Downsizing a parent's home: planning a seniors' move in Metro Vancouver

Moving a parent from a family home into a condo, a smaller house or a seniors' residence is two jobs at once: a move, and deciding what to do with decades of belongings that won't fit. Done in a rush it's exhausting for everyone. Done in order, it's manageable. Here's the order.

Start with the new space, not the old one

• Get a floor plan of the new home, with measurements. Ask the residence, building or seller for one.
• Measure the furniture your parent loves most, and check it fits: bed, favourite chair, dining table, a dresser.
• Ask the new building about moves: elevator booking, move hours, loading area and any rules. If it's a strata, our guide to condo moves in BC explains what a strata can and can't charge.

Once you know what fits, the rest of the house becomes a list of decisions instead of a mountain.

Let them lead the decisions

It's their home and their belongings. A few things make the decisions easier:

• Work one room at a time, in short sessions.
• Start with the easy rooms, like the garage or spare room, not the photographs.
• Offer family items to family early, with a deadline for collecting them.
• Take photos of things that won't come but matter.

Sort into four groups

1. Moving: what fits the new home.
2. Family: set aside, labelled with who's taking it.
3. Sell or donate.
4. Clear: everything else, hauled away after the move.

Plan moving day around them

• Book movers who can work at their pace. We move 7 days a week, so the move can avoid busy times at the new building.
• Set up the new bedroom first, so there's a familiar place to rest that night.
• Keep medication, documents, glasses and chargers with them, not on the truck.

What's left in the house

After the move, the old house usually still holds a lot: the garage, the basement, furniture nobody took. We can clear it, sorting keepsakes from things to clear, and recycling what we can. Our checklist for clearing out a parent's home covers the whole process, and estate cleanouts explains how we price it.

Moving with us

We help seniors move and downsize across Metro Vancouver, with a crew sized to the home (usually 2 movers for a studio or one-bedroom, 3 for two or three bedrooms, and 4 for larger homes). Furniture is taken apart and put back together, and floors are protected at both ends. If the new place isn't ready on moving day, we can store things in between, and anything that isn't coming can be hauled away in the same booking. See residential moving and our pricing page.

Call 604-348-7640 or get a moving quote.