Not sure how much furniture we should be moving. On the one hand, I’ve heard, less it more. On the other hand, she has always complained about her house’s lack of storage or closet space. In fact she’s a pack rat. Not sure how it should be furnished besides taking a single bed, tv, and lounger to sit on. She owns several stand along wardrobes, not sure how many she should or could fit into a small studio.
Does anyone have a packing list for this type of move? I’d like to find an official looking one and print it out for her since she never listens to us about what to take.
What I did for my Dad when it was time to move to senior living, I got graph paper and drew out the footprint of the room, noting where the door and windows were.... each square was one foot. Then I would cut out to size the bed, night stand, dresser [TV went on the dresser], high-boy dresser, recliner, etc. and move those pieces of furniture around the graph footprint of the room.
Dad's senior home already had a wardrobe so I needed to work around that. Extra clothes could go into under-the-bed storage boxes until needed. My Dad had numerous bookcases and a ton of books, and luckily I was able to squeeze those into the room. Those bookcases/books were Dad's safety cocoon. So if your Mom insists on taking certain items, let her bring them if they fit, even if those items don't make sense to you.
Dad and I use to joke about his new "college dorm room" :)
Check and see if the facility supplies the linens [sheets, pillow cases, and towels]. My Dad's facility provided those items and everything was washed daily. Dad had his own bedspread and pillows.
Lighting is important. Usually there is a ceiling light, but one would need a lamp next to the bed, and others on the dresser [if the TV isn't huge], or on other furniture. Maybe a floor lamp for next to the recliner.
And of course, bring Mom's favorite pictures to hang on the wall.
Does the facility have small living rooms out in the common area? If yes, then Mom won't need extra chairs in her apartment.
Oh, check and see if the facility has basement store rooms that are rented out. One could bring extra items to rotate around depending on the season.
I stored daily items in top drawers and less needed items were placed lower down based of frequency of need.
He had a closet that gave him a out 2 feet of hanging space and that was it.
If I had to do it again I would definitely do the bookcase as a head board, it was so handy for all of the items he wanted near and held a ton of stuff to keep things organized.
He had about 75 square feet of space, max. So 400 sq ft will hold enough items to create good storage and still allow safe floor space.
Bare necessities! Photos on walls are lovely.
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