Moving requires time and energy from planning, packing, and searching for a moving company. These tasks are physically challenging and a greater challenge for seniors, retired and people with disabilities. It also involves emotional stress from sentimental sadness when saying goodbye to long-time friends and the place you have called home for years, and adapting to the new environment. Reading these tips is a good idea for seniors and people with disabilities or retired or relatives who will be moving with them to manage and organize for a much easier move. 

Making a Timeline and Checklist

Making a timeline should be one of the priorities for home moving for seniors and people with disabilities. Planning should be done a few months before the move to ensure all activities will be followed, especially the packing process. Making a checklist is good to avoid forgetting necessary tasks since moving needs extra care and time for people who have special needs. Remember to include transferring of medical equipment if applicable, a list of items in each room, setting up the utilities needed and particularly, preparation of the new home.

Home assessment like determining what will be needed in the new place should be included in the timeline to make the new place accessible. Be sure to include in the checklist the places that would require ramps and any modifications and list how easy to access each room to the front door for any emergencies. Make it ready before the furniture removalists unload your belongings in your new home.

Creating a Budget

Financial planning for your home move is required not only for seniors or people with disabilities but for everyone. Determining the estimated amount of money is necessary to avoid any future problems. The budget should depend on the size of the move and the distance. If you don’t have any idea how to calculate this, you can use an online moving calculator to give you an estimation.

It is also a good way to create a budget for you to check if you need any financial help from family or friends. If you are still struggling with financing your move, asking for assistance from several organizations or charities in your area is an option. Some may even help you pay the cost of hiring furniture removals. This will make your move more organized and will lessen your stress.

Removing Unnecessary Items  

Sorting and removing your belongings is necessary before packing to have a faster process and to lessen the items that needed to be packed by you or the furniture movers. But this can be difficult, especially for seniors who usually become emotional and sentimental about the items they gathered for years. Asking for help from family and friends is a good idea so they can help decide what items you can and should take, based on the availability of space in your new home.

Asking family, friends, or neighbours if they could benefit from the belongings you won’t be taking is a good way to keep the items. On the other hand, you can earn extra money if you will sell the items at a garage sale, or if you want to do a worthy cause, donating to any organizations in your area that are helping people in need is also a good choice.

Preparing an Essential Box

Preparing an essential box should be part of the checklist. This is for you to avoid unpacking every box you have to search for your essentials or taking multiple trips to the store to purchase those items. This can be stressful if you are unfamiliar with the new place. Don’t forget to put medications, any charging cords for wheelchairs or other equipment, your toiletries and sleepwear, a comfortable change of clothing and some food. These are some items you need on a daily basis. Having this readily available can make you feel comfortable and prepared in your new home.

Coordinating with Family and Friends

If you have mobility, vision, or other disabilities or any age-related conditions, asking for assistance in packing and moving your items can make things a lot easier. Getting the right amount of help during a move is a crucial step so coordinating with family and friends in advance is ideal to make sure everything is set according to plan. Doing everything by yourself is not advisable, as it may cause accidents and injuries, especially moving heavy items. It may not be easy to ask for help but remember, having your family and friends to support you will make things a lot easier.

Arranging Health Care Services

Be sure to arrange all your health care needs ahead of time, especially before an interstate move.  Locating the nearest emergency care facilities is a must especially if you are not familiar with the area. Asking your current doctor for referrals or recommendations for specialists in the new area is a good idea to find a new primary care physician easily. Make an appointment with your new healthcare providers as soon as possible and of course, before moving, don’t forget to refill your prescriptions to avoid any problems. Remember, you need to do the best you could to avoid any delays with these services since health is definitely important.

Hiring a Trusted Moving Company

Having friends and families over to help you out with your move is such a great favour particularly for elderly people or with physical limitations. But if you want to make your move quick, safe and efficient as possible, hiring a trusted and experienced moving company is a good choice. If you don’t know where to find professional men that move in Australia, Upmove is a great platform to use. They offer various moving services from moving companies, local removalists, two men and a truck, and even single-item movers and piano movers. You can check the ratings and read reviews of the companies to make sure it is reliable.

You may also ask some people who personally used a removalist in the past for recommendations. Make sure to look for a removalist that can move special equipment like wheelchairs, CPAP machines, lift chairs and other needed equipment. This way, they can help you put the equipment together if they disassemble them during the move and you are sure that they will provide extra care for those items because they are experienced and knowledgeable enough.