Moving Your Elderly Parents

By Scott Boone

Image courtesy of Kandela.com

While moving can be a stressful process under the best of circumstances, when it comes to moving kids or aging parents, it can make your blood pressure ring the bell.  Face it, Americans are living on average 20 years longer today than they did 50 years ago.  That being said, as people age, they tend to become less and less independent.  When it comes to elderly parents, this can mean one of several options:

The Downsizing Option

Depending upon the age and infirmity of your parents, the first option may be to downsize from a large family home to a smaller house or a condo.  A smaller residence is easier to clean and maintain.  It can also feature a single story that eliminates the need to climb stairs, which can be a challenge for the elderly.  As long as your folks are reasonably able to take care of themselves, downsizing can be a win/win.

Assisted Living

Once your mom and/or dad get to the point where they need help doing such things as cooking, cleaning and possibly bathing, it’s time to bring in the pinch hitters.  Today, there are a number of specialized firms that can send helpers or even licensed nurses to assist your folks. 

Having moved my own mother into one of these a little more than a year ago, I can tell you that while these facilities are not cheap, they can provide the kind of around the clock care that lets you sleep soundly at night knowing your folks are being taken care of.

Moving in with You

Image courtesy of Pixabay

We all live busy lives these days.  That means that dealing with employment and family at the same time.  Having your parents close at hand can be a cost-effective solution if you can’t afford the alternative. The question is, do you have the time and patience to deal with what amounts to a 70 or 80-year-old child.  Don’t fool yourself, elderly parents can be a handful.  If you aren’t careful, they will either wander off, or take the wrong meds.  On more than one occasion, my mother has put something on the stove only to forget about it. 

Lightening the Load

Regardless of which of the above three options you choose, you are going to need to decide what gets moved into the new residence and what gets culled from the herd.  When it comes to lightening the load to accommodate your folks new living arrangement, there are several ways to go.

      1.      Your Inheritance – When we moved my mom, she invited all three of her kids and two grand kids to pick what they wanted from the possessions she wasn’t going to take with her.  This was her way of letting family members get some of their inheritance while she was still with us.

      2.      Self-Storage is a way of keeping some treasures your folks feel they can’t live without close at hand, when they can’t take the items with them.  Self-storage is a secure, user-friendly way to have access to treasures and keepsakes.

      3.      Sell or donate what’s left.  Not only is this a good idea, it’s a terrific way to help pay for the move.

Image courtesy Pixabay

Family First

Aside from taking the time to tell mom and dad what’s happening, family members can be a godsend when it comes time to make the move.  When we moved mom, I enlisted my brother to stay with her while I coordinated the movers.  He also helped move out some of the smaller items, like her clothes.  Once her furniture was moved in, introducing mom to her new space wasn’t quite so traumatic as it would have been if she had to worry about unpacking all her stuff, since we had already unpacked for her.

After the Move is Complete

The elderly are creatures of habit.  This makes a move all the more stressful.  Fortunately for me, my mother only moved a few miles away.  This meant she didn’t have to find new doctors, which at her age is a big deal.  If you plan on moving your parents more than 10-miles away from their current location, there is a considerable amount of logistics that need to be handled post move.  Everything from doctors and pharmacies to shopping and groceries need to be planned out before your folks freak out when they have to deal with unfamiliar surroundings both inside and outside of their new home.

Also make sure you fill out a change of address card, so their mail will find its way to the correct address.  If necessary, forward their mail to yourself or another family member.  Just as your aging parents can have difficulty dealing with the everyday complications that life throws at them, trying to weed out the chaff from the wheat that the mailman brings every day can be more than they can handle.

While moving your aging parents can prove to be burdensome, it doesn’t have to stress out everyone involved provided you plan accordingly. 

With over 4,000 moves, Scott's Discount Movers has handled moves of all sizes, including local and cross country. If you are looking to move your home or office, you can depend on Scott's Discount Movers to provide a stress-free relocation.