Indianapolis Professional Organizer helps Boomers and Seniors Downsize to a Simpler Life

Relocating can be physically demanding and emotionally traumatic at any age, but for Boomers and seniors downsizing and moving from the family home, the ordeal is far more complicated, even paralyzing. This year 6.2% Americans over the age of 60 have decided to downsize. Now Boomers and their parents can call on the organizational skills of a Senior Move Manager to facilitate the transition.

Eighty-year-old Louise, who lives alone, fell in her kitchen one evening and broke her hip. After spending one week in the hospital and two months in a rehab center, Louise learned that she will not be able to return to her home of 30 years without live-in help. Louise and her two grown children, age 48 and 52 who live more than hundred miles away, are now faced with the stressful job of relocating their mother to more appropriate living arrangements, and downsizing and selling the family home.

Similar scenarios are being played out throughout the US as 78 million Baby Boomers are sandwiched between aging parent’s needs and the needs of their children. A recent AARP survey found that nearly 70% of adult children have not talked to their parent’s about issues related to aging. Considered together, these statistics spell impending crisis for millions of seniors and their adult children. Increasing numbers of Boomers, themselves aging, with busy work and family lives, must interrupt their schedules to move their aging parents out of households (full of a lifetime of accumulated stuff) that they can no longer manage. Employers are feeling the brunt as well. It is estimated that $30 billion is lost in productivity annually due to worker’s elder care responsibilities.

Relocating can be physically challenging and emotionally traumatic at any age, but for Boomers and seniors downsizing and moving from the family home, the ordeal is far more complicated and even paralyzing. Stress studies indicate that losing a spouse is the only other event more stressful.

Enter a new breed of service professional, the Professional Organizer/Senior Move Manager (SMM), who is dedicated to providing emotional, organizational and hands-on support to older adults and their families during a stressful relocation process. In 2002, the National Association of Senior Move Managers was formed to establish a industry standards, a code of ethics, and create a network of SMMs throughout the country. There are roughly 250 NASMM members throughout the US, who are required to uphold the NASMM Code of Ethics and maintain liability insurance.

A Senior Move Manager will:
• Guide client through the process of “clutter removal”, sorting through a lifetime of possessions, and deciding which belongings to take to the new home
• Provide emotional support, develop a time-line and comprehensive plan for the move
• Connect the family with needed resources, from movers and appraisers and auctioneers to senior-focused real estate agents
• Facilitate space planning and furniture placement for the new home
• Keep the project on schedule, motivating all involved to stay focused
• Pack and unpack household goods
• Organize the new residence to create a safe and comfortable home, from day one.
• Provide an Aging-in-Place safe-home assessment and decluttering

Janet Nusbaum, owner of Simplified Spaces, is the only professional in Indiana who is a member of both specialty associations, the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) and National Association of Senior Move Managers (NASMM). Janet developed a passion for working with seniors following her personal experiences with her 94-year-old grandmother’s downsizing, then closing of her home and estate when she passed away in 2006. “I feel blessed that I was just twenty-minute from my grandmother when a move was eminent. Thousands of my peers live cross country from their parents, often making it impossible for them to provide regular support. Fortunately, families can now call on the organizational services of Simplified Spaces to fill the gap for Central Indiana seniors,” says Janet Nusbaum. Ginger, one of Nusbaum’s recent clients, said it best “Your services are worth their weight in gold … I could not have done this without you.”

About Simplified Spaces

Simplified Spaces specializes in facilitating transitions for mature adults. The company also helps businesses and individuals to clear clutter, simplify their lives and reduce stress associated to disorganization through workshops, coaching sessions and hands-on organizing sessions. Founded in 2003 by Janet Nusbaum, Simplified Spaces offers a variety of services to help make the otherwise overwhelming and traumatic experience of downsizing go as smoothly as possible. Simplified Spaces is a member of the National Association of Senior Move Managers (NASMM), the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), the Carmel-Clay Chamber of Commerce and a founding member of the Active Adult Lifestyle Alliance (AALA) in Indianapolis. To learn more, call 317-867-1540 or visit www.SimplifiedSpaces.net.