There are many seniors and their families thinking about moving to some sort of senior housing, but the idea of moving is daunting. Some seniors have lived in their family homes for 30, 40 and even 50 years and have accumulated rooms of “stuff”. Some of this “stuff” can be valuable, some may have sentimental value, but some will just need to be discarded. The good news is there are many available options.  

1. Family & Friends: In a perfect world your kids live 2 miles away and can help every weekend to get your house organized, set up a garage sale / estate sale and discard unwanted items. Lives aren’t perfect so think about a hard working niece or a high school grandson that needs money. My big advice is to have somebody help you with a list (examples in back) and start dividing up duties and / or hire people, which I describe below.

2. Senior Move Managers (chapter 7): They can be very valuable in these scenarios to help with a game plan and get things done.

3. NAPO (National Organizational of Professional Organizers): Professional organizers can come in and quote pricing to get your house organized and streamlined (starting the downsizing process). Some senior’s love the house so much after it is decluttered they no longer want to move.

4. Estate Sale Companies (chapter 9): If you have decided you want to really downsize and move into senior housing, these are the people you need to contact.

Action Step: If you have decided to sell your longtime residence, I would advice talking with a SREA (Senior accredited Real Estate Agents).

Golden Nugget: Waste Management sells Bagsters at local hardware stores for about $30. You place the Bagster in a corner of your driveway and it can hold up to 3,300 pounds. You can throw most anything in the Bagster except for hazardous wastes, oil and pants (please read the do and don’ts on the bag). This is a great first step in decluttering and cleaning up your house and will only cost you about $150 ($30 for the bag and $120 for pick up by Waste Management).