For many people downsizing means parting ways with a home where they raised their children and built their lives. To make that transition easier, an independent living community in the metro area has partnered with a moving management service company. “We are the wedding planners of the move industry,” said Susan B. Danick, owner of Transitional Assistance & Design, which partners with Fox Hill Club & Residences, an independent living community in Bethesda for those ages 60 and older. “We do as much or as little as they want us to.”
Moving management service companies offer comprehensive assistant throughout the moving process. This includes pre-move consultation, hiring movers, folding clothes, cleaning the old home, arranging furniture in the new home, unpacking, hanging pictures, stocking the refrigerator and even having cable and Internet services up and running before the new owners move in.
| Resources |
| http://foxhillclub.com/ |
| www.helpseniorsmove.com |
| http://www.beyondrelocation.com/seniorliving |
| http://www.afirstclassmove.com/ |
Other companies in the area that offer similar services included, Beyond the Box Relocation and Design, and A First Class Move.
Most Fox Hill residents use this service, said Fox Hill General Manager Don Shulman.
“The community’s offering of downsizing services has been of critical importance for seniors who have lived in the same home for 40 or 50 years,” Shulman said. “It not only assists in moving the owners out of one residence and in to another, they are also given expert advice on what to bring and what not to bring, as well as how many of certain items to bring.”
Danick said she dislikes the term “downsize,” which she believes has negative connotations and instead tells clients she will help them “right-size” their lives.
“In some cases they had kids when they were younger and needed more space. That was the right size for them then. Now the kids are grown up and it’s time to find the right space and right size for now,” she said.
Some clients hire the service a year before they move for help sorting through all the what-knots, antiques and heirlooms they have accumulated over the years.
“I have great sorting techniques,” said Danick, who encourages people to trash the trash and use the good stuff. “What are you waiting for? Use your good glassware and the good china.”
Pointing out that most empty nesters who live in large homes use only a few rooms in the house, Danick said it is possible to recreate the look and feel of their old home in the new space, even if it is half the size.
Sheri Migdale and her husband moved from a six-bedroom home to a one-bedroom and den unit in Fox Hill with Danick’s help.
“It was enormously helpful,” Migdale said. “It made the transition much easier. Things would have been more difficult and taken longer.”
On the day Migdale was scheduled to move in, Danick told them to arrive later that afternoon, making sure everything was in place before they arrived. When they walked through the front door it immediately felt like home.
“The pictures were hung, and there were many of them,” Migdale said. “The dishes were put away. Our clothes were in the closet. It looked like we had lived there for years.”
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