Comments on: Moving – Downsizing from the family home

By: Moving Solutions: Tips for Combining Households | Home Staging, Home Organizing & Family Solutions, Stagetecture, LLC

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 09:40:35 +0000

[…] could be for marriage, living in a college apartment, becoming roommates in a home, or having a senior come live with you. Combining households is a merging of two lives, and everything that comes with each […]

By: Ronique

Ronique — Mon, 24 May 2010 17:08:38 +0000

In reply to Sally Allen. Thank you Sally, for making the points about preparation and being organized! It takes a lot of stress off later!

By: Sally Allen

Sally Allen — Mon, 24 May 2010 17:05:42 +0000

Rightsizing for seniors:
Prepare for the future and do not let crisis dictate what happens to you and your belongings. Too many of us have had to make decisions for our parents or our loved ones in a crisis mode. Being proactive, being organized, being prepared, and making your wishes known is one of the greatest legacies a person can leave to their family.

By: Nancy Lee

Nancy Lee — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 11:20:47 +0000

Goodness. I have helped a client transfer hundreds of family pictures off walls and into five scrapbooks – symbolically moving the associated memories away from the property and into the books (and decluttering/depersonalizing while doing so).

Listening. Caring.

Most of my clients choose to do the work themselves. I provide the staging plan and we set up a work plan/time line as part of the plan. Especially if there is no overwhelming time constraint (like a pending foreclosure), I encourage them to pace themselves. As in – take a break every twenty minutes and set small goals. Don’t start out expecting to pack the kitchen in an afternoon, instead celebrate when each cabinet is done.

I like the advice on your link. It is amazing how physically exhausting and emotionally draining downsizing while transitioning a home into a house can be.

By: stagetecture

stagetecture — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 19:04:51 +0000

In reply to Lisa Mark. Thank you Lisa. What a wonderful idea - have them focus on the positive, rather than the emotional negative. Thank you for your comments!

By: Lisa Mark

Lisa Mark — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 18:50:54 +0000

I tell my clients that they are not downsizing; they are rightsizing. By thinking about their possessions within the framework of the future and what it holds for them we decide what to keep, toss and donate. We also acknowledge that moving is an emotional process and that it’s okay to be sad. And I use a Dr. Seuss quote: Don’t cry because something is over; smile because it happened.