Written by Sharon Montesanti, Realtor | Vanderblue Team | Higgins Group Real Estate
Is maintaining a larger home taking time from what you or a loved one would really like to be doing?
traveling… seeing friends... going to theatre… reading… visiting your kids and grandchildren?
“We were spending so much time and energy maintaining the yard and garden, and keeping up the house… we didn’t have time to do what we loved.” ... “We didn’t need all that space… We spent all our time in the kitchen, the bedroom, and the TV room. We never went into the rest of the house.”
At the Vanderblue Team, we have a single word strategy for assisting our clients who are thinking of a “right-size” move this year... Simplify!
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This month, we begin our series of featured articles with insights and pointers from Mary Kay Buysse and Kay Morrison of National Association of Senior Move Managers (NASMM) who, after many years of working with retirees and empty nesters, provided to AARP Magazine their insights and pointers for planning the move to a right-size residence:
TIPS ON PLANNING A SMOOTH MOVE TO A NEW HOME:
• Create a vision. Picture what a great “right-size” looks like. “Downsizing is not sad. It’s a time when you can reassess what matters and the chance to choose to keep around you what you enjoy the most.”
• Attitude—and timing—make a difference. Moves to downsize are much easier when someone chooses to move, rather than when the move chooses them, which happens when people become overwhelmed with home maintenance, too frail, have an accident, lose a spouse who made independent living possible, or start having cognitive issues.
• Find the silver lining. “If the move is into a family member’s home or to an assisted living community, at first glance it may seem that one’s independence is shrinking, but it’s actually expanding”, said Mary Kay. “Going to the right level of care can expand independence and quality of life, and extend life.”
• Do the math. If you are moving to a smaller place, say, from 3,000 square feet to 1,500, figure you’ll need to cut your stuff by half or more. To picture what will or won’t fit, sketch a floor plan of the new place and then make cutouts of the furniture and arrange it in the sketch.
• Use hands-on space-planning tools. These tools, which are available online or can be purchased, can help people see how their furniture will or won’t fit. You can virtually “stick” furniture in different spaces to check fit and flow. 
Look for our series of monthly articles where we share tips and advice from experts, and a bit of personal experience, to save you or a loved one time and reduce the stress related to moving to a smaller residence or condo, a senior community or assisted living, or a skilled nursing facility. In April: Tips for Making the Move to a Right-Sized Residence.
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