There comes a time in the lives of many elderly people where they can no longer live independently. As hard a pill as this is to swallow, it’s almost always for the best that these retirees relocate. This often comes in the form of a retirement home or a warden-controlled estate. This obviously brings with it a whole host of challenges for the person moving, but also often for the family as well. One of the issues that people often forget about until it needs sorting is what to do with all their parent/grandparent’s stuff. Store That provides self-storage in the Isle of Dogs, we wanted to talk about the various ways in which you can help ease the stress of any move which your loved one may be having to make.

Use Secure Storage In E14

There’s a world of difference between selling your items and knowing you still own them, even if they’re in storage. For elderly people, their personal items signify years, decades even, of memories. The items themselves may not hold great financial worth, but the emotional value they hold is often immense. Using secure storage in E14 not only keeps them safe, but means they can easily be brought out should your loved one ever want to see it. Now, this obviously depends on the size of item, but generally speaking there’s far more comfort to be gained from keeping an item rather than selling it off.

Move Things Gradually 

Just because you’ve decided to put things into storage, doesn’t mean everything is sorted. The last thing you want to do is leave someone feeling overwhelmed having been left bereft of all their treasured, personal belongings that only the other day had been adorning their mantelpiece. Retirement homes have much less space for items than a big house has. By gradually transferring items to a storage unit well in advance of any move date, the contrast becomes less jarring for your elderly relation when they do end up moving. Remember, the key to this process is making it as painless as possible. Placed in their shoes, very few of us would readily admit they’d like to be put into a retirement home, so the least we can do is make the whole ordeal more comfortable.

Keep Things Clean

Much though we’d like to, here at Store That we can’t admit to having magical storage cleaning fairies! Though it’s something we’re working on in top secret, of course… Things still pick up dust over time, so you shouldn’t simply abandon your elderly relative’s antiques in the storage unit and not think about it again. Your relative will appreciate semi-regular cleaning of items, even if it’s just the wiping off of some dust. Little gestures can make a huge difference to those who hold their possessions so close to their heart.

We owe the elderly population of this country a great deal indeed, and if they are to relinquish their independence, the least we can do as a collective is to make that transition smooth. So, if you’d like to find out more about our self-storage in the Isle of Dogs, then get in touch! Contact Store That today on 020 7515 1300.