Ways to Help Your Elderly Parents Who Are Downsizing Their Home

When your elderly parents reach the point that they're ready to move out of their large home and into a smaller home, a condo, or a retirement community, it's ideal for you to provide assistance every step of the way. Moving can feel a bit overwhelming to anyone, but the process of moving can seem even bigger when you're elderly.

One of the best ways that you can help your parents is to arrange the hiring of a moving crew. This crew will take care of all the heavy lifting on moving day, which will free you up to provide assistance to your parents in other ways, including making sure that they're doing OK and aren't too stressed. Here are some other specific ways to help your parents through the downsizing process.

Lend a Hand With Getting Rid of Items

One of the toughest parts of downsizing is getting rid of a large selection of items due to the pending space constraints. This process can feel overwhelming to your parents, but you can help out by being present and leading the effort. Don't barge into their home in the weeks before moving day and start declaring which items need to go. Instead, gently ask which items your folks don't expect to need again, and then take care of getting rid of them. You can then donate the items to a charity, keep some of them yourself, attempt to sell them online and give the proceeds to your parents, or throw them out.

Help With Packing & Organizing

While you can always think about hiring the moving crew to pack up your parents' home, this job might need to be done over the course of several weeks. In this case, it can be simpler if you just visit frequently to lend a hand. Your assistance with the packing process can make the move and subsequent unpacking go more smoothly. As you pack things up, make the time to label the contents of each box, as well as note where each box should be placed in the new home.

Clean the New Home First

It's often ideal to clean a new home before moving in, as the job will be quicker when the house is empty. This job might prove challenging to your elderly parents, but you can step in and take care of it for them. Or, if you're too busy with other tasks related to the move, think about hiring a cleaning service as a moving gift for your parents. They'll be delighted when they arrive at the new residence and find that it's sparkling.

To learn more or receive assistance, contact companies like Affordable Transfer Co Inc.

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