Downsizing Parents Guide: 5 Tips for Downsizing Seniors into a Smaller Home
As parents age, it is common to worry about them getting around the home. While no one wants to see their parents leave the home they’ve lived in for decades, downsizing into a smaller home may be the solution. There are many different options for seniors looking to downsize, and really the solution that is best for your parents just depends on their unique situation. Unfortunately, once the downsizing decision has been made, the next step is to sort through each room and pack up the house. To make this as easy as possible for you and your parents, we compiled a list of tips below.
Downsizing Tips for Seniors
- Start early: A house can acquire a large number of items in the decades your parents and family lived in it. Depending on the size of the house and the amount of people that lived in it, sorting through each room can truly be a project. The best way to minimize stress for you and your mom and dad is to start as early as possible. For family members familiar with the home, it can also be an enjoyable walk down memory lane.
- Think strategically by room: If the new home your mom or dad will be downsizing into doesn’t have an office, then there is no need to keep items from the office. The same goes for the garage, extra bedroom and any other rooms that the new home will have.
- Pack backwards: A common strategy for packing for a move is to pick out items you do not want and pack the rest. While this isn’t a bad way to pack, an easier and clearer way to do it is to pack the items you want to move with you and get rid of the rest.
- Eliminate the maybe pile: It’s no mystery that parting with items is very difficult. When sorting through belongings, keep the piles to only ‘yes’ or ‘no’ piles. Creating a ‘maybe’ pile makes it easier to hold onto items that aren’t absolutely needed because they are sentimental or tough to part with.
- Remove duplicate items: While duplicate items may have been able to fit in the old home, they will only clutter a downsized home. Items that are not damaged and still have life left in them can be given to family members, friends or donated.
Let a Storage Unit Rental Help with the Transition
When everything else is changing, there’s some comfort to keeping items that remind you of your old home. If your mom or dad want to hold onto more items than can fit in their new home, consider renting a storage unit to hold extra items. This is a great option for storing seasonal items that are only needed annually, like holiday decorations. Brentwood Self Storage has a storage facility in Brentwood, CA with many different sized storage options. Our storage facilities also have climate controlled storage options for storing items sensitive to fluctuations in temperature. Reserve your storage unit with Brentwood Self Storage today!
