Nancy Loyd and Mary Ann Brewer

"How on earth can I leave my home of 20, 40, 50 or more years?" We often hear this question - fortunately after 1200 moves, we've got a plan.

The first and most important thing to do when you know where you're moving is to make a floor plan showing each room and the placement of each piece of furniture. Try to take actual measurements of the rooms, and include locations of doors, windows, heaters, outlets, etc. Make copies of the floor plan.

Concentrate on what you're going to take to make you comfortable, provide adequate storage, and preserve the cozy feeling of your home.

Assess your space needs. Where will items from built-in spaces go? If you're not taking your china cupboard, where will the china go? Will a twin bed give you more living space than a king will?

Once the floor plan is made, pick a magic number between 1 and 5 (3 is good). When you can't decide how many of something to take, use your magic number.

Focus on sorting, separating, and paring down. Be realistic, never leave behind something you'll regret, but you can't take every gift, book, blanket, and mug you own (your friends and family will understand). Set a timer, complete a small task every day.

Problem Areas: Books, Nick Knacks, Linens, Wardrobe, Kitchen, and Paper

If possible, sort in place. Avoid turning your house into chaos. Have a trash bag handy; if it's trash throw it out. If it can be donated or sold, separate it from what you're taking with you but try to leave it in place. Pull a chair up to kitchen drawers or bookshelves. Enlist the help of friends and family to help, especially with high shelves and hard to reach places. Sort things on shelves from shelf to shelf or side to side, sort drawers from drawer to drawer. Sort clothes side to side on closet rods. When you're done things are sorted but still in place.

Now, what to do with the things you're not taking. First, offer it to family and friends, but remember their houses are already full. If there's lots of stuff, an estate sale may be the best way to get rid of it. Reputable estate sale people will get the best price for your things and leave the house broom clean for a 25-30% commission. Most estate sale people will come out to see what you have for no charge.

If you consider an auction, they may have charges for transportation and insurance and you'll still have stuff left. Small charities will come into your house, pick things up, and give you a receipt for your taxes. Try to avoid lugging things to a donation center.

Packing: if possible, let the movers do it. They can pack your things in 3-5 hours the day before you move. Only you and your family can make the decisions and pare down so you'll be comfortable in your new home.

Nancy Loyd and Mary Ann Brewer have moved more than 900 seniors to 50 retirement communities and are respected and recognized as experts in the field. Copyright 2001 Busy Buddies, Inc. http://www.busybuddiesinc.com