Gentle Moves Denver

A twelve-week timeline that goes slowly

Eight stages, each small enough to do on a quiet afternoon.

This timeline assumes about twelve weeks. If you have less, do the same things in the same order and make each stage shorter. If you have more, spread the sorting out.

  1. Twelve weeks out: decide and measure

    Choose the new home, then get its floor plan or measure the rooms. Write down what must fit: the bed, a favorite chair, the dining table or none of those. Most downsizing trouble comes from planning the old house instead of the new one.

  2. Ten weeks out: ask for help and for estimates

    Decide whether family, a senior move manager, a mover or a mix will carry the load. Invite movers for an in-home visit rather than accepting a phone price. In Colorado, check a household-goods mover’s Public Utilities Commission permit on puc.colorado.gov; movers must show their permit number in their advertising.

  3. Eight weeks out: sort the rooms you use least

    Start with the attic, basement, garage and guest room. Make four piles: keep, give to family, donate or sell, discard. More on each pile.

  4. Six weeks out: the paperwork

    Gather the documents in this list, notify the post office and utilities, and arrange the new address for prescriptions and mail. Book the mover for a weekday if you can; mornings are calmer.

  5. Four weeks out: sort the rooms you use every day

    Keep the kitchen and the bedroom functional until the last week. Pack a “first night” box: medications, glasses, chargers, bedding, a favorite mug, a lamp.

  6. Two weeks out: confirm everything

    Reconfirm the date, time and elevator reservation with the mover and the new building. Label boxes by room and, if it helps, by color. Arrange a ride and a quiet place for the person moving to stay during the loading.

  7. Moving day

    Walk through with the crew leader, then keep the person moving away from the heaviest activity. Hold the important-documents folder yourself. Before the crew leaves, check closets, cabinets and the garage.

  8. The week after

    Set up the bed, the bathroom and the kitchen first. Hang pictures later. Unpack at the pace of the person living there, not the pace of the calendar.

If time is short. A move after a hospital stay or a loss cannot wait twelve weeks. Do three things first: pick who holds the documents, decide what has to be in the new place on day one, and let a senior move manager or a family friend run the schedule so the person moving can rest.

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