Excerpts from the Book

Included in this site are some actual excerpts from the book to give you a sampling of the contents. Click on the underlined sections in the Table of Contents to jump to the actual excerpt. You can view the Table of Contents for an overview of the contents of the book.

THINKING ABOUT A MOVE…

Should You Stay or Should You Go?
What are your Housing Options?
A Message for Your Adult Children
Why Wanting or Needing Support in Later Life is a Good Thing
How to Use This Guide

MAKING A LATER LIFE MOVE
Psychological Preparation
Initial Space Planning
First Major Assignment
Arrangements for Packing and Moving Services
Arrangements for Auction or Estate Sale
Sorting of Belongings: Step 1 Furniture Assessment and Selection
Secondary Space Planning
Sorting of Belongings: Step 2 Decisions about Remaining Furniture
Sorting of Belongings: Step 3 Sorting All Remaining Items
Miscellaneous Items #1
Final Space Planning and New Home Assessment
Final Moving Arrangements
Change of Address/Service Notifications
Final Plans for Your Estate Sale or Auction
Family/Friends/Charity Pick-up and Delivery of Items
Miscellaneous Items #2
Closure with Your Current Home
Preparations for Packing and Moving Day
"Last Box"/Items to Leave
Moving with a Pet
Packing Day
Moving Day!
Getting Settled in Your New Home
"Senior Friendly/User Friendly" Home Assessment
"House Warming" for Your New Home"

AFTER THE MOVE
Adjusting to Your New Home
Household Inventory
Personal Records Inventory
End-of-Life Decisions and "Final Arrangements" Plan
Leaving a Legacy for the People You Love
Plan and Celebrate Your New Beginning!
Annual Inventory of Your Life
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ORDERING INFORMATION

This book is a guide for MOVING ON WITH YOUR LIFE in your later years. Throughout the pages of this book, I will give you some of my thoughts on the value of making a later life move. I will take you step-by-step thrugh planning your move, the downsizing process, packing and moving day, and on to getting settled in your new home. I will give you several suggestions for getting your personal and financial records and plans in order following your move. And most importantly, I will give you ideas for your new beginning, and for living and aging fully and successfully as you enter this next phase of your life.

My Background and Experience
My interest in later life moves developed after going through my own mid-life transition a few years ago. After working in structured organizations for many years, I decided that a change was in order. I had always had an interest in the aging area so I looked at the trends in services for older adults. At this same time, my parents decided to sell the home they had lived in for 34 years and make their own downsizing move.

Any move can be overwhelming, but I saw clearly that a MOVE LATER IN LIFE IS NOT JUST ANOTHER MOVE. I saw how much more overwhelming this kind of transitional move could be for older adults – even for people like my parents who are still very physically and mentally active and capable. The downsizing process and the physical move are a HUGE HURDLE to get over and prevent many older adults from moving forward with their lives, even if they want to do this.

On the positive side, I also saw what a GOOD MOVE this has been for my parents and how this transition opened them up to a whole new life. They are happy in their new home and very involved at the local YMCA with exercise and senior related activities. They have made many new friends. They are very relieved to no longer have the responsibility for yard and house maintenance, and they feel they are in a good position to make additional living or care transitions if or when this is required.

I could see that the number of older adults needing to

downsize and make transitional moves (like my parents did) would only increase in the years ahead with the aging of the population. With my educational and work background, and my strong organizational skills, I knew I could help older adults through this experience. The result of all of this was the idea to start my own business, a service to facilitate downsizing and transitional moves for older adults, called Living Transitions. I have helped many people successfully make a later life move and best of all, I have seen the same positive results and feelings among my clients that my parents experienced after their move.

Along with helping many clients with later life moves, I also had the opportunity to go through my own downsizing and transitional move last year. This occurred when I decided to move from a larger home that I owned, to a much smaller rental home. As much as I knew what needed to be done in terms of letting go of belongings that were not needed and that would not fit, I still experienced emotion and sorrow with this parting and downsizing experience. Luckily, I had witnessed with my parents and clients the "light" feeling that results from letting go and how few, if any, regrets occur with the natural release of old belongings. This knowledge got me through this experience, and allowed me to reap the same positive results. I am extremely happy in my new home and I have not missed anything that I let go of during the downsizing process. I am also better able to empathize with my clients because I have personally been through this experience and know how tough it can be to let go of things.

Why I Wrote This Book
First and foremost, I want this book to help you reap the same positive benefits that my parents and clients have experienced as a result of their decision to move. I wrote this book for YOU, the older adult making the move, because I want YOU to be actively involved in this process. I sincerely believe that proactively making a later life move can be one of the most valuable gifts you can give yourself and your loved ones. This move is not something that should be done TO YOU but something YOU DO FOR YOU because you want to position yourself to continue to live fully and age successfully during the remaining years of your life.

The few books I was able to find on this topic were written for adult children helping their parents with a later life move. It is great to have the help and support of your children, but it’s important that YOU take the lead with this process. This is the approach I take with my clients and one that I believe in strongly. It also may be the case that you do not have children, or that your children are either not accessible or available to help you with your move. In these situations, I want you to feel that you can still navigate your way through this transition. With the help of this guide, you can do this.

In doing research for my business, I found several books and resources that provided good information about selecting an appropriate housing choice later in life. Some even touched briefly on the subject of making the actual move. I also found good materials for moving in general. What I didn’t find was a complete resource guide and tool for helping older adults and their families get through the actual process of making a later life, downsizing move.

I wrote this book to fill this gap. My belief in the value of making a later life move, along with seeing moving on as a natural part of the cycle of life, form the foundation for the information presented in this guide. I decided to put down in writing all that I’ve learned as a result of my research and my personal and client experiences to help those of you who want to make this transition. My business can’t serve everyone directly who needs help with making a later life move, but this book can reach a wide audience and help those of you who I will never get the opportunity to meet face-to-face.

I also want you to have this incredible sense of "I DID IT! I got through this move in one piece!" I want you to feel comfortable in your new home. I want you to feel that you have "passed the ball" to the next generation – both in terms of many of your belongings as well as your last home. I want you to feel "lighter" and free to do and be what you want to do and be now. I also want you to feel like you have graduated to the next phase of your life with renewed excitement.

In summary, I want to help set you free to MOVE ON WITH YOUR LIFE and to support a FRESH START for your new life in your new home. If I can accomplish even part of what I am setting out to do and make a difference in even a few of your lives, this book will be a huge success in my mind. Good luck with your transitional move! YOU CAN DO IT!!!