisions. For example, adult children often want to throw away old furniture and buy newer, more attractive pieces for their parent’s new home. But the parent should be able to pick what comes with him/her. Let them take their own furniture if they want to – they know what will make them most comfortable in their new home, and sentimental value often counts for more than aesthetics.
STEP 2: Work slowly when packing up – think months, not days (if possible!)
Your relative’s home is more than just a roof over his/her head. It’s the place where they feel most comfortable, a museum of their memories and life stories.
Complicating matters, if they lived through the lean Depression years, chances are they spent a lifetime saving and collecting. Decades of squirreling away can add up to a house that’s packed floorboard to rafter with stuff! As you begin organizing for a move, keep in mind that seemingly worthless belongings may have huge sentimental value for them, and they’ll need time to sort through their things on their own terms. Try to resist the urge to execute the move as quickly as possible.
It really needs to be a three-to-four-month process. You need to give an older adult time to go through the love letters, the report cards, and the photographs from the Grand Canyon.
STEP 3: Get real about the size of your older relative’s new place.
Many folks will take more “stuff” than will comfortable (and safely) fit in their new home!
Avoid this situation by first getting a sense of how much square footage and storage your relative will have in his/her new home. What they can keep will depend on how much room you have to work with. Getting realistic about space constraints up front – even sitting down with them to sketch out what can go where, will help force some of the harder decisions about what to get rid of.
At Spring Mill Senior Living we also may be able to offer some resources to help you with this move. Many people have antiques they would like to sell. Some folks also can’t even begin to deal with going through all of their family members belongings. We have names of organizations that can take all that stress off of your plate. In addition, if your loved one needs to make a move in days rather than months as they would wish, consider a respite stay. A respite stay is when a resident moves into a furnished apartment for 30-60 days. This allows any family that needs to make an immediate move the time they need to intelligently sort through belongings. It also takes a whole lot of stress out of the equation!
(ARA) – Calling your retirement savings a “nest egg” is meaningful on many levels. Just as birds labor hard and long to create a secure roost, you and your mate work hard to provide for yourselves during your golden years. And just as crows and other invaders can come along to rob a bird’s nest, your nest egg can be at risk from predators like identity thieves and scammers. If your saving for your (or your loved one’s) future senior care in Chester County, it’s important that you are informed of the risks… Here’s why:
