MOVING DAY AT MORNINGSIDE

Morningside of Fullerton, the continuing care retirement community in Fullerton, Calif., has teamed up with Gentle Transitions to make sure the move-in process goes as smoothly as possible for new residents. 

Gentle Transitions, a company dedicated to helping seniors relocate from their current home to a retirement community, recently worked with Jack and Shirley Haake when they moved from their longtime family home in Fullerton to Morningside. Gentle Transitions helped the Haakes lay out a floor plan for their new home, decide which furniture to keep and which should go to family or charity, and where to place the furniture once it arrived. By the time the Haakes walked into their new home at Morningside on moving day, Gentle Transitions’ staff had already unpacked kitchen items, made the beds, hung clothes and bathroom towels, unpacked books, lamps and plants, and generally made the new home “move-in ready.”

According to Clint Marsh, Morningside’s sales manager, the retirement community paid for the relocation services for the Haakes. In addition to its Home Sale Deferral Program, which offers seniors the opportunity to move in with a small deposit toward their entrance fee while they sell their house, Morningside is currently paying for relocation services.

“We’ve found it very beneficial to work with a moving services firm for our residents because these companies are experts at space planning,” Marsh said. “They’re also terrific at helping seniors downsize from their longtime family home with years of memories and mementoes and deciding which pieces belong in their new home and fit their new lifestyle.”

Gentle Transitions also works with seniors to sort through the hundreds of items people typically collect over a lifetime. Some pieces are carefully packed and moved, while others are given away.

“Downsizing is a key element of our service,” said Greg Gunderson, president and owner of Gentle Transitions. “We help seniors decide what is practical and what is sentimental, and assist in the decision-making with regard to closets, cupboards, cabinets, the garage and more. When it comes to downsizing, some people would like to bring the whole house, but that just isn’t practical when you move into a retirement community. We work with seniors to help them decide what they really use and what they wear, and to leave behind what they don’t. We also make sure the items they bring are the right size for the new place.

“We are not about telling people they can’t keep an item that has purely sentimental value. We believe that keeping something because they are attached to it is every bit as valid as a practical reason for keeping something. We encourage them to bring as many sentimental items as they like provided they have adequate space for them.”

Marsh said that prior to every move-in, the Morningside staff makes sure the apartment home or villa is freshly painted and carpeted and new light fixtures, faucets, towel bars, closet organizers or other refurbishments are installed.

“We want to make sure our residents have the latest in home design and décor, and that everything is perfect for them prior to move-in,” Marsh said.

“Many times we hear from residents once they’ve moved that they feel revitalized. They’re ready to take on new activities and experiences. In fact, many say they wished they’d done it sooner!”

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