5 Moving Tips For Seniors

From the physical toll packing takes to the mental and emotional one, moving can be particularly stressful for seniors to navigate.

Whether you’re planning a move to a new home or are helping a loved one transition to a senior living community, there’s a lot of factors to consider to avoid the inevitable anxieties that come with moving. That’s why we’ve compiled a few helpful tips for helping make this transition as smooth as possible.

Here are five tips for moving with seniors:

1. Respect Their Independence: While you may feel obligated to help your parent or grandparent as much as possible during the move, be careful not to leave them out of the big decisions. Unless they have an illness that prevents them from making decisions, let them be a part of the process as much as possible, without overwhelming them. This can include letting them choose a community they enjoy, helping them declutter their home or even helping them stage their current house for sale.
2. Sort and Label Everything: Moves can be messy when they’re not planned ahead of time. This can lead to stress and even lost items. To help move the process along, sort and label boxes as you pack them so that you can unpack and store things quicker. If you are too busy or your loved one has a lot of items that need packing, you could also skip the headache and invest in a professional packing company to help.
3. Pack a Go Bag: Without the right preparation and organization, your loved one may spend days searching unlabeled boxes with the hopes of finding their toothbrush or cell phone charger. To help with this, we recommend packing a bag with essential items only – such as medications, toiletries and snacks for the trip – and keeping it with you throughout the move so that your senior will have everything they need as they settle into their new home.
4. Notify The Right Channels: To avoid confusion down the road, be sure to help your loved one notify the necessary people before and after moving. This can include anything from updating their new address to the Social Security Administration to helping them find new doctors and transferring medical records so appointments can run seamlessly.
5. Consider a Professional Mover: Moving is stressful enough without having to deal with the details of packing and unpacking. Trust a qualified moving expert who specializes in senior moves so that your loved one can have peace of mind during this big transition. 

For more information about moving at HomePros Moving & Storage, please contact us here or call us directly at 616.600.1486.