Getting Help to Relocate with Jeniffer

Michelle (00:31)

Once again to another episode of Decluttering 55 Plus with Michelle Pasoff. This is the place for baby boomers and those who love them to come to listen and learn about aspects of life as they age that they might want to sweep under the carpet and put off another day or forever because they find them baffling or confronting. We call that next level clutter because while you might think of clutter only as too much paper, clothes, and other stuff,

Next clutter areas of life are where the struggle, you struggle to sort things out, but you have to get an action and get things done so we can invigorate our lives and create a legacy, not a mess. Next level cluttering, decluttering includes resetting your health and fitness regimen, taming your digital clutter, producing a memoir, tending to relationship matters, deciding where to live and what to do next.

getting your financial and legal house in order, and pre-planning final arrangements. As you may have learned here in the past, taking any category of clutter requires action. Action is the only thing that makes a difference. So let’s get busy. Today we’re gonna talk about one way we can get help to move forward in our life. As Americans, many of us were raised to be independent and put on that I can do it on my own attitude when you wake up in the morning. However,

Sometimes the first bit of clutter we have to ditch is an attitude that won’t get the job done. I can do it on my own is one of those beliefs. Sometimes you can use a little help and Jennifer Pickett is here today to tell us how we can get helping hands when it comes to making a transition from where we live now to a new place. For more than 20 years, Jennifer Pickett has been the co-executive director of the National Association of Senior and Specialty Move Managers.

an association of more than a thousand senior move managers from around the country and Canada. What is a senior move manager, you might ask? Well, Jennifer is here today from Detroit, Michigan, where she lives with her husband and six children to fill us in on that. So welcome, Jennifer. Thanks for being here.

Jeniffer (02:42)

Thanks so much for having me, Michelle.

Michelle (02:45)

So tell us, Jennifer, what is a senior move manager?

Jeniffer (02:49)

So a senior move manager is an individual who helps older adults and their families with the downsizing and decluttering and relocation process, or they help ⁓ individuals to downsize and declutter to stay safely within their homes.

Michelle (03:11)

I see. now, can you break it down a little bit more? Why is it particularly for 55 plus? It doesn’t anybody who move have problems moving?

Jeniffer (03:22)

Yes, but when you are moving a family with little kids, mean, much most things are coming with you. When you’re downsizing, very little is coming with you. mean, we use the term senior move manager, but the move is frankly the smallest part of the process. If you have been in your home for

40 years and you are downsizing from let’s say 2,500 square feet to maybe 750 square feet, you can’t take that much. And so where the struggle comes in is parting with possessions without parting with the memories. Our stuff really defines us. And I think certainly the baby boomers and the generations before them

know, stuff was a status symbol, you know, and it’s not so much that way anymore. The average American household has over 300,000 items.

Michelle (04:29)

That’s crazy.

Jeniffer (04:30)

is crazy. And so when you look at it that way, getting going on this and you’ve got to figure out, you know, you’ve got to call this all down so that you can move into your new environment.

Michelle (04:47)

So the first part of move managing is deciding what to let go, what stuff you’re taking with you, is that right?

Jeniffer (04:56)

Well, the first step is if you know where you’re moving to, the first step is to get a floor plan of that apartment. So that way, you know, you can working with a move manager, ⁓ you can then determine what is going to fit and then the process about what’s not going to come with who starts to crystallize and the move manager at that point will help with how much of this is trash, how much of this, you know,

Michelle (05:03)

Okay.

Jeniffer (05:25)

can be in an auction or a state sale, how much of this can be donated, what, if anything, is going to be shipped to other family members, handling all of that, as well as providing tools with all the great new technologies that are out there to help inventory things, capture memories of certain possessions that

perhaps we don’t have room for, know, if ⁓ mom has a teapot collection and she’s got 30 teapots, those 30 teapots are not gonna go with her. But maybe she selects, you know, four or five of her favorite ones that can be displayed. Or two, right? And we take pictures of the rest of them. And we tell the story of where we got the teapot, who we were with.

Michelle (06:11)

Or two.

Jeniffer (06:23)

why that memory is important. Because what many older adults struggle with is not that they don’t want to get rid of stuff, they do. But it is if I no longer have the possession, will I lose the memory?

Michelle (06:38)

You know, I think it’s a good idea to take pictures of these things and even make an album ⁓ that would say my favorite things and have an album with the pictures and the story underneath. That kind of collapses into another area of Decluttering 55 +, which is memoir. So your move can also, you could be doing a memoir in the process of it. So that’s a good idea, Jennifer.

Jeniffer (07:03)

Yeah, and there’s a lot of technologies that are out there right now that will allow you to do more storytelling so that it’s more digital. And that’s something that many senior movie managers are using as tools to, you know, because it makes it so easy to share ⁓ the legacy with family members, which is very important.

Michelle (07:22)

Even

if you videotaped those items and told your story, can tell it audio, video, photographs. It’s a great idea. Does a move manager help you find a place to move to or once you find the place, then they step in? When do you start?

Jeniffer (07:45)

I would say generally the decision to ⁓ where the client is going to move has already been made. However, there are times when an older adult will go and visit a senior living community and they’ve had lunch, they’ve done the tour, we’re back in the marketing director’s office and she pulls out the floor plan and says, these are the units that are available. And at that point,

Mrs. Jones says, well, this has been lovely, but I’m not ready. And I’m not ready at that point means I am completely overwhelmed. This is becoming very real and I don’t know what to do. And at that point, you know, sometimes they will just say, well, you know, let’s call, you know, ABC senior move manager and, know, she can come in and walk you through it. And at that point, it can be that we’re going to do, you know, we’re going to work one week a month for six months.

and start to go through things to declutter the move manager and the client are building a relationship. And most likely the move manager has moved other clients into that senior living community and they build a relationship and suddenly the barriers to moving to an environment that better. Yeah, it really. ⁓

starts to tear down those barriers. And at the end of the day, the client knows they need to move.

Michelle (09:21)

So the move manager will take the floor plan and they’ll be able to design what items you’re going to keep, what items you’re going to let go of. Will they help you go through ⁓ like a professional organizer would?

Jeniffer (09:37)

All move

managers are organizers, not all organizers are move managers. So, yes, organizing is, know, it’s organizing, it’s decluttering, it’s, you know, keep, donate, toss. There’s no maybe pile ever because everything ends up in maybe.

Michelle (09:55)

Now will they find the movers for you? Yes, they will.

Jeniffer (09:59)

Well, and some move managers pack, some have the movers pack. just depends on, you know, their business model, but they will, they are the, basically they’re the project manager. They will find every resource you need. If you have a wine collection that you want to sell, or you have, you know, a civil war memorabilia collection, you know, where does all of this stuff go? They have just an incredible toolbox of resources and

⁓ and networks that they can make sure if you have a lot of ⁓ gold, can they find a refinery that can get you top dollar for that, for broken chains and things like that. mean, there are so many different resources that the average consumer doesn’t know. I mean, if you as a family think that

You can come in and downsize mom who’s been in her home for 48 years and 48 hours. You are just not.

Michelle (11:01)

Well, what would you say is the average amount of time you should leave between the decision to move and actually moving? Is there a standard amount of time you should account for?

Jeniffer (11:09)

Well,

mean, generally, once the average move management part, depending on the size of the house, is probably between 25 and 40 hours. ⁓ And that is double from what we saw ⁓ even 15 years ago, just because of consumerism. I think, too, with the pandemic, there was a lot of online shopping. So there’s a lot more stuff.

than people had who are in their 80s or 90s. It’s the baby boomers who, it’s the consumerism of this generation. But this is also pretty much the first generation that has outsourced services like this.

Michelle (11:57)

Yeah, that’s I was gonna say. It’s relatively new industry, isn’t it? it’s actually new and

Jeniffer (12:04)

But

20 plus years, but I mean, you know, but at the beginning, you know, there were probably, you know, 20 move managers now, now that in terms of senior managers who are members of our organization, there’s over 1300 companies, and then obviously they all have staffs that we help service as well.

Michelle (12:25)

Where do you find a move manager?

Jeniffer (12:27)

Well, the best way to find a move manager is to come to our website, is N A S ⁓ dot O R G. You can put in your zip code and.

Michelle (12:36)

The

National Association of Senior Move Managers.

Jeniffer (12:42)

It’s

actually senior and specialty move managers, but it is, but it’s, but there’s just one S N A S ⁓ all of our members are vetted for insurance. ⁓ they all are required to take, ⁓ courses in safety ethics, ⁓ understanding liability and risk and understanding the moving industry. And they all are required to have, a website, which may seem kind of simple,

But you’d be amazed at the number of people that are okay with just putting a Facebook page up there. And that’s not a serious investment in business, in your own business. And then additionally, we offer a certification and an accreditation program for our members who want to elevate their professional development and their level within the organization. So that’s really the best place to start.

You always want to make sure that whomever you’re hiring is insured. ⁓ You should ask them if they are a member of the National Association of Senior and Specialty Move Managers. I would ask them what kind of training they’ve had. I would insist that you have a contract. ⁓ This is not a handshake type of business. This is a, you know, they need to have a contract. They need to have a written estimate. ⁓ And you should get more than one.

I mean, I think ideally three, but for sure too, because this is a very personal relationship. I mean, we joke around, you know, our office here, but when’s the last time you were in your dad’s underwear drawer? So, you know, there’s a lot of trust there. You know, you don’t know what you’re gonna find and you need to have a level of, you know, confidentiality. This is not funny. You know, this is a transition.

that somebody is making. And it’s great if it’s happening organically. Like, you know what, we don’t want to live in Detroit anymore. We are going to South Carolina and it’s all planned out. But a lot of times that’s not how it happens. And, you know, there’s so much loss that is associated with aging that when we come down to losing, you know, our home and our stuff,

It’s not uncommon for an older adult to just draw the line in the sand and say, it’s too much, enough, can’t do it. And that’s where the movement really is so valuable.

Michelle (15:07)

Yeah.

It’s kind of not only the physical support and that’s a factor too. As you age, you become less able to do some of the physical tasks involved in moving. In addition to doing the floor plan and helping you suss out your belongings, what’s gonna go, what’s gonna stay, what’s gonna go to relatives, getting the move company. Do they also, you wanna get things appraised sometimes?

Jeniffer (15:41)

They can work with appraisers, can work with estate sales, can work with auction.

Michelle (15:47)

That’s what I wanted to know about estate sales and auctioneers. They would have the resources for that. they’re kind of ⁓ almost an umbrella being that can every aspect of the move. Can you pick and choose which services they’re going to provide and how much are there on average? What kind of rates are you going to find that you for that?

Jeniffer (16:02)

Yes.

Yeah, we find that nationally the average is between 40 and 80 dollars an hour ⁓ Which seems like a lot? Initially, but a lot of times they will have packages where you can kind of purchase like a good better best and you can see You know how long it’s going to take you And if you have family that can come in and help with the sorting and all of that as long as they have a system in place So again, no, maybe pile ⁓ You know that can sometimes be helpful

But sometimes we find, you know, with the older adults, the older adult children, you know, it can be sort of like, mom, you don’t need that. And that’s really not their place to say what she needs. That’s her decision. And the more that that older adult is in control of the move process, the better off it is for everyone.

Michelle (17:00)

⁓

One of the things, ⁓ you know, I say is you don’t have to do everything alone. So can you say the name of the organization again? Because you could say it better than I can say it. And ⁓ you have to take initiative. If you’re going to move and it’s too taxing for you to do it on your own, there’s nothing wrong with getting help. In fact, it’s the smart thing to do. So Jennifer, tell us where people can find ⁓ the experts to help you in every aspect of your move.

Jeniffer (17:30)

It is the National Association of Senior and Specialty Move Managers, ⁓ NASMM.org. And our phone number is 248-442-5859.

Michelle (17:45)

So we’re gonna be breaking all these things down necessary to make a move and it’s no wonder that many people throw up their hands. Call a quits before they even started looking for a new home. It’s daunting. So I say, ⁓ Jennifer, that I appreciate you coming here today. We’re gonna wrap it up, but when you’re making a move, it’s the best thing for you and you don’t have to do it on your own. You can look for a senior move manager like ⁓

know, Jennifer and all of her colleagues to help you ⁓ just get the fresher breath air that you need in order to get it done. So go to the website, www.nasmm.org, National Association of Senior Move Managers, is that correct? And click a specialty in Senior Move Managers and find a Move Manager button to find a practitioner in your area to take the literal load off of you.

We’re going to sign off for today, but before we do, let me remind you that it makes all the difference for us to continue to bring you this show. If you were to go to www.decluttering55plus.com and hit that let’s connect button to sign up for future news you can use from us. Please also like and follow and subscribe to our Facebook and Instagram pages, as well as our YouTube channel. If you haven’t bought a copy of Decluttering 55 Plus,

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today and please come back next week for more good pointers, tips and resources. Until then, stay in action and have a clutter free day.