When seniors are ready to transition to senior supportive living, they quickly find that they have more stuff than they realized. Decluttering becomes a challenging but very necessary task. Taking the time to downsize and organize belongings makes the move a lot easier and lets seniors ease into their new homes much more quickly.
Sort Belongings into Categories
Creating categories for belongings while sorting them can make the process go much more quickly. That might mean using basic categories like “keep,” “sell/donate,” and “discard,” or it might mean putting nametags on items going to specific family members. Decluttering is a lot easier when seniors know what is going to happen with each item.
Consider the New Space and Functionality
Senior supportive living facilities might have more limited space than seniors had in their previous homes. It’s important to keep in mind the new home and how the items being kept are going to be used and stored. This is easier to do when seniors have been able to see their new homes.
Preserve Sentimental Items Digitally
Sometimes decluttering is so difficult because items have significant sentimental value. It can help a lot to take pictures of those items or find other ways to preserve the memory. Keeping a scrapbook of these items is one idea. It might also be easier to part with sentimental items if they’re going to family members or friends.
Let Go of Duplicates and Unused Items
Duplicate items are common in modern life, but when seniors are planning to move to a retirement community, those items really aren’t useful. Anything that exists in multiples or that seniors don’t use at all can easily make its way into the donate or discard pile.
Donate or Sell Unneeded Items
Once seniors have a collection of items that they know they won’t be taking with them, follow through on the plan for discarding them. Either sell or donate items that are still useful. Lots of thrift stores and charitable organizations thrive on donations of these types of items. Throwing items away, especially if they’re no longer useful, is not a bad thing at all and ensures that older adults aren’t hanging onto items they truly can’t use.
Utilize Storage Solutions
Most supportive living communities don’t have a lot of extra storage space, so it’s important to make sure that seniors are able to maximize the storage space that they do have. Bins, shelving, and under-bed storage are all great options. Putting those in place before trying to unpack makes unpacking easier.
Embrace a Minimalist Mindset
After the move, a minimalist mindset can help seniors to avoid collecting items they truly don’t need. In fact, seniors may find that after they settle in they still need and want to declutter a few items.
Making the move to senior supportive living communities is a big change. Decluttering before the move helps aging adults to feel more in control of what is happening and ensures that they don’t feel overwhelmed once they’re in the new space.
If you or an aging loved-one are considering a move to a Senior Supportive Living facility in Granite City, IL or surrounding areas, please contact the caring staff at Knollwood Retirement Community today at (618) 226-5755
Offering seniors age 65 and older a wealth of amenities to retain as much independence as they are able, with support, in a home-like environment in our supportive living community.
