Each year it’s estimated that nearly 13% of the United States population moves. Moving can be challenging and stressful. Even if you’re young and have an army of friends to help you it can still take its toll.

Sadly, it’s even harder for certain segments of the population, like seniors. Seniors often face challenges at every stage of the moving process, and that starts with packing.

So why do seniors typically need packing help? And are there moving companies that can provide packing help for seniors? In this guide, we’ll answer these questions so you find the help that you or your loved one needs. 

Why Do Seniors Often Need Help Packing? 

Moving often involves lifting heavy boxes and making frequent trips up and down the stairs. Because 1 in 4 older adults suffers a serious fall each year it makes sense to take extra precautions even while packing.

The other reason is that seniors tend to have a lot of stuff. Many have lived in their homes for decades. During that time they’ve likely collected everything under the sun.

Packing help ensures that the senior in your life isn’t overwhelmed by the pure amount of stuff that needs to be moved. Lastly, moving for seniors is often a stressful event.

This is especially true if the senior is moving to new living accommodations like a retirement community.

Dealing with packing too can only exacerbate that stress. So having it completely taken care of can be a load off their mind during the moving process. 

Are There Moving Companies That Can Pack for Seniors?

The answer is yes, there are professional packing services that cater their services to seniors. These moving services, like the kind offered here at Gorilla Movers, tend to handle every part of the moving process for seniors.

That starts with packing everything up but extends to loading, unloading, moving, and unpacking. When looking for moving companies make sure they offer specialized senior moving services.

Some companies might claim they can help seniors just to get your business. Before you proceed you should also ask them these eight questions.

After all, these packers will likely be handling family heirlooms. As such, you want to make sure that they’re qualified and well-reviewed. 

How Can You Help Make the Packing Process Easier?

If you want to leave everything related to packing to the movers, you can. However, keep in mind that this might be quite expensive. This is especially true if there are a lot of belongings that take days to get packed up.

So to make the process easier, and less expensive, use these moving tips for seniors before the professionals arrive. 

Get a Head Start on It

No one likes packing. As such, we tend to procrastinate getting started on it. Then when moving day approaches, you’re in crunch mode. Ideally, you should start the packing process months in advance.

Try to pick a certain time of day each week to chip away at it. If you wait for the packing mood to strike you, then you’ll likely be waiting until moving day.

Remember, you don’t need to have everything packed up by the time the professionals arrive. However, if everything is out and organized, it will make the job a lot easier and clearer for the packers. 

Create an Organizing System

Instead of trying to pack the entire house at once, focus on one room at a time. For each room, set up organizing piles for things you want to keep, things you want to donate; things you want to sell, or things you want to put into storage.

This will save you a lot of time by ensuring you don’t need to double back and check things. 

Deal With Potential Hoarding Tendencies

Hoarding disorder is a recognized mental illness condition. It’s characterized by the often obsessive compulsion to keep things regardless of their monetary or emotional value.

If you think your loved one might have this condition, you need to address it before the packers get there. Otherwise, they won’t be able to make much progress because they’ll want to keep everything.

If your loved one has what’s known as good or fair insight, then they can usually recognize when the behavior is getting problematic if it’s pointed out to them.

Unfortunately, some people have poor insight or even delusional beliefs surrounding their hoarding practices. In these cases, you will likely need to reach out to a mental health professional for help before you proceed with the packing process. 

Make a Plan If You’re Downsizing

Most of the time when seniors are moving, they’re downgrading to a smaller living accommodation, like a retirement community. As such, you need to make a plan on what you’re going to do with furniture and belongings that can’t fit in this new space.

There are plenty of options. You can give them to family members nearby or donate them to thrift shops. If you think things are valuable, you can sell them either on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist.

If you have family furniture pieces you don’t want to get rid of, you can move them to storage facilities. Remember, the fewer things you need to pack and move, the easier the process is going to be. 

Oversee the Professional Packers

Some seniors are very hesitant about letting others touch their belongings. They might be worried that something is going to break, or they don’t like the idea of strangers handling their things.

If the senior who needs packing help falls into this category, consider being there to oversee the professional packers. This could be a good compromise. 

Need Packing Help for Seniors? Contact Gorilla Movers

We hope this guide helped you learn more about packing help for seniors. Here at Gorilla Movers, we know how unique the needs of our San Diego senior movers can be. Some aren’t picky about having everything packed and shipped.

Others want to be hands-on during the entire process. With our flexible senior packing solutions, we can accommodate both of these preferences and everything in between.

So if you’re ready for reliable senior moving and packing services, get in touch with us today.