JoshThere comes a time in nearly everyone’s life where the roles reverse and the children now look after their parents. If your parents live out of state or out of town and live on a fixed income it can become difficult for them to keep up with their home, auto, and themselves. There are several choices in front of you. If you have siblings you can decide among yourselves whether it’s time for your parents to sell their home and either move to a cheaper location or move in with one of their children. Set a plan in place and then contact a moving company like North American moving company and rental truck places and get estimates in writing. Then factor in all the expenses so you know ahead of time a pretty good estimate of the cost.
Deciding where the best place is for your parents to live
If your parents are still active and can function without much assistance, they may do very well in an apartment nearby. This way they still have their privacy and their independence. But, if something should happen you are only a short drive away. If on the other hand, you parents aren’t remembering things and have trouble getting around, it would be best to have them move in with you or an assisted living facility. These are tough decisions for anyone to make. But, the truth is, you need to make the one that benefits all parties involved the most.
Moving parents into your home
There are many reasons children decide ultimately to have their aging parents move in with them. First, they can attend to their needs and pick up their medications, drive them to appointments and cook their meals. And, secondly, they get to see them more often and keep an eye out for them. Moving parents into your home will have a minimum impact on your expenses. And, many parents are so grateful that they part with a good portion of their Social Security to help cover their costs.
What to pack up from the home
Whether you decide to get them set up in their own apartment or have them move in with you, you need to pack up their home and figure out what to do with all of their things. Moving is expensive and it really depends on how much stuff you keep and whether you hire movers or DIY. If your parents are getting their own 2-bedroom apartment, their basic furniture is fine to pack up. But, since there’s no basement or attic you’ll have to decide what to do with the rest. If they are moving in with you, chances are you’ll have even less space to accommodate their belongings. Once you figure out how much is going, you need to decide what to do with the rest of their things. Some of the items family members may want to keep, while the rest could go into an estate sale to bring in a few hundred to offset the moving expense. Whatever family members don’t claim and you don’t sell, donate to the local church. They are happy to come and pick up furniture, dishware and clothing in good condition.
Moving: hire movers or do it yourself
Now that you have a plan in place and have the extra items removed you need to decide whether you want to hire a moving company to pack up and drive it out of state or if you and your family members can do it yourselves on a weekend. There are pros and cons to each one. If you hire a company they pack it up, they load the truck and they drive it to the drop-off point. They also set everything up on the other end, which is a big deal if you alone will have to lift everything off the truck and into an apartment. They are also responsible for getting your things there safely. If there is any damage to anything, they will reimburse you for it. On the downside, it costs a lot more than renting a truck and driving it yourself. And, generally, they take twice as long to arrive at the drop off because they pick up other customer’s belongings along the way. If you don’t want the responsibility of driving a truck long distance, there are ways you can reduce the initial estimate. First, do the packing yourself. Moving companies do have a required amount of boxes and sizes for the fee, so make sure to stay in their guidelines. But doing the packing yourself will save you anywhere from $250.00 to $500.00. Secondly, take only what your parents really want. Everything you pack and every piece of furniture carries with it a price tag. Reducing your load will save you quite a bit of money.