Help sorting the treasures from the clutter
By Ken Rossman

You’re in your 70s and comfortably retired. Your single-family home has been wonderful, but now the amount of space you don’t need is becoming overwhelming. A move to a smaller home makes perfect sense, but what about the move itself? Your house is cluttered with countless items you’ve collected over the decades and you hate to burden relatives working full time jobs and raising families with helping you. How will you cope with the stress?

Moving into a new home isn’t all about physical labor; not by a long shot. The packing and lifting are secondary to the emotional and psychological stress of making hard decisions about what to keep and what to pass along.

Fortunately, there is an option that many are taking advantage of: Senior Moving Managers. These companies specialize in “helping seniors with the physical and emotional aspects of moving.” According to Margit Novack of Moving Solutions in Havertown, Pa, one should not confuse these organizations with your run-of-the-mill movers.

“We’re not movers. Sure, we do help with packing and unpacking, but it’s the decision-making that we help with the most,” Novack says.

Moving Solutions is one of a growing number of moving companies throughout the country dedicated to seniors. Each one of these companies face the challenge as well as the reward that comes with helping customers downsize.

“What many people lose sleep over isn’t the move itself because usually that’s a decision they’ve already made. Instead it’s, ‘How will I get it all done?’” Novack states. “Ultimately, doing it is a lot less scary than thinking about it.”

Typically, a senior moving company like Moving Solutions will break down a customer’s move step-by-step. A key component of this move, as well as the step that seniors need the most help with, is de-cluttering the house and deciding which items to bring along.

“Some people become attached to items that they have owned for many years and they don’t want to let them go,” says Charna Kinneburg of Senior Transitions, Inc. in Abingdon, Md. “We like to start off with a discussion of lifestyle, for example, what you really need for meals versus what you’d just like to have.”
Senior Moving Managers specialize in this type of decision-making. Developing a floor plan and dynamically illustrating the impact certain furniture will have on space in the new home is key for a successful “downsizing” move.
“I use a type of home designer software that illustrates what the floor plan will look like,” Kinneburg explains. “Sometimes a person may want to bring a bookcase and a display cabinet, so I’ll show [them] what would happen and it may come down to choosing between the bookcase and the display cabinet.”

Sometimes, a customer will have medical conditions or his/her close relatives will be too busy to help with a move. Thankfully, Senior Moving Managers can step in to help. Just ask Novack. “We moved someone recently and her five children were involved,” she explains. “Her husband has a brain tumor and was in a nursing home while she uses a walker. So the kids were dealing with that as well.”

But what about the items that are discarded? Senior Moving Managers propose multiple solutions for such dilemmas, all of which are extremely beneficial. Some items are targeted for relatives whereas others need to be sold or donated.

When the decision is made to sell “Our No. 1 priority is to sell [the customer’s discarded items] and make sure the customers get some money back,” Kinneberg explains. “But there are other options like charities, which usually provide a tax-deductible receipt, or there’s Freecycle, a ‘Yahoo!’ group that helps recycle items for others to use. Even if customers can’t earn money or a tax break, they’ll still feel good about giving to someone else who needs [these items].”

Admittedly, cost can be an issue. Senior Moving Managers usually base their prices on how much help is desired. “Simply helping with packing and unpacking can run only a few hundred dollars,” Kinneburg explains. “But when you include the floor plan, de-cluttering, and help with disposing of items, the price could be a few thousand. It all depends on the person’s needs.

“But,” she adds with a laugh, “One good thing is that we are cheaper than therapists.”

Taking Action
The National Association of Senior Moving Managers, a non-profit organization consisting of many Senior Moving Managers, recommends a checklist of what to look for in a Senior Moving Manager. These are intended to make certain the mover is legitimate and skilled at helping with decision-making.

How long have you been providing Senior Moving Management services?

• What are your credentials?
• How do you charge? (Hourly rate or flat fee)
• Can you provide me with a written contract?
• Can you provide me with references?

Online resources:
National Association of Senior Moving Managers: www.nasmm.org
Senior Transitions, Inc.: www.seniortransitionsinc.com
Moving Solutions: www.movingsolutions.com
Free Cycle: www.freecycle.org