Glad You Asked!
These are frequently asked questions that I have been answering indivually but wanted to add value to a greater audience.
When Do I Know It's Time to Hire A Senior Move Manager?
Shortly after the death of my father, I found myself responsible for managing my mother’s move from her four-story house to significantly smaller living space. While helping my mother during this transition, we identified which items to keep, which to donate and which to sell.
Next, we had to decide how to use what she kept at her new residence. This is where my interior design and spatial planning experience proved invaluable. I knew my experience with my mother’s living transition was not uncommon and that assisting others in what can be an extremely difficult, personal and stressful time of their lives was my new calling. I became a senior move manager, though at the time, did not know that was what my role was called.
What is a senior move manager?
According to the National Association of Senior Move Managers (NASMM), senior move managers are in the “profession that assists older adults and their families with the emotional and physical aspects of relocation and/or aging in place." When looking for a senior move manager in your geographical area, the NASMM senior move manager provider directory is a great place to start.
Feeling overwhelmed and don’t know where to begin.
As we get older and consider moving into a senior living community, it is often difficult looking past the overwhelming task of packing, moving and all the choices necessary to determine what items they will take with them and how to fit those items into smaller accommodations. Sometimes the hardest part is just knowing where to start.
Downsizing doesn’t have to be daunting.
Downsizing a home can be a daunting task. It’s difficult to sort through, prioritize and dispose of items accumulated that represent a lifetime of memories. A senior move manager can help by providing clients with professional assistance to realize a stress-free transition.
What to look for when hiring a senior move manager.
First and foremost, a senior move manager should be someone that you feel you can trust. This is so important since this person or persons will be helping you with your senior move and all that entails, which is a very personal experience. A person that you feel an emotional connection can also be a huge plus given the potentially stressful nature of such life transitions.
Beyond trust, make sure that the senior move manager you select has experience in interior design and spatial planning. This will ensure that they can help you decide what you can take to your smaller living quarters while retaining all the comforts of home.
Senior move managers offer a variety of services to help during a senior move including:
- Prioritize items and determine which will be retained and which will be donated or sold
- Organize and pack items to take when the client moves into a new home
- Produce a scaled furniture plan to ensure accurate furniture placement in a new home
- “Stage” or “present” the client’s house to prepare it for sale
- Coordinate the move by working with professional movers, relatives and/or friends to pack and move furnishings and other items to the new home
- Decorate new living space to make aesthetically appealing
In summary, hiring a senior move manager that you trust can help you and your family through stressful life transitions. Senior move managers can develop and execute a solid move plan providing seniors in transition and their families, the peace of mind they deserve. With a senior move manager, downsizing, or as some prefer call it, “right sizing,” can be a stress-free and pleasant experience.
Senior Moves by Design NY specializes in the transition of older adults from a large family home into a smaller residence