Moves for Seniors Blog

Many seniors have lived in their current house for decades and would prefer to live out their days in that same house instead of uprooting and moving into a senior living facility. For some seniors this is unrealistic, but for many it is an attainable goal.

Photo Credit | Deposit Photos | @Design Pics

With any goal, you need to fulfill specific tasks prior to achievement, which are listed below. These are the best ways to help a senior remain in their current home for the duration.

Start by having a (family) meeting. This meeting is for those willing to help keep your senior living in their current home. They need to be willing to provide support. During the meeting, set up caregiving responsibilities and make sure that no one is walking blind – meaning everyone is clear on what they need to do and are not making any false assumptions. This will prevent confusion and disappointment.

Next, talk a walk through their home. As you and your family members (or friends) walk through, look into safety issues and concerns. Are there areas that have loose carpet, slippery floors, etc. that could be of concern? Are the handrails near the stairs holding firm and secure? Are they able to reach items in cabinets, if not – can their most-needed items be moved to within reach?

Ask a professional to come into the home and identify hidden hazards and to make suggestions for easier navigation. There are many companies that will do a walk through and also companies that will make the necessary renovations.

**Look into your National Directory of Area Agencies on Aging for suggestions on companies to use.

Spend the day observing. This will give you the opportunity to get a better idea of their schedule, areas of concern, times of the day that work best/worst for them along with their strengths and weaknesses.

Take time to help them with rightsizing. Many seniors are hoarding many items that they no longer need and are starting to cause an overflow in their home. This can be fixed by spending a day going through all of their items and donating/selling a lot of it. This will also help prevent falling/tripping.

There are many things that you need to look into before leaving your senior parent (or friend) to live in their current home.

• • • • Transportation – Can they still drive their car or is there public transportation nearby that they can utilize?

• • • • Finances – Do they have enough income to pay for their current home? Do they have too much debt? And who is reviewing and taking care of their finance?

• • • • Health Care – Locate the nearest doctor’s office and hospital, is this close?

• • • • Household Maintenance – Are they able to clean and maintain their home or do you need to hire a cleaning company?

• • • • Meals – Can they grocery shop and cook their own meals? Or do you need to provide food and meals to them?

Re-assess their situation. The plan that you come up with is always changing depending on all the items listed above – finances, health, etc. Make sure that you are having monthly, bi-monthly or maybe even weekly meetings regarding their living situation.

And lastly, make sure that they are happy. Find out what it is they enjoy and help them stay active. Maybe there are neighbors that they could walk with or play cards with every weekend? Find a church group that makes trips to Walmart/Target and sign up for that. Or maybe they enjoy watching their grandchildren play sports, so pick them up and take them!

Helping a senior stay in their current home and live independently isn’t easy, but it is a wonderful thing to do!

And if all else fails and it is time for senior living, call Moves for Seniors. We can help with their senior move. We provide you with a senior checklist and a Specialty Move Coordinator for each senior move. Call today at (800) 227-0515 or click here for a free quote.