Senior Citizen Moving Tips

Moving is stressful at any age. Additionally, moving a senior or elderly loved one can be an emotional, overwhelming process. Learn how to make a senior citizen move and transition seamless and stress free.

Communication

Transparency is key to reducing stress during the move. Communicate with your loved ones openly. Be very clear about the move process including timelines, costs, logistics, and expectations. Empower them to make decisions with you so they are engaged in the move process. Find out what is stressing them about the move and what questions they may have. Knowing all this information upfront can ease the stress of the “unknown”.

Support

Senior moves can be both an emotional and physical stress on your elderly loved ones. Support your loved ones throughout the process to help reduce this stress. Whether they need you to completely manage the move, or just guide them along the way – having a loved one to lean on during the process will ease the stress.

Help to Downsize

The downsizing / decluttering process can be overwhelming for your loved ones. It may be difficult, but gently remind them: you can hold onto memories without holding onto things. Offer assistance by helping to sort through items and sorting them into categories including  items to be kept, sold, donated, or given to family. Use colored sticky dots to differentiate items into the categories. Estate sales, yard sales, eBay, and consignment stores can all be great options to sell items that are no longer necessary or will not fit in the new home.

Plan Out New Home

Most senior citizen moves include downsizing into a much smaller square footage living arrangement. For example, moving from a 4,000 sq. ft. house into a 1,000 sq.ft. apartment or an even smaller footprint at an assisted living facility. Once you have purged items, plan the layout of the new home. This will also help you determine if more purging is necessary. Ask for a floorplan of the new space or measure yourself.

Hire a Full Service Mover

Managing the move on your own can be overwhelmingly stressful mentally, emotionally, and physically. Hire a full service mover to guide you throughout the move process so you can focus more on supporting your loved one during the transition.

Here at Humboldt Storage & Moving we have a deep passion within our family of employees to be empathetic and genuinely caring. We make it a priority to understand the specific fears, worries and the stresses associated with senior relocations. With Humboldt on the job, you can sit back and relax, knowing your loved one is in good hands. We are a full-service moving company that goes to great lengths to ensure that our customers can focus on the excitement, promise and opportunity of moving to a new place, without worrying about the hassles. Leave all the hard work to our professionally trained move coordinators and crews.