What To Pack When Moving to Assisted Living in Louisiana
Now that you’ve found an assisted living community in Louisiana that you love, it’s time to start preparing for the move into your new home. Any move can be stressful and while you are looking forward to experiencing the low-maintenance, wellness-focused lifestyle of an assisted living community, it’s common to still feel overwhelmed by the task of moving.
We’re here with some tips on what to pack when planning for a successful, clutter-free move and easy transition. While every assisted living community and apartment is unique, here are a few things you want to be sure you are packing as you begin your transition to retirement living.
Downsizing vs. Rightsizing
You might have noticed that retirement communities don’t often use the word downsizing when talking about paring down possessions in order to move from a large home to an assisted living home. Instead, you’ll see the word rightsizing, because moving to an assisted living apartment means you are adjusting your environment to meet your current lifestyle.
A huge, expansive home often comes with a long list of regular chores, tasks, and responsibilities. All this extra work to tidy rooms, sweep, and plan landscaping services can leave you feeling stressed out, spending all of your energy on house upkeep rather than on living the retirement lifestyle you’ve always wanted. Rightsizing means finding a smaller apartment with services and amenities that will give you back your time, your energy, and your independence.
Rightsizing your space also means rightsizing your possessions. While you don’t have to adopt a minimalist lifestyle, you can make choices that ensure your new home will express your style without cramping the space. Knowing what to bring along with you to your new home can help keep you on track so that you aren’t bringing too many large pieces of furniture or collections with you.
What to Pack
Aside from the basics, like clothing, shoes, bathroom towels and toiletries, you’ll want to pack additional items to bring with you to your new assisted living community.
Your new assisted living residence comes unfurnished, which means you’ll have the chance to bring along your favorite pieces of furniture and art. When thinking about what to bring, be sure you are working with a copy of the floorplan of your new home. This way, you can measure to be sure your furniture will fit nicely in the space.
Furniture for your living room and bedroom
If you are moving to a one-bedroom residence, you’ll want to furnish your bedroom with a bed, dresser, and nightstand. Your living room might include a small couch and favorite recliner, with a coffee table, side table, and entertainment center. Don’t forget a television for one or both rooms as well!
Closet organizers
You certainly do not need to pay for a custom closet in your new assisted living residence, though you can if you prefer. Having some organizational tools can help to maximize your space in your bedroom closet as well as a linen closet. Consider using baskets and bins to keep yourself organized and make grabbing a new set of linens, or your winter sweaters, easy to find when you need them.
Art and photos to hang
Your home is an extension of your personal style, so be sure you adorn the walls with your favorite pieces of art or photos. Double check with your assisted living community to see how they prefer you to hang things on the walls and then come equipped with those supplies. You can measure your art ahead of time as well to give you a jumpstart on your decorating once you move in.
Essential kitchen supplies
Your new assisted living community features three delicious meals served daily in the dining room with friends, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still pack some essentials for your kitchen. For some, that might mean a coffee pot and favorite coffee mugs for entertaining friends. For others, it might mean a place setting for 4 in case company comes over with dinner or take-out. You might find that bringing along a few favorite serving platters are a must in your cabinets. Just remember, you won’t have to worry about things like meal preparation, chopping, or cooking each day because you’ll have a delicious meal already waiting for you at your dining room table.
Holiday decorations
While you don’t have to decorate your home for the holidays, if that is important to you, pick your favorite items for each holiday that will fit in your new residence and will store easily in your storage unit or closet. This might mean rightsizing to a smaller Christmas tree with your favorite ornaments or packing up your best spring wreath for the inside of your door. As you rightsize your holiday decorations, ensure you are giving your family members the chance to take what you don’t want to bring along so that they can decorate with the items in their home.
What Not to Pack
As you are deciding what to pack in boxes to move to your new assisted living community in Louisiana, you should also be aware of what you can leave at home. Here are a few items that you won’t likely have to bring with you on moving day.
Vacuum cleaner and other house cleaning supplies
You’ll enjoy regular housekeeping visits as a part of your low-maintenance lifestyle at your assisted living community. This means you can confidently leave your heavy-duty vacuum at home, as well as your major cleaning supplies. If you’d like to bring something with you, consider a smaller vacuum cleaner and a few essential cleaners. Otherwise, leave the rest to the competent team at your new home!
Your car
Many assisted living communities offer certain transportation services to residents. This includes hosting group activities to take shopping excursions with the life enrichment department, and providing transportation, for a small fee, to non-emergency medical visits.
A large dining room table
You probably won’t have room for a large dining room table in your new residence. Instead, choose a smaller table for hosting cozy groups of family and friends. For larger gatherings you’d like to host, you’ll be able to reserve community spaces so that you can invite a large group with confidence.
Assisted Living at The Glen
At Stiles Assisted Living at The Glen, our team is here to help answer any questions you might have prior to move in. We want your moving day and transition to our community to be as smooth as possible. Ready to learn more about our community, services, and floor plans. Discover more about Stiles Assisted Living here.