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A Six Step Framework to Simplify Your Senior Move

Making a move is a big event in one’s life. In fact many people want to make a move but find the thought just so overwhelming they just never do it. A senior move to downsize can offer a new quality of life including enhanced social opportunities and maintenance-free living.

The following six step framework can be used to simplify your senior move.

Step 1: Create a New Home Design. – The new home design includes creating floor plans which show each room and the placement of each piece of furniture. Floor plans also include actual measurements of the rooms, locations of doors, windows, heaters and outlets. This will help when ordering custom window treatments if needed and shopping for any required accessories. This will also help in determining which furniture can be kept and where they will be placed.

Step 2: Staging the Home to Sell - Often a senior move is driven by the need to right-size. Given the move to a smaller space, often times many items need to be sold, donated or otherwise disposed of. A cluttered house can be difficult to sell. This is where staging planning can really help. Staging can include making needed home Improvements and repairs that, if left undone, could become an impediment to selling your home. Senior move managers provide resources for house cleaning, painting, repairs and have valuable realtor contacts. Staging a home can greatly reduce the time to sell a home while increasing the sales price.

Step 3: Downsizing - The goal of downsizing is to keep what you love and let go of what no longer serves you. This can be an emotional process as many of our memories are attached to our personal possessions. A senior move manager can help with finding new homes for items no longer needed. This includes arranging for sale of items through auctions and estate sales, used furniture dealers and donating any remaining items to charities which can provide tax benefits while helping the less fortunate.

Step 4: Packing and Unpacking - As with any move, senior moves require packing up the items selected for your new living space and then physically moving those items from your previous home. Once the items have been moved, a senior move manager will unpack the kitchen as these items are needed day one. Additional services that make senior moves seamless including setting up computers, TVs and other electronic devices that are used daily. Senior move managers can also make beds, set clocks, install light bulbs, put up shower curtains and perform other tasks that are required to make your new living space livable on day one.

Step 5: Design Follow-up - After the move is complete and the new living space if functionally setup, a design follow-up can be a great way to ensure that your new living space is comfortable while making you feel at home. This includes providing customized window treatments, placing artwork, creating collectible displays and shopping for those needed extras that provide the final touches that make your new living space feel like home. Be sure to hire a senior move manager with interior design skills as a good design follow-up can greatly enhance your new living space.

Step 6: Estate Settlement Assistance - The final step in many senior moves involves providing assistance with the many tasks related to selling property and belongings in an estate situation. This kind of assistance is invaluable for power of attorney’s that live out of town and don’t have the time or desire to handle the details. Senior move managers can have the sale of the house coordinated, get the best price for antiques and valuables while managing qualified appraisals. These estate settlement services can remove a burden from family while streamlining the downsizing process for the senior.

Hiring a senior move manager that follows the six step framework outlined here will greatly simplify your senior living transition while making the impossible seem possible.