How Can You Help Your Aging Adult Downsize?

How Can You Help Your Aging Adult Downsize?

 February 8, 2018

A group of people standing around each other.


At some point, your elderly family member may find that she needs to move to a new location. This almost always means that she’s not going to be able to bring everything with her. So how can you help her deal with that task?

 

Sort Items as Much as Possible

No matter what your senior’s new destination is, she’ll probably have items that are definitely going with her, items that are going elsewhere, and items that aren’t useful anymore. The first thing to do is to sort through those items and figure out which category each item fits into. Don’t worry so much about what will happen to each item just yet. For now, just get them separated into groups.

 

Determine Where Items Will Go

Once you have items sorted, it’s easier for you to start narrowing down where they’re going to go. The items that need to be disposed of are fairly easy once you know the best way to do that. Equally simple are the items going with your senior. The more complicated items are the ones that your elderly family member wants to sell or give away in one format or another. You can get help from estate sales agents and auctions, consignment shops, and jewelers to determine how best to handle some items.

 

Keep Your Senior’s Destination in Mind

While the items your senior wants to keep and bring with her may not require much thought, you do need to be aware of how big that pile is getting. If she’s moving into a situation that is significantly smaller than her current home, it’s really easy to bring too much with her to that new location. You might want to work with a professional organizer to help make sure you’re able to optimize the new space for your senior’s needs.

 

Try to Keep Your Senior Involved as Much as Possible

The more involved your senior is in this process the better for her and for you. Assuming that your elderly family member is able to participate, she needs to be able to speak up about what she wants to keep or where she wants her items to go if she can’t keep them. Making these decisions without her can backfire and stop the whole process.

If your elderly family member isn’t able to participate as much as you’d like, it’s better if your attention isn’t too divided. Consider hiring home care providers who can spend the day with your elderly family member while you deal with the logistics of her belongings.

 

If you or an aging loved-one are considering Senior Care in Bloomfield, PA, please contact the caring staff at In-Home Quality Care today. Serving the Greater Pittsburgh Area since 1990! Call 412-421-5202