Moving into assisted living at Airdrie seniors residences can be both an exciting an overwhelming experience. One of the most challenging obstacles seniors can face during this transition period is downsizing. After a life-time of accumulating things, it can be extremely difficult to let go of certain possessions. To help ease the transition, here are a few tips for airdrie seniors residences.

Start Early

Do not wait until the last minute to start organizing and sorting your possessions. Start early - months or perhaps even years before you are ready to move into assisted living. Start pulling things from your atic and crawl spaces and passing these onto family members. If you find you have not used something in a long time, now is the time to pass it on.

Have a Plan

Once the time comes to really dive into downsizing, it is important to come up with a solid plan. The first recommendation for this is to approach the chore one room at a time, starting with the more cluttered rooms and attics and crawl space. Finish the interior of the house first, before moving onto the garage and any outside sheds or storage areas. Moving one room at a time allows you to be part of the process at all times, and help to prevent confusion on whether something stays or goes.

Get Help

Downsizing is not an easy job for one or two people. It is important to get family and friends to help with this process. You may be able to incentivize the help by offering them first dibs on items that you are moving on from.

Stay Organized

You must stay organized throughout this process. This means that there need to be clear areas where belongings go based on their outcome. Some suggested piles would be a keep pile, a give away/donate pile, a sell pile, and a garbage/recycle pile. It is important that everyone knows which pile is which, so it may help to label the areas to avoid confusion. Be mindful not to put too much in the keep pile, as you may not have the space for it once in assisted living.

Downsizing can be extremely difficult and it can feel like losing old friends, so it is important to use your support network, and start early. The end result will feel liberating, and the start of a new journey.