Moving magic: Move managers help older adults tackle one of life’s great transitions

Certified senior move managers like Jane Roberts of Carolina Move Managers help older adults painlessly relocate, often to smaller homes with fewer possessions, for their next phase of life. (Photo by Terah Hoobler)

For some, just the thought of moving sends our heart racing. For older adults, who have years of possessions tied to memories, downsizing may be even more emotional and overwhelming. Fortunately, there are experts at the ready. Carolina Move Managers and Turn Key Lifestyle in Wilmington, for example, help people relocate with compassion and dignity, reducing stress and saving time and money.

What’s a Move Manager?

A move manager is a professional moving organizer. They can handle all aspects of moving from assisting with decisions on downsizing, planning furniture placement, packing belongings, handling logistics and supervising the moving company to unpacking and placing everything in a new home. 

Jane Roberts is owner of Carolina Move Managers. “I had a friend whose family helped set up our new home when I had a 3-month-old and a 2-year-old. From then on, whenever friends moved, I helped them when I could. When we moved to Wilmington, several older ladies at our church were thinking about moving and wondered who could help. They weren’t alone. Their friends needed help, too,” Roberts recalled. 

Seeing the prospects for a business, Roberts joined the National Association of Senior Move Managers. She trained as a senior move manager in 2008 and obtained her certification in 2009.

Erin Keller, owner of Turn Key Lifestyle, grew up in a three-generation military family. Always ready to move at a moment’s notice, she has made 18 moves in five states and two countries. “My parents, grandparents and great-grandparents became masters of moving. They lived lean, surrounding themselves with intentional items that were functional, beautiful and sentimental,” she said.

Keller, who is also a certified senior move manager, launched her business in Montana in 2012. “Moving is a dynamic industry. We’ve learned how to pivot, be flexible and above all be compassionate,” she said. 

Getting Started 

According to Roberts, most folks just don’t know where to start. “Older adults are both excited and nervous, often moving for the first time without a spouse,” she said. “They need to be told how to start, and what to do next, and next and next.”

Roberts starts by visiting her clients’ homes. “We prepare for the move. We discuss what furniture goes to the new home. We measure everything – closets, cabinets and drawers – and develop to-scale floor plans of the new home,” Roberts said. “We become intentional about taking only what the new home will accommodate.”

In addition to retirees, Keller works with busy professionals. “Knowing someone is taking care of space planning, downsizing, packing and unpacking is a huge relief,” she said.

Downsizing is often a major priority for older adults in the midst of a move. “Americans, if they have means, likely have too much stuff,” said Roberts. Many of her clients have been in their homes for over 50 years. “They simply have no idea what to do with all of their possessions,” she said.

Consignment is an option for furniture in good shape and not dated. An estate sale is another. So is donation. Plenty of charitable agencies will pick up and tax write-offs are often part of the solution. “We figure this out together,” Roberts said.

Keller poses essential questions to her clients: Will you use this in your new home? Where are these items going to live? These questions prompt decisions and encourage clients to let go. “Another powerful motivator to editing is reminding folks that the more there is to move, the more the move will cost,” Keller said. 

Removing Stress & Saving Time

Move managers unpack and set up everything in a new home. “By evening, the home is ready to welcome its new residents, and there isn’t a box in sight. The beds are made, the kitchen and baths are organized, the living room is decorated, and art is hung. It’s home right away,” Roberts said. 

Carolina Move Managers offers a choice of as few or as many of their services as a budget allows. “Hiring a move manager is a wonderful gift to yourself or a beloved parent,” Roberts said. “I hear that I don’t charge enough more often than I hear I have charged too much,” she added.

Roberts described the gratitude her clients express as a reward in and of itself. “Seeing my clients’ faces as they walk in the door of their new home and breathe a sigh – and sometimes cry – of relief is my most cherished moment,” Roberts said. “And what a privilege to become friends along the way.”

Keller advises that most people should not move on their own. “Moving is one of the top five life stressors. We’ve worked with lots of exhausted folks who call us after a move to finish unpacking and purge items that don’t fit in their new home. Hiring someone experienced in juggling logistics relieves that stress,” she said.

Keller also acknowledged that moving is time-consuming, a burden that move managers can help alleviate for clients. “A clear space plan results in a more efficient move. When furniture comes off the truck, we already know it will fit. There will not be multiple attempts at placement which adds unnecessary time. Our busy clients can focus their time and energy elsewhere,” she said.

George and Deborah Elam used Turn Key Lifestyle last June when they moved from Lansdowne Estates to Trinity Landing in Wilmington. They moved from a 2,400-square-foot, single-family home to a 1,560-square-foot retirement community villa. 

“We had accumulated a lifetime of sentimental stuff and we needed compassionate help to downsize. Understanding our emotions was imperative,” Deborah Elam said. “Making a move, especially later in life, is extremely stressful. Turn Key Lifestyle was exceptional and helped us avoid the hassles of moving.”

Like Roberts, Keller listed the relationships she forms with clients as a perk of the profession. “Getting to know so many wonderful people is the heart of our business. Our clients mean the world to us. We treasure them and love being a part of their move journey,” she said.

Roberts had this final piece of advice: “It will never be easier than it is right now. Waiting only makes the process more difficult. Do it while you can make your own decisions without being in a crisis.”