Downsizing Tips for Seniors - Making Change Simple

The purpose of the presentation is to offer valuable tips to the community on downsizing and decluttering their homes. Here is a personal story that usually resonates with folks:

"My parents lived in their single-family home with a basement, attic, garage, and swimming pool for over 40 years. They raised three children and “inherited” their belongings growing up. When my parents turned 60, then 70, and then 80, they would often talk about moving and downsizing to a more “manageable” environment. The discussion always ended with: "We can never leave here because we have too much stuff! “What are we going to do with all our stuff?”

Then there comes a time, day, or event when they have to downsize and move into an assisted living, nursing home, or memory care home, and they are entirely overwhelmed by the enormity of the situation. They are often stressed, saddened, and lost. But there are ways to approach it and the process does not have to be overwhelming, if approached in a logical and systematic manner.

This presentation is a way to educate folks and give them guidelines to begin the "downsizing" (or I prefer to say "rightsizing") on their own. We hand out free resource lists that give names and websites for people to contact for selling, disposing of, repurposing, or donating their items. By decluttering and downsizing, it reduces stress in people's lives and frees them up for their next move in life.