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MOVING TIPS
Meet Our Move Manager Barb!
Meet Barb Boese, one of our Gentle Transitions Move Managers. Barb describes the process of our Move Management services and why she loves what she does.
Older Americans Month 2016: “Blaze a Trail”
Older adults are a growing and increasingly vital part of our country. The contributions they make to our communities are varied, deeply rooted, and include influential roles in the nation’s economy, politics, and the arts. From 69-year-old NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, Jr. to 84-year-old actress Rita Moreno to 83-year-old Ruth Bader Ginsberg, who took her seat as a Supreme Court Justice at age 60, older adults are blazing trails in all aspects of American life.
Since 1963, those of us in the senior professionals industry know May as “Older Americans Month”. In 1963, we began to acknowledge the contributions of older people by 
using the month of May to celebrate Older Americans Month (OAM). Led by the Administration for Community Living, the annual observance offers the opportunity to learn about, support, and celebrate our nation’s older citizens. This year’s theme, “Blaze a Trail,” emphasizes the ways older adults are reinventing themselves through new work and new passions, engaging their communities, and blazing a trail of positive impact on the lives of people of all ages.
While Gentle Transitions provides downsizing, moving and relocation services to older adults year-round, we will use OAM 2016 to focus on how older adults in our community are leading and inspiring others, how we can support and learn from them, and how we might follow their examples to blaze trails of our own. Throughout the month, Gentle Transitions will conduct activities and share information designed to highlight local programs, resources and success stories.
Spring Cleaning for Seniors
Checklist First. Seems simple, huh? Write down the tasks and cleaning properties you need to get done. A list gives your cleaning efforts a structure and helps keep you on track.
Time Management. Block off time in your day, week or month that you can devote to the cleaning. Do you want to knock everything out in one day, or parse the cleaning out over several weeks?
We can help you de-clutter this spring!
Friends & Family. The more the merrier. If you can’t convince family members to lend a hand, consider hiring help. In fact, there are services like Task Rabbit that allow you to screen, interview and hire household help for all sorts of tasks.
De-clutter, then clean. We practice what we preach. You can’t clean if there’s clutter in the way. Do you have a lifetime of belongings? Often too much stuff clutters the house and makes it difficult to clean not to mention hazardous to live in. Don’t clean around the piles. Clean through them by downsizing and de-cluttering. Did you know that Gentle Transitions can help you sort & declutter your belongings? Even if you’re not moving, we can still help sort through your belongings and determine what’s best to keep. Call our office and as how we can make your spring cleaning easier! 1-800-619-3049.
What Makes Our Employees Different
When we say Gentle Transitions is a family business we mean it. Throughout our 22 years, we’ve had lots of Mother-Daughter Moving teams. Currently we have several Mother-Daughter teams across California. Serving communities in Northern California we have Kim and her daughter Makayla (pictured). In the desert, we have Lydia and her daughter Chloe and working with seniors in Southern California we have Gayle and her daughter Sharon!
One of three mother-daughter teams working for Gentle Transitions.
Gentle Transitions mother daughter teams aren’t the only thing special about our employees.
Unlike many senior relocation providers, Gentle Transitions only engages actual employees of the company who are fully insured for workers’ comp. This takes away the risk to clients who might otherwise engage “businesses” or move managers that rely on 1099 workers or even less.
Should you engage a move manager who does not have actual employees, those workers are not insured and you expose yourself to the same risks as if you were to hire an uninsured contractor. Should an accident occur, you as the home owner are responsible for their medical costs, lost wages, and possibly more.
In addition to these important insurances, all Gentle Transitions employees must pass background checks. This raises the level of client security to a level unsurpassed in the senior move industry.
Moving Tip: Labeling Boxes
Neatly Labeled Boxes during a GT move.
Gentle Transitions Moving Tip: labeling boxes is key. Sounds obvious, huh? But most people label them inconsistently or with the wrong information. Label boxes by both room and contents.
For example, “Kitchen – Plates”. That way when you’re unpacking, you know exactly which boxes go where.
Meet GT’s New Operations Director: Gloria Cervantes
Gloria joins us from the hospitality industry and brings over 25 years of operations management experience. Gloria will be based in our Manhattan Beach headquarters and work across our departments to ensure that Gentle Transitions continues to set the standard for excellence in Move Management.
Gentle Transitions New Operations Director
We’ll Take It From Here
“Leave us the keys” Service
With traditional moving companies, the customer needs to be there to monitor and manage what movers do and pay them upon completion. With Gentle Transitions, you have the option to be on-site while all the activity is taking place OR “leave us the keys” and have our staff fully manage the process.
Some clients have left the move entirely to us while they were elsewhere. One family took a Caribbean cruise, then returned a week later to find their new home completely functional… everything put away in the kitchen, kid’s computer games set up, fresh milk in the refrigerator.
Sort Easy and Obvious Areas First
When sorting in preparation for the move, sort easy and obvious areas first!
Sorting in areas that are obviously moving or obviously NOT moving will allow you to see progress and accomplishment. A rarely used room might be a good place to begin the sorting process where few items inside the room will move to the new place.
Sorting in difficult areas will take time, be cumbersome, frustrating, and leave you with the idea that you could never finish the whole house. Continue Reading →
Use Colored Dots, Stickers, or Post-It Notes to Identify Items in a Home
Whether it’s a chair, a painting, or a lamp on a table; use colored dots or stickers to identify the decisions you’ve made in a home. This way everyone (including yourself!) will know what decisions you’ve made about which items. Continue Reading →
