Moving Mom and Dad – When it’s Time

Our earlier blog topic addressed the pro-active strategy on downsizing. However, many of us see our parents in homes they have lived in for 25 years or longer. If poor health, mobility or cognitive problems are prompting you to discuss moving your parents to a smaller more manageable space or an assisted living residence, how do you begin to broach the subject? There’s no question this can be a tender topic. Many times family dynamics can interfere with the decision making resulting in inertia. Here are some suggestions on how to open the conversation: Are your parents lonely? Is there social circle dwindling? Are they happy? Are finances an issue – can they still afford their large home on their pension income? Or, can they still keep up the physical maintenance on their home? Are they taking care of themselves and eating properly? As always, conducting the conversation with tact, love and understanding is paramount. When it comes time to sell their home we recommend engaging a caring Real Estate Agent – one who truly enjoys working with Senior’s and is sensitive to the major life transition they are facing.

It’s never too early to start thinking about downsizing

Last week we received a call resulting in us doing a consultation for a new client who is looking to downsize within 2 to 3 years. Her reasons to start early make a lot of sense. She and her husband have 3 children. Her daughter has already graduated from University and has more or less moved out on her own. Her other 2 boys are 14 and 17 years old. Admittedly, she is a long-term planner and can foresee that her 4 bedroom home will simply be too large once her boys graduate as well. As Professional Organizers and Downsizing Experts, we all too often see the opposite. We see couples who have been rattling around in their family home for many years after their children have left. From these clients we hear the same statement. “Why didn’t we do this sooner!” Some clients unfortunately wait too long and find themselves impeded by ill-health when they finally decide to make the move.

Though written in June of 2005, the following link addresses some of the questions and imparts some excellent advice

http://money.cnn.com/2005/05/16/real_estate/re2005_smaller_0506/

Being pro-active about downsizing is simply the best strategy. How many of you are grappling with the same decision or have parents you have been trying to convince to start downsizing?