Start with the new floor plan
A downsizing move succeeds or struggles on one question: what fits? Answer it on paper before the first box is packed. Get a floor plan with room dimensions from the senior living community, apartment or new house, or measure the rooms yourself if you can visit.
- Measure the bed, favorite chair, dresser, dining table and anything else that matters most
- Mark where each piece will go, leaving clear walking paths
- Check closet and kitchen cabinet space, which shrink faster than rooms do
- Note any storage the new place includes, and how much
- Ask whether the community or building provides any furniture
Once the plan is drawn, everything not on it is a decision for the sorting stage. That turns an overwhelming house into a list.
Sorting what to keep, give, donate or sell
Sorting takes far longer than packing, and it's the step that most often gets rushed. Start as soon as the new home is chosen. Work one room at a time, and save photographs and papers for last, because they're the slowest.
| Group | What goes there | When it leaves |
|---|---|---|
| Keep | Everything on the new floor plan, plus essentials | On move day, with the rest of the household |
| Family | Pieces promised to children, grandchildren or friends | Picked up before the move, or moved to them separately |
| Donate | Usable items no one in the family wants | Before the move, once pickup is arranged with a charity |
| Sell | Furniture, collections or valuables worth selling | Through a sale or buyer arranged well before the move |
| Discard | Broken, expired or unusable items | Throughout the sorting weeks |
Colored stickers work well: one color per group, so anyone helping can tell at a glance what goes where.
Moving into a senior living community
Independent living, assisted living and memory care communities all have move-in rules. Ask the community for them early, and send them with your quote request. Typical items are set move-in days and hours, elevator reservations, hallway protection, a certificate of insurance from the mover, and limits on what can be hung on walls or brought in.
Room setup matters more here than in most moves. Beds go where the resident can get in and out easily. Paths from bed to bathroom stay clear. Loose throw rugs and cords across walkways are trip hazards, and many families leave them out entirely.
Downsizing at any age
Downsizing isn't only for seniors. Empty nesters trade a two-story house for a single-level home or a condo, couples consolidate two households into one, and some people simply want less house to heat and shovel. The method is the same: floor plan first, then sorting, then packing.
Single-level living is a common goal, and it changes what's worth keeping. A basement family room's sectional, a second guest bed and a garage full of yard tools often have no place in a condo. Settle that before the move, not at the new door. Condo buildings also come with their own rules, which our condo movers page covers.
When family lives in different places
Senior moves often involve family members in several towns or states, each with an opinion. Pick one point person to make bookings and answer the movers' questions. Keep one shared list of what's going where, and get claims to family pieces settled in writing before move day, not in the driveway.
If this, then that
- If family can't be there on move day, then name one person who will be, and give the movers that person's contact details.
- If the move is to be closer to children in another state, then expect federal interstate paperwork and a delivery window, and plan where the person moving will stay until the furniture arrives.
- If family pieces won't be picked up before the house is sold, then plan where they'll wait in the meantime.
Making move day easier on the person moving
A move can be exhausting and disorienting for an older adult, even a welcome one. A few choices help. Keep medications, glasses, hearing aids, phone and charger with the person, never on the truck. Plan a quiet place for them during loading, with a family member, at a friend's home or at the new place.
At the new home, set up the bedroom and bathroom first. Make the bed with familiar bedding, put favorite photos and a familiar chair in view, and unpack enough of the kitchen for the next morning. Our packing and unpacking services can handle the boxes so family can spend the day with the person moving.
Storage, timing and choosing a mover
Some pieces need a place to wait: furniture for a grandchild's first apartment, or belongings held while a house is staged and sold. Our moving and storage page covers how to plan that.
Any company moving household goods within Colorado registers with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. Look up any mover in the PUC's records before booking, us included. Be wary of anyone who pressures an older adult to sign quickly, asks for a large cash deposit, or won't put the quote in writing.
The bottom line
Draw the new floor plan, sort early and one room at a time, and set up the bedroom first. Those three steps make the biggest difference on a downsizing move.
Request a moving quote and include the new home's floor plan or room sizes if you have them.
