How you can move into retirement living, stress-free
There are a few ways you can make the move into retirement living a lot less worrying and stressful. Many of them involve planning ahead for this next exciting stage of your life as you say goodbye to the family home and hello to your new retirement estate.
Let's take a look at a few tips that can help make moving into this exciting new life phase as smooth and straightforward as possible.
1) How can you downsize your home?
Even when you’re moving into a beautiful three bedroom home with plenty of living space, it’s a perfect opportunity to take stock of all the ‘stuff’ you’ve accumulated over the years, and ask yourself if you really want to pack it up... pay to move it... and then unpack it all!
Instead, you might like to have a garage sale and earn a little spare cash. You could donate larger items such as furniture to charity. Or you could take the opportunity to hand down some much-loved items to your family.
This seemingly mammoth task can be made much simpler if you start with just one wardrobe in just one room. That way, you’ll be making progress from the start – and little by little, the job will become more manageable.
2) What's the best way to plan for the move?
It’s amazing how what seems like a massive, unimaginably difficult undertaking can become much more achievable with the help of a plan.
Try writing out a checklist of everything you need to get done. Even if the job seems enormous at first, as those tasks get checked off one by one, you’ll have a feeling of accomplishment that slowly grows stronger.
3) Is there anyone who can help with the move into a retirement village?
At your stage of life, chances are you’ll have a multitude of family members, neighbours, and friends who will be more than willing to help you on this new exciting stage of your journey.
Even though you’re still feeling fully capable of looking after yourself, it’s important to give your loved ones the chance to feel fully involved in your next life stage. So make sure you ask them to contribute!
Along with asking for help comes delegating. You’ll know people who have more time, different skills or more energy than you – which means they can get some things done more easily. Make sure you allocate some specific tasks to the right people.
One last point: when people do offer you help, the answer is always: “Yes please!”
4) How can you look after yourself during the move?
Even though you’re excited about your move, remember that you’re not 30 anymore! Leave the heavy lifting to the youngsters, and remember to take regular rest breaks and get good quality sleep each night.
Don’t forget that people will be interested to know how you’re progressing. So keep your family and friends, real estate agent, and retirement estate manager up-to-date with where things are at.
5) What's the best way to remember your old home?
Along with the excitement of your new home may come some wistfulness or nostalgia as you say farewell to your treasured family home. It’s ok to feel this way!
To help with the transition, try taking a few last photos of your old home, to last you through the years ahead. Old memories are good to have – as long as you don’t forget that you’ll be making new memories very soon!
Visit us to see what a retirement estate can offer
If you’re thinking of joining our Albury or Shepparton retirement communities, we’d love to meet you. Arrange your personal tour by calling us at Albury on 02 6049 3100 or Shepparton on 03 5820 5100, or get in touch with the contact form here.
