By Cheryl Farkas
Gigi decided it was time for her 84-year-old mother, Jean, to downsize from a five-bedroom house in Jamestown to a one-bedroom home in a retirement community in St. Augustine, FL, several miles away from Gigi.
They embarked on Gigi’s project together, sorting, packing and looking around the house, wondering how they were going to do this, just the two of them.
Jean’s grandparent, parents, in laws and cousins had left her with all of the family’s past relics and heirlooms. The project started to become emotional and overwhelming for both of them, so in a leap of faith, they decided to hire a Senior Move Management company that offered downsizing services.
Two downsizers from Home to Home went room to room with them, deciding what to keep and what to discard. Gathering momentum, Gigi could see it becoming more manageable, parting with even more.
The day came quickly; everything was packed and ready to move. Meanwhile, Gigi and Jean drove away to Florida, leaving the moving company the keys to the house and future decisions to be made. The remaining contents of the house were sorted: household waste disposal, donation and sellable items.
Called a house clean-out, it was ready for a realtor to sell. Sellable items remaining in the house, were inventoried; the house sold in two weeks.
Gigi, a little worried, called to remind the company of the closing date when sellable items needed to be removed. The company quickly assured her that part of the job had already been done. Gigi was impressed.
The truck left for Florida while the two downsizers followed, flying down to unpack. As the movers unloaded, it became clear; there would have to be a second round. Three more days of downsizing, and some furniture and 30 plus boxes were hauled off to donation.
“We are so happy we made the decision to hire Home to Home,” Gigi said, “When I turn 84, I’ll hire them again!”