Article: Senior Move Managers Help Make Moving Easier

Last Updated: 3/24/2009

Moving can be stressful for anyone and especially so for seniors. On top of hiring movers, packing, and setting up the new home, there is the emotional toll of leaving a house the senior may have lived in for years. If the move seems overwhelming, a senior move manager may be able to help.

Senior move managers help seniors with all the emotional and physical aspects of moving. The following are some of the tasks a move manager can assist with:

• Developing a move plan
• Sorting through belongings and arranging the sale or donation of unwanted items
• Packing belongings
• Hiring and overseeing movers
• Drawing up floor plans of the new home to help plan the new space
• Unpacking and setting up the new home
• Helping to prepare the old home for sale
• Removing waste, cleaning, and shopping

Move managers can also help seniors who wish to stay in their own homes, but need assistance organizing their homes to allow them to age in place.

Move managers, many of whom have backgrounds in gerontology, social work, health care, nursing and psychology, charge either an hourly fee or a flat rate, depending on the manager. In addition, if just a little extra help is needed, it may be possible to hire a move manager to assist with just one part of the move (e.g., packing) rather than the whole move.

To find a move manager near you, contact the National Association of Senior Move Managers (NASMM) at www.nasmm.org or 877.606.2766. To join NASMM, senior move managers must provide recommendations and prove they have insurance.

For a Washington Post article on one new company that helps seniors negotiate a move, click here.