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Whether it’s the home maintenance, the cooking, the cleaning, or the yard work, most Still Hopes residents will agree, these tasks take up a lot of time, and time is a valuable commodity.
That’s why many residents ultimately make the move to Still Hopes Retirement Community in West Columbia, SC - the conveniences! By not having to devote time to those types of tasks listed above, they now have more time to spend with family and friends, and do the things they love the most.
But sometimes the very act of moving can seem daunting... with packing the house, sorting through what stays and what goes, hiring the movers, and figuring out where to hang pictures and place the furniture.
That’s where Katherine Anderson steps in.
Anderson is an interior designer who offers a unique and valuable concierge service to Still Hopes residents.
“I help people fix their new space. So I either help them with interior design, like, drapery, furniture, or anything they need for the interior of a cottage or an apartment. And then I actually do a turnkey move, where I go over to their current house and I measure all their furniture, and lay it all on a furniture plan,” said Anderson. “And then we move them. We pack up all their stuff and arrange for the movers. Then the residents arrive at their new home at 5:30 the night of the move and ta-da! Their pictures are up, and their stuff is put away.”
Her services are particularly handy for incoming residents who have lived in one place for a long time, or for residents who haven’t had the time to purge items ahead of their move.
For those who want to get a head start and “tackle the attic” themselves, Anderson provided a few great tips:
Separate everything into three piles - keep, give and throw away.
- Keep - these are the things that you plan to take with you to your new home. This includes everything from furniture to paperwork (financial statements have a 7-year limit). Regarding clothing, have a friend or some other third party help you go through closets to figure out which clothing items you love, still wear, and that look good on you (i.e. are also still in style).
- Give - this pile is for your children, grandchildren, or other loved ones to go through. It will include things like that piece of furniture or that beautiful handmade quilt that you may not love but it’s been passed down in the family, or has sentimental value.
- Throw away - this doesn’t mean that you are literally throwing everything away, though that’s an option! This can also be a donation pile. The point is to get it out of your house.
Give yourself a time limit to clean. Set an alarm for 1 to 1 ½ hours and tackle one area in that amount of time. When your timer goes off, bag anything that is in the “throw away” pile and put it immediately in your car trunk or in the garbage. “Because once you let it sit there you are tempted to dig back through the pile and pull out that dollar store cake server that you think you may one day use, but in reality, it’ll just take up space in your new home,” said Anderson.
Anderson said when she is called in to help, these are some of the things that she can assist with, along with her design skills. And while she can help find new furniture and accessories for a resident’s new home, her favorite thing to do is to work with the client’s current belongings, finding new ways to repurpose them in their new space.
“I don’t need a clean slate. The apartments (unfurnished) look very similar. But I don’t want them to all look the same,” said Anderson. “I want them to look like the people who are in them. That’s the fun part for me.”
If you think it could be time for you to downsize and make a move to Still Hopes, we have a new assessment that can help you determine your next steps. Take this quick 4-5 minute quiz, provided by Roobrik, to determine if the time is right for you to downsize.
To get a quote from Katherine Anderson or to learn more about her services, call 803-931-8877.