Many seniors choose to downsize their homes during their retirement years. Downsizing might mean moving into an independent senior living community in Michigan or relocating from a larger house to a smaller one. Either way, downsizing one’s home and belongings can be a challenging process.

Here are some tips that can help your senior loved one as they downsize and prepare for a move.

10 Tips to Help a Michigan Senior Downsize

1. Get rid of clutter

World-renowned organization expert and author Marie Kondo says if your belongings don’t “spark joy,” then it’s time to say goodbye to them. Encourage your loved one to start making lists of what belongings they will keep and what will need to find a new home.

2. Sell or donate unwanted items

It’s tempting to throw away things that your loved one no longer wants or needs, but there’s probably someone else who can use them. The Internet makes it easy to sell things online, and anything that doesn’t sell can likely be donated. Many charities will even arrange to pick up the unwanted items, making the process of downsizing a bit easier.

3. Start packing sooner rather than later

Unfortunately, houses can’t pack up themselves. Unless the move is being completed in the midst of an emergency, try to take time to carefully go through belongings. This will help you decide what goes and what stays—without breaking or misplacing anything of importance to your senior loved one.

4. Secure prized possessions

There are certain things your family member won’t be willing to give up, whether because of sentimental reasons or monetary value. Consider moving anything that fits either of those categories to a secure location so that it is not lost or accidentally discarded during the move.

5. Think about life in the new place

Remember, when downsizing from a house to a condo or apartment, certain chores like shoveling snow in the winter and yard work in the spring will be eliminated. Encourage your loved one to have a yard sale to clear out that garage or storage shed. Then watch how quickly someone will snap up an unwanted lawn mower or snow blower at a good price!

6. Stay organized

Downsizing and preparing for a move can be a long process. Your loved one might have to put some items in storage for a while. Be sure to label boxes clearly and create a master list of what is in each box. When moving day comes, it will make it much easier to find everything.

7. Consider the layout of the new home

As your loved one downsizes his or her belongings, remind them to keep the new home’s layout in mind. Will it hold all of his or her current furniture? What is the storage space like? Creating a floor plan of the new home will help in deciding which things will fit and which ones won’t.

8. Try not to buy anything new – for now

This, of course, doesn’t apply to food and basic living necessities, but it does refer to things like furniture, appliances, and home décor. Encourage your loved one to save any shopping sprees until he or she is settled into the new place so as not to add to the packing duties.

9. Take a trip down memory lane

Packing for a move often means going through old photos and belongings that may evoke powerful memories. Allow your loved one some time to reflect on the past, particularly if the memories are happy ones.

10. Focus on what matters most

As a retiree, your loved one now has more time to focus on hobbies and other interests. Keep this in mind as you help them downsize. What might seem like a box of dusty old books to you may be a source of great joy to your loved one. Remember to keep their interests in mind—not yours—when packing for the big move.

Your senior loved one might be leaving behind some wonderful memories in their old home. It may be necessary to remind your family member that new adventures await them!

 

Photo Courtesy of Freedigitalphotos.net

 

The holidays can be a challenging time for Michigan’s family caregivers. Seasonal festivities such as shopping for gifts, wrapping presents, decorating the house and hosting parties are activities most of us look forward to all year. But for already overwhelmed family caregivers, the additional demands on their schedule can lead to burnout.

Not surprisingly, almost half of all caregivers say the holidays are just too much. If you find yourself struggling, these tips might be of help.

Managing Caregiver Stress during the Holidays

1. Ask for and Accept Help: This can be difficult for family caregivers to do. Many see caregiving as a duty and they don’t want to ask for help. Remind yourself that if you suffer a health crisis of your own, as many caregivers do, you won’t be able to care for your loved one at all. Ask a friend who is going out shopping to pick up a few things for you. Talk to the staff at your church or synagogue to see if there are volunteers available to assist struggling caregivers. Enlist the support of an in-home caregiver from a home care agency. Or take advantage of respite services at a senior living community near your Michigan home.
2. Be Realistic: Pinterest, Instagram and other social media channels have given most of us unrealistic expectations of what the holidays should look like. It’s important to step back and set more realistic expectations for the season. It might mean using gift bags to “wrap” presents in or purchasing gift cards online instead of shopping for the perfect present.
3. Connect with Fellow Caregivers Online: Creating a support system of fellow caregivers who can relate to and sympathize with your struggles is another great way to manage stress. In addition to the emotional support, you will likely be able to pick up some tips from support group members on how to juggle all of the responsibilities you have. A few highly regarded online support groups and forums include ALZ Connected and the Family Caregiver Alliance.
4. Exercise: While the very idea of adding one more thing to your schedule might seem unrealistic, exercise can actually give you a mental and physical boost. And researchers now know that breaking your 30 minutes of daily exercise up in to segments (i.e. 2- fifteen minute walks or a fifteen minute walk combined with fifteen minutes on a stationary bike) have the same health benefits as 30 minutes of continuous exercise.

Our final holiday survival tip for family caregivers is to give yourself permission to say “no.” When someone asks you to bring a casserole to the church fundraiser or help wrap gifts for a local shelter, you might feel guilty about not pitching in. Remind yourself that it is okay to just take care of you and your family this year.

 

Photo Courtesy of Freedigitalphotos.net

 

The holidays are a time when many families plan a vacation together. If often includes three generations of loved ones. With careful and thoughtful planning, inter-generational getaways can allow busy families time to create long-lasting memories.

What can you do to make the trip more enjoyable for everyone?

Here are a few suggestions.

4 Tips for Planning an Intergenerational Vacation

1. Research before Booking: The first step in planning your holiday getaway is to take time to research options. From the destination to the hotel and method of transportation, the details are important. Consider a hotel suite where your senior loved one has a quiet place to retreat to away from the sometimes noisy younger generation. If your loved one isn’t safe staying alone in the hotel, call the concierge at places you are considering staying to see if they can make arrangements for a respite caregiver. The concierge may have someone available or be able to help you enlist the support of a local home care agency.
2. Be Considerate in Expectations: While your elders might not want to slow you down or cause you to incur additional expenses, sometimes it is necessary. For example, booking direct flights might be a little more expensive. But it is often the best way of traveling with both the older and the younger generations. If you are driving, be reasonable about how long you can all be in the car each day and plan rest breaks to stretch your legs. Also, remember to make special accommodations for both the younger and the elder generation at the attractions you visit. For example, all the walking at Disneyland or a national park can be tough on little legs and older knees. Call ahead or check the website to see if you can reserve a wheelchair and/or a stroller.
3. Prepare a Medical File: No one likes to think the worst will happen during vacation. But planning ahead in case an older loved one has a medical emergency away from home is important. You can use an app like CareZone or MyMedical to make it easier. Both allow you to safely store medical information such as a medication list, medical history, and physician contact information. You can use your smart phone to quickly access it in the event of an emergency.
4. Communication Shortcuts: Traveling with a senior who has Alzheimer’s disease or a related form of dementia brings unique challenges. One of which can be communicating when their verbal skills are lost. It might help to create small cards that quickly explain your loved one’s situation. Then use them to hand to TSA agents during the screening process, flight attendants and others. It can help with communication while protecting your family member’s dignity.

Respite Care in Michigan

If your senior loved one isn’t up for a holiday trip this year, a respite stay at one of our Michigan senior living communities might be the solution.

Your family member can stay with us and enjoy all of the benefits and support our residents receive. You can relax and spend time with your own family knowing the older adult you love is safe and happy with us!