Moving Made Easy

moving made easy

Moving to a new home can be a challenging and intimidating process for anyone, but especially senior adults. At Christian Village Communities (CVC), we want to simplify the process for our new residents.  We recently spoke with a relocation specialist who shared helpful tips for older adults when considering a move to a new home at a senior living community.

Tom Hambly is a relocation specialist and the CEO of Relocation Planners.  Relocation Planners offers start-to-finish services to remove the worry by managing all aspects of a move including the sale of the house, packing, moving, and settling in services.  Learn what Mr. Hambly shared about how to make a move with ease.

Tip #1 How to Downsize

Many senior adults are moving from a home that has been a part of their lives for decades. This could be a home where they raised their family, pursued various hobbies, and stored keepsakes from a lifetime of memories. Typically, the move into a senior living community will require downsizing which can sound overwhelming. Start organizing your belongings by creating four categories: donate, auction, keep, and trash. Mr. Hambly encourages senior adults to “keep valuable items in the family and pass them down to your loved ones.”

The best place to start the downsizing is the basement. “Get rid of most of the things in the basement since you’ll only have one floor” Mr. Hambly recommends. Then, move on to your bathroom. Mr. Hambly estimated that 70% of bathrooms items will never get used again so it’s best to get rid of as much as possible before packing boxes. After you clean out the basement and bathrooms, move on to the closets. His best advice is to get rid of any clothing items that you haven’t worn in two years. You might be surprised by how many clothes hardly make it out of your closet!


seniors opening packing box

When going through this process, Mr. Hambly encouraged people to think about, “how much joy it will bring your heart to donate items to someone who will truly enjoy it and get use out of it”.

One of the hardest spaces to downsize will likely be your kitchen. Keep in mind that you probably won’t be entertaining as often as you did years ago, so this can be a great area to clean out and create space. Remember – the less you keep, the less you must pack and unpack into your new home.

packing, moving

Tip #2 How to Space Plan

Planning is crucial when preparing for a smooth transition into a new home. One of the first things you can do to simplify the moving process is measure your new home and create a furniture plan tailored to fit. Measure closet space, cabinet space, room dimensions, and storage space in the new home to determine how much you can take with you. Once you’ve identified the new space, decide on what furniture you’ll take and pack the critical home items first.

When you’re packing, Mr. Hambly recommends packing everything in boxes according to the room it belongs in. Don’t forget to label everything! This will simplify the process for the movers and assist you in making a seamless move into your forever home.

Tip #3 Hire a Relocation Specialist

A relocation specialist can help analyze your current house in comparison to the new home and plan accordingly. This saves you the burden of needing to determine what items to move and where they will fit.  There are numerous companies that offer this service.  Mr. Hambly shared that, “At Relocation Planners, our first step is to identify the new space our client is moving into. Then, we’ll create a floor plan of the new home to scale to help organize furniture and maximize space”. They will take care of measuring, planning how many of your personal items can fit, and ensure that you’re only moving what is necessary.

At CVC, our goal is to make the transition into your new home a seamless experience. We pride ourselves in helping older adults enjoy a well-rounded, fulfilling lifestyle in a faith-filled environment. In addition to offering independent living, CVC offers assisted living, short-term rehabilitation, long-term nursing care, and memory support. For more information or to schedule a personal tour of one of our beautiful communities, visit www.christianvillages.org/schedule-a-visit

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