Helping your senior grandparents pack their home

Helping your senior grandparents pack their home for relocation is something you can include your whole family into. More importantly, because they are of older age, we advise developing a plan of action. This way you can help your grandparents and make sure everything goes according to plan. Due to their age, you need to make sure they do the minimum of heavy lifting, packing and moving. Instead, allow them to enjoy, give you directions and have fun during this process. If you need help moving your items, you can always hire North Las Vegas movers. Hiring a moving company will surely be beneficial in this type of relocation. In this article, we will discuss everything you need to know about how to approach packing for your grandparents and what to expect.

Helping your senior grandparents pack their home – How to approach it

People move for various reasons. That being said, this also applies to older couples and people. The reason why senior people are moving is usually to get closer to their loved ones, to downsize their current home or to cut some expenses. Either way, you, as a grandchild, should always offer your help in those times. Firstly, due to their age, you do not want them carrying heavy items. Secondly, this can be a great opportunity for you to have some fun and spend some time together. If you are not sure about how to approach the whole situation you can always hire senior movers to provide a helping hand. So, what should you do to help soothe the transition?

  • Be understanding and empathic towards them
  • Older people usually have a lot of clutter – see if you can convince them to de-clutter
  • Make it a family activity by inviting other family members to help
  • Rely on professional movers if you lack the experience in relocation
an elderly couple enjoying memories from a photo album as one of the ways to pass time when you are helping your senior grandparents pack their home
Make sure you do most of the work but feel free to include your grandparents into some activities

The main goal during this process is to help your grandparents move without too much stress. Of course, sometimes stress is inevitable, but you can have a say in it.

Have a meeting to develop a plan

The first thing you should do is seek additional help. Due to the circumstances, we advise asking another family member to aid you with relocation. Later on, sit down with your grandparents and, with their help, develop a detailed plan of action. This plan will ensure you always stay on the right track. Moreover, it will allow you to carefully plan out every aspect of the move. This way you will avoid additional stress and make sure you are focused on the right things. On top of a plan, you can also create a checklist of all the items you are packing. This checklist will help you know how much work you have left and how hard or easy it is going to be.

Try to de-clutter when helping your senior grandparents pack their home

De-cluttering is a very important phase in each relocation process. Due to many years of collecting different items, your grandparents might not like this idea too much. However, you should try and explain to them how much it will impact the whole relocation process. Firstly, this will create fewer costs for transportation. Secondly, it will open up more space for different items.

a woman taking boxes out of the room with a pile of items behind her
De-cluttering can help you figure out how you want to approach the whole packing process

De-cluttering is one of the main ways to cut costs and create a friendlier environment in a home before moving. More importantly, items that are in good shape can be sold – which can increase the moving budget. After you talk to your grandparents, devote a day to clearing out the home from all the items they no longer want to keep.

Let your grandparents give you guidelines

Instead of letting them pack for themselves, you can do it for them. However, let them decide which items they should move and where to pack them. After all, they have those items for years and should know how to protect them while moving. Of course, your advice will always be welcome. So, if you see something that could get done better – feel free to propose it. When helping your senior grandparents pack their home you should give them the ability to be vocal about it. After all, they own those items and are responsible for them. The main point is to not let them feel disconnected during the process, but let them be a part of it.

Use the room-by-room method for easier packing experience

When it comes to packing, we suggest using the standard room-by-room method. Packing orderly is the best way to have control over the whole situation and room-by-room method allows just that. Namely, you should start packing one room at a time. This way you avoid having clutter around the house, but instead, you will work only in one room. This will help your grandparents feel relaxed and avoid stress during the process.

a woman writting items down on her checklist with stack of boxes behind her
By approaching the packing process in a room-by-room method you will safely eliminate one room at a time

Same goes to you. You can always leave the room you are packing and relax in another one. This way, you can always rely on having room to relax if the process becomes overwhelming. This will greatly help the mental state of anyone working on this project.

If you feel like you are stuck – consult moving professionals

Helping your senior grandparents pack their home can often be quite stressful. In fact, almost every relocation is. However, if you lack experience and feel like the whole process can get an upgrade – consult a moving company. Namely, they have experience with all sorts of relocation and their knowledge will be more than useful. Especially when helping seniors move. Moreover, with adequate equipment and vehicles, you and your grandparents can rest assured that the items are handled properly and with care. Hiring a professional moving company might cost you extra but it will make the whole process a lot easier for everyone who is working on it.

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