25. Masters of downsizing in later life
Are your parents ready for downsizing in later life? That’s when it hits us. One day it could be our turn. My brain knows it’s quite likely going to happen to me one day. That’s something I find very hard to imagine and so I’m in denial for now.
All the more reason to learn about the process. So I asked two people to tell me about it, both of whom are masters of downsizing in later life.
Two movers with vast experience
First I met with Judy McCallum, co-owner of Taskmasters, a company of organisers who operate in the North Island of Aotearoa, in the Bay of Plenty, and in Wellington, Wairarapa, and Kapiti. The staff of Taskmasters are all over 50, and have all seen their parents downsizing — so they have a very personal understanding of what it means to move house in later life. It’s highly emotional stuff!
Then I talked to Lindsay McCallum, who moved multiple times as a child and as a family man. He has worked out some highly efficient ways of managing moves, and has some great tips. The last time he moved, he was aged 90, and this time, he worked with Taskmasters to make it ultra-simple, in fact, almost painless.
Tips on downsizing: you’ll need them one day
As always, we’re kind of accidentally practising all our lives for transition into old age and very old age. Helping your parents is like a rehearsal for that future event. I’ll stack these tips on downsizing in my old age away in the back of my brain for the day when I can’t manage the stairs in my apartment.
Please enjoy the brilliant insights of my two guests, and a poem about my experience of moving over and over again when I was a child, one of six sisters.
Links
- An early version of the poem “Thou house”
- Taskmasters New Zealand (a company that helps you to downsize)
- Annalisa Barbeiri’s advice to the children of downsizable parents
An important lesson! My kids are learning it now, with their first big move together
I hope these tips can speed up the laborious process of learning-from-experience.
Thank you! I better learn quick ! Take care Rachel, I often listen to your podcasts and they give me lots of joy
Ah, learning slowly is what I’m doing. Or rather, learning in littlle bits intermittently! I am delighted to know you listen to mine 🙂