Taking on a senior move isn’t easy for anyone, whether you’re looking to move yourself or looking into full-service senior moving services for a loved one or relative. However, having the right professional moving company on your side for a senior move is integral to keeping your loved ones safe and allowing them the time to emotionally and physically process a transition like this. Looking for the right advice for hiring senior movers? Check out our top tips below.

Why Hire Senior Moving Services?

If you’re an older adult or somebody looking into helping their loved one with a relocation, it’s never a good idea to take on the packing and moving process by yourself, or to let your loved one take on the process by themselves. From the physical and emotional toll moving can take to the physical labor and strain it can require, moving can be tiresome at the least and can cause injury at its worst.

Moving heavy furniture and awkwardly sized items can put anybody at serious risk for injury, no matter their age. This risk only increases when somebody older is trying to do so, and can be especially dangerous for people who live alone.

Moving can also be difficult to coordinate and grapple with emotionally for those looking to move away from the homes that they may have raised their children in, or just ones that have a lot of memories tied to them. When using a professional moving company for your relocation however, especially one that specializes in senior moving services, you’ll be able to take a load off and allow the professionals to take on the job while you process your relocation emotionally.

How to Prepare for a Senior Move

Once you’ve found the right full-service senior moving company for you, it’s time to prepare for the relocation itself. Moving can be a really challenging process for anyone, no matter what stage of life they’re in, so preparation is key.

If you or a loved one are a senior citizen or elderly and are relocating from a home that you or they have lived in for a long time, especially a family home or one you might have deep ties to, letting go and leaving can be a really tough process.

The emotional stress of moving can only be further exacerbated by the physical demands of moving. From packing to loading the truck and everything in between, moving is no joke. However, that’s why you’re already hiring the best professional moving company for your senior move, after all! Having the right movers on your side for this transition will make a world of difference in being able to deal with the physical hardships of moving, and can also make the mental toll moving can take much easier to deal with.

Having the tools to prepare yourself or your loved one for a strenuous move is invaluable, especially in the case of a senior move. It can be really hard to adjust and let past homes go, since they hold so many precious memories or associations that can make them tough to step away from. Try not to get overwhelmed by this, however, and use our following tips to make your process easier.

1. Start Planning as Early as Possible

The best way to avoid stress and confusion during the course of your move is by starting the planning process as early as possible. Beginning to map out your vision and plan for you or your loved one’s move will also save you from feeling overwhelmed or upset as you approach moving day, and will keep you from having to stress about doing things too last minute.

Giving yourself plenty of time to prepare and pack will also let you or your loved one really process and emotionally get ready for the relocation, which can often end up being the toughest part of your process!

2. Create a Moving Timeline

The best way to keep yourself organized and your moving process on track is by creating a step by step, detailed moving timeline and action plan to keep yourself on a packing schedule. Nobody wants to end up packing at the last minute after all! Making a moving timeline will let you take on less at once, and will make your entire process that much easier from start to finish. This will also help when scheduling movers!

3. Declutter Your Home

Just as you should with any move, go through your household items and determine what things you’ll want to donate, sell, throw out, or just get rid of. The best way to make the decluttering process smooth and straightforward is by starting as early as possible and to give yourself plenty of time to not only go through your items, but to take a trip down memory lane with things that might’ve served you in the past or held certain memories, but have passed their time now.

Figure out what’s making the move with you (or just what can fit) and what isn’t, and give yourself time to process and to pack once you’ve finished the decluttering process.

4. Prepare Emotionally for the Move

Adjusting to a new home is very emotionally stressful for anyone, but can be especially difficult if you’ve just moved to a new place from one that you’d been living in for many years. Always give yourself plenty of time to adjust to not only your new place, but to leaving your old one. Create time to settle in and get used to your surroundings, and try to get excited about your new space!

5. Get Excited!

Whether moving into a senior living facility, into a loved one’s home, or somewhere else, making this sort of move can actually be a blessing in disguise (though it may feel upsetting at the time!).

Moving into a senior living community can be a fantastic way to make new friends and new connections, and to try so many new things. Moving in with loved ones can also give you a great opportunity to connect with your family and get some quality time with them that you might have missed out on had you continued to stay at your previous home.

Whether you’re an older adult taking on a move yourself or a loved one coordinating a move for an elder family member or friend, the most important aspect of the moving process is to try and take off as much stress from yourself and those helping you as possible, and to completely emotionally process your transition as it happens.

There’s no doubt that this process is a stressful one, but you can make it that much easier with the right strategy and preparation. Remember, don’t rush and give yourself time. Looking for the best senior moving services for your relocation? Use Fuller Moving Services to get the best relocation experience possible for yourself or for your loved one.