By: Arthur Cooper
Submitted: 2011-02-21 22:10:50 | Word Count: 664
Moving can be emotionally challenging for seniors who have a home, or their own living quarters. The transition from home to a Michigan assisted living facility or continuing care home can be trying for seniors that cherish the items that they own. Sometimes seniors may be pack rats or hoarders, and letting go of materialistic items can be very challenging.
If your senior loved one is a pack rat that has a lot of things, they will need some time to go through their items before they move into assisted living. Start with the easy things to pack, then work your way to the more difficult. Allow the senior to keep the prized possessions to ease any anxiety. To feel good about the move in the state of Michigan, you will need to have the senior make their own decisions on the items. Ultimately, the senior will want to keep most things, but going through each item should allow them to pick the most important items and get rid of the rest.
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When a senior moves into a Michigan assisted living facility, they will not be able to take all of their prized possessions, so it is important to make sure they know this. Most things can be kept in a family members home, or in a storage facility, and some smaller items can be kept in the seniors care. You may want to take pictures of all of the important possessions that will be left behind and place the photos into a photo album for your senior loved one. The senior will be able to view their possessions at any time, and it will be a good conversation for the senior when they are meeting new people or when family comes to the care facility to visit.
Since a senior cannot take everything they own into their new assisted living quarters, apartment, nursing home, or other care facility, it is important to gather a few essentials for their moving bags. For first night access, you will want to pack important items your senior loved one will need. And, since Michigan is known for very cold winters, always make sure you’ve packed enough warm blankets and clothing, and make sure they are all approved by the assisted living center.
Usually the home will provide bedding, but sometimes in assisted living facilities or retirement homes they recommend bringing bedding. Pack a mattress cover that fits the size of the mattress and has a zipper (this is important to avoid spreading allergens, skin cells, or other possible infectious germs). Also, pack all bedding including sheets and pillows.
Paper products are essential for the move. Paper towel rolls and toilet paper, along with tissues and napkins can help a senior transition more easily the first few nights. A coffee maker or teakettle, along with the tea or coffee and all of the fixings, and a mug, is important depending on what your senior loved one likes. A toiletry kit that includes a toothbrush, toothpaste, denture gel, denture case, deodorant, shaving cream, razor, soap, hair products, and any other bathroom essentials is necessary. Any prescriptions or vitamins that the senior takes regularly should be placed in an easily accessible area of the suitcase. The seniors checkbook and money managing documents, along with social security card, birth certificate, living will, address book, key phone number list, and other important documents should be clearly marked and placed in a water proof folder. A bedside clock, pajamas and underwear, and any books or magazines your senior loved one is reading is necessary for the first nights stay in a new living quarter. A framed photo or other memento should be included to make the place feel like home and help the feng shui of the room.
The simple things in life are the most honored, so make sure your senior loved one has a few things with them that they honor the most. It is important to start new with some of the past, so that the senior is not as frightened by the changes. Change can be uplifting or it can be scary, but make sure that your senior loved one feels as comfortable as possible the first night in the assisted living facility.
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