According to the Denver Post, the number of Colorado seniors will grow by over 500,000 individuals between now and the year 2030, a 68% increase overall. And while the rising numbers of senior citizens on the Front Range is often attributed to the fact that Denver has been tagged as a top 10 destination for retirees by everybody from Forbes Magazine to the Brookings Institution, the truth is that the largest segment of population growth comes from native Coloradoans. A lot of local Baby Boomers are starting to feel their age.
That’s where Cierra Olmstead, owner of A Move Handled With Care, comes into the picture. Cierra, a licensed Senior Move Manager with the National Association of Senior Move Managers (NASMM), has carved a career out of her ability to make the transition to new living situations as smooth and stress-free as possible for seniors and their families. “The thing of it is that most of our clients have lived in their previous homes a minimum of 40 years and they are moving into a completely new environment,” she points out. “It’s physically and emotionally stressful for them. To be able to hold their hand and ensure them that they’re making the right decision, and to provide them with the support they need to physically and spiritually be excited about the move, that’s really why I enjoy what I do.”
What can a Senior Move Manager Do for You?
A Move Handled With Care specializes in helping seniors move into new accommodations, providing services that go far beyond those offered by a garden-variety moving company. “Senior move managers help with every aspect of the move experience, from start to finish,” Cierra says. “We are able to come in and help the client decide what furniture they’re going to take, design a floor plan so that they know what’s going to fit and can enjoy the space. We help with downsizing, estate planning, consignment, donations, or junk removal.” Once a home has been sorted through and clients have decided what goes and what stays, A Move Handled with Care also facilitates the move itself. “We pack up everything that’s going and work with moving companies to put everything on the truck,” Cierra says. “We do the heavy lifting, move, unpack, and put everything away. We put it all back in the cupboards, in the cabinets, we make sure its organized, make the beds, fill the china cabinets, even hang the pictures.” It’s a full-service moving model that caters specifically to seniors and the unique set of challenges that they encounter.
Downsizing Strategies for Seniors
Cierra evaluates each client’s individual needs and then plans a move that is tailored to their situation. In almost all cases, that starts with significant downsizing, and that’s easier said than done. Deciding what to keep and what to get rid of when it comes to a lifetime of accumulation can be an overwhelming and emotional task. “That’s where our services are really invaluable,” says Olmstead. “We are a complete outsider in this so we don’t have the emotional attachment that they or the family has. We can come in and offer a constructive view. We ask the question, ‘does this have meaning in your life now?’ It might be something that had meaning in your life in the past, but does it provide you pleasure and satisfaction now?” Cierra recommends that customers take into account the life they’re currently living, not the life they’ve lived in the past, when selecting which items to move. “My biggest piece of advice,” she says, “is to look at your home and what you truly live in and not what you pass by. Those areas that you truly live in contain the items that you want to take with you.”
Seniors also need to be realistic about what family members are going to want or have space for. “They’re not going to take what you think they’re going to take,” she says. This doesn’t mean that somebody else can’t enjoy those items, even if they’re not staying in the family. In fact, knowing that things are going to somebody who will appreciate them can be another helpful step in letting things go. “One thing that really helps people downsize and let go of those sentimental pieces is finding a good home for those things,” she says, specifically noting that estate sales and consignment shops are resources that she utilizes on a regular basis. “Just knowing that somebody else can enjoy it makes a big difference. They can see that potential and feel like it’s going to a good home.” It’s also worth pointing out that between health coverage, residence availability, and personal concerns, you may not have a lot of extra time to prepare for the move. In her experience, Cierra says, “What takes us, on the long end, a week could take our clients months.”
Going Above and Beyond in Denver
Facilitating the move is really just the first step in a major life change. For many seniors, the most difficult adjustment begins once they arrive at their new home, a process that can be further complicated by health concerns and physical limitations. A senior move manager can help reduce stress and ease the transition in difficult situations like these, such as when Cierra recently helped move an elderly couple with cognitive and memory impairments from their long-time residence into an apartment at a senior living facility. “We were careful to set up their apartment in a certain way, like their old home,” she says. “When their adult daughter walked in (to the new apartment), she just started crying, partly because she was so overwhelmed, but mostly because she could see how her parents were going to be able to continue to live the way they had lived and it was such a relief to her.”
It’s that attention to detail, and to the specific needs of her clients, that make senior move managers such an important service. It’s also an attention to detail that is echoed by the full-service storage solutions provided by Closetbox. We provide pickup and delivery for Denver storage, so that you don’t have to worry about fighting traffic on 1-25, I-70, or with hauling that awkward dresser unit. Along with climate-controlled units, we set you up with an itemized and online inventory that includes on-demand return delivery. Contact us today to learn more about what our concierge storage has to offer your senior move.
