Professional Organizers for Seniors Assist to Streamline Aging in Place
Are you considering downsizing and moving to live in a senior living community or with a family member? Not sure how to start the decluttering process to make aging in place a reality? Professional organizers for seniors understand these choices. Get advice and assistance from a pro to streamline to the process of organizing and storing your belongings.
How to Use a Professional Organizer
Ways that a professional organizer for seniors can offer include organizing kitchens, closets, living rooms, bedrooms, garages, basements, laundry rooms, attics, and storage sheds. Before storing important documents and belongings into boxes and rubber maid tubs and stacking them in a storage unit for seniors consider the advice of a pro.
Clear Plan for Senior Organization
A pro organizer is most often used to assist with downsizing / rightsizing. As well as preparing a senior to move into a senior living community. Additionally, helping a family caregiver that is overwhelmed with the organization needs to occur. In particular, if a loved one has a history of being a hoarder getting professional assistance can streamline the process. Making tough decisions can be expedited with the thoughtful and compassionate advice of someone that has gone through the process many times with other families before. A good pro will know things that are no-brainers when it comes to deciding what to throw out and what to keep. This is essential when downsizing. The plan for the senior should be to lighten the load and that can only happen by reducing the total amount of belongings that are staying in the home or going to storage.
A pro will help make a clear plan for what should be placed in what kind of boxes. Make recommendations if a storage shed should be added to the home or if using a temporary or permanent storage unit is a better option. These choices all have pros and cons and a third party to the situation can cut through a lot of noise clouding good judgments.
Organizing paperwork and Digital Files
One of the significant challenges family caregivers face when helping a loved one organize their belongings is what to do with all of their important documents. Of course, things like social security information, medical information, house-related documents, will or testament for passing down any money or property to loved ones, etc are important to secure. However, what do you do with everything else? What might be important to the senior such as photos, other media needs to have a good home too. This is daunting when not addressed in a systematic manner. Experienced professional organizers for seniors will have tools and resources to utilize to manage these paper documents and digital files. As well as know local vendors that can support specialized services like making copies of family photos so that everyone can have a copy of grandma’s favorite pictures as an example.
Setting up your senior loved one with workflows and processes for paying bills, managing prescription medications, preparing tax-related documents and more should be on the table when discussing your needs with a pro.
What Should You Look for in a Professional Organizer?
There are lots of places to find a professional organizer. All the popular apps for finding local vendors have organizers listing themselves. There are also organizations like the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals that offer certifications and validation. Ultimately, seek out an individual with experience. A professional will have a system for addressing each area of the home and the essential documents needing organization. A professional will understand the sensitive nature of the situation regarding downsizing. Frequently the choice to move into a senior living facility may not be the desired destination for a loved one. A person that can be empathetic to the process will always be a major characteristic to look for when hiring a professional organizer to help an elderly loved one.
Hiring an Organizer for Mom and Dad
Grandma or grandpa should not be packing boxes and lugging to a storage unit on their own. When seeking a person consider looking for references to speak to the quality of the pro’s work. Anyone worth their muster will have a handful of past clients that are open to being a reference. Take them up on it and reach out to these folks. It can help bring clarity to the process and provide comfort in knowing you have selected a true pro. An organizer that takes their business seriously will have proper insurance in place. This brings peace of mind, especially when handling valuable items.
Using a random helper off Craigslist or Nextdoor while seemingly a good idea to save money can quickly unravel if something is damaged or they get hurt in the home. An organizer should be expected to be helping carry boxes up and down flights of stairs. They go up into the attic and down into the basement. While streamlining living environments they will stand on stools or ladders to arrange kitchen cabinets and closets. There is always a chance of an injury during such situations. Providing proof of insurance before work begins protects everyone.
Benefits of a Professional Organizer for Seniors
The number one benefit of hiring professional organizers for seniors to downsize appropriately is that they come to the table with a wealth of related experiences. Consequently, they have been in countless homes already and likely seen it all. This should bring a level of no judgment to the situation. A professional will bring a new set of eyes to the home, the layout, and an understanding of the needs of the person as they age. This helps narrow down exactly what needs to get done. They will lay out what gets completed first, second, third, and what can wait to be done down the road. Let the pro lay out the process for getting the job done. They will understand how to approach any job big or small so that it gets done efficiently. Efficiency will reduce stress for all involved in the situation.
Organizers Help Family Caregivers
All too often a family caregiver is expected to do everything an organizer does. This is not helpful to them or their loved ones. If one person is doing the primary role of caring for mom and dad consider getting the rest of the family to chip in for a professional organizer. Everyone benefits in the long run when mom and dad’s belongings are properly stored and safely accessible. Often when downsizing there is a lot going on. It is so easy to toss everything in a few boxes and call it good. Avoid this and do it right.