Moving to an Assisted Living Facility

Are you planning to make a move into an assisted senior living facility? Most seniors who move into an assisted living facility find that they will need to downsize their belongings. You will no longer need many of your household items such as your gardening tools, huge sets of dishes, cookware plus the years of clutter that you have accumulated. Follow the plan below to organize your move and downsize your belongings.

 Visit Assisted Facilities

Your first step is to visit some assisted living facilities to see what they have to offer and what size apartments are available. This is an important step to begin with because it will give you a good sense of what you want to keep and what you need to get rid of. Measure the rooms and create a floor plan so that you can plan how your furniture will be arranged.

Decide on What Items You Will Keep

Choose to keep the items that you use on a daily basis and the items that mean the most to you. When inventorying your furniture think about which pieces of furniture can do double duty such as a night stand can also be used for storage if it has a few drawers. Make a list of your favorite pieces to keep and plan to buy a few pieces to enhance your new apartment.

Give Away or Sell Your Unwanted Items

This part can be very hard. You have collected items for years and now it is time for you to let go of those items and send them off to a new home. Involve your family members to help with this process. If you are unsure about an item then just keep it as a maybe, you can always get rid of it after you move.

Prepare For the Move

Besides the packing that needs to be done you will need to update your address with your utility services, magazine subscriptions, insurance providers, friends and relatives and things like that. Plan to have your prescriptions filled before you move and keep them in a convenient location during the move.

Enlist Family, Friends and Movers

Moving day can be overwhelming. Plan to have lots of help. Let your family members and movers do all of the heavy work. Your job will be to advise what you want where and to be sure everything that you want moved gets moved. Plan to rest often and try not to overdue things on moving day.

Enjoy Your New Home

The first night in your new assisted living apartment can bring many mixed feelings. At first you may not like it because it feels so different. Give yourself at least a month to grow into your new home. You will be making many new friends and find that your daily life is more enjoyable without the headaches and backaches that living alone in a home can cause. Take this new chapter in your life and make the most of it. Volunteer wherever you can and take part in any activities that they offer and enjoy your new life.