Downsizing Strategy with Katie Munoz

*The following is the output of transcribing from an audio recording. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors.

And Welcome back to answers for elders radio. You know, it is the time to introduce Katie Munio’s from moving forward. Is a senior move manager. Katie, welcome to the program well, thank you so much for having me. I’m really excited to be here. We’re very excited to have you because this is the time of year on when I say celebrating independence, getting freed up of our stuff and our godletter and our disorder is such a freeing feeling. There’s no other term for it. So having you on this Special Independence Day holiday weekend, of course we’re interested in a lot of your tips for downsizing and today, Katie, tell me, before we go into your your advice for us, tell us a little bit about your background. Well, actually, I come out a little software industry. Really, yeah, it’s nothing to do with downsizing. I did pack for Federal Express, as I run my way through college, so she really had packing experience. Uh Huh. But I got laid off in early two thousand and four, uh Huh, and the timing could not have been better. It’s I had just the day before gotten the news from my parents at my father’s illness was terminal and I needed to go back to Virginia to say goodby and also to take care of my mother. Yeah, and you know, here I go to work one more day to say I won’t be around and they said, yes, you’re right. See, yeah, you know, and that’s terribly insulting, but at the same time I was so relieved. It was I couldn’t have timed it better. Well, it’s the end of a chapter and a new one opens. And Yeah, you know, so many of us in this industry, including myself, we all come out of that story. Yeah, exactly. And really, you know, how did it change our lives and what we choose to do? I and so many family caregivers that I work with every day. It’s like, you know, I know that statistics out there forty percent job loss for family caregivers and that’s overwhelming, but there’s so many new ways. It’s like I always tell people, don’t give up, rise up. Yeah. Well, you know, this turned out to be very for to a to psychot two weeks with my father before he passed, which is really special. Uh Huh. And his biggest concern was what would happen to my mother after he wasn’t there to kind of guide her. Wow, and he picked a retirement community and I promise, mustem get home to have removed in and settled in, everything arranged before I go back to Washington state. And and you promise that in a moment of passion and then you get into it and you oh my gosh, what, what did I just get myself into? Exactly? And they did it. You know, I’d been up program manager, so I did at the best I could do, you know, with all my techniques, and by the end of it I’m going I could have done this. You’re drowning. And you know, at least when I moved my mom out of her house. So, yeah, you’re we’re probably talking a similar story. This is how she lived in for decades. It’s most cases seniors do. And so now families, those of us that are looking to try to help mom and dad in their next transition, their next chapter in life. You know, we’re looking at, in many cases, boxes and boxes and mementos, memories, Gosh, you know, old things that they you know, furniture that they’ve got stored away in the basement that they don’t use anymore, and there’s also that, I’m sure that thing of you know how can we as a family? You know, it’s hard not to feel overwhelmed. Are I mean? Is that right? Oh my gosh, that that, I think, is the word I hear more often than any others. Oh, I’m so over wolmed. Yeah, yeah, I felt overwhelmed too. By the end of it, I realized I could have done it so much better if I’d known right. But who gets to practice a move that happens once in a lifetime? Correct. So, when I got back here, has started this company with the intention of making this easier for other families to get through, because there really is a much easier way to do it, but it’s not the the intuitive way and it’s not the way you would do any other move in your life. So how do you help families did get through this overwhelm? We can help in a number of ways. You can pick and choose or have everything. We can help you sort out what to take with you. We can has to be a big job. It’s huge, especially when there’s emotional attachments. I know just with my mom, I gave her a legal pad. This is me right before I knew mom. Here’s in legal pad. Let me know what you want to take to retirement living and you make it, make a list and we’re going to be here in two weeks. You have two weeks to get this time. Holy Moly, my poor mom. Yeah, and of course she didn’t even have any idea of space planning. She didn’t have any idea of you know, she says, well, I need all my kitchen stuff and you know, without thinking, it’s like no, you don’t, mom, you’re gonna be here. You don’t need the Turkey roasters. But I know we do the same thing with with my mom. We tried to sort it the yeah, Gosh, yeah, it Um. So you can really be that voice of reason that says this is what you’re going to need going forward. If you’re going to retirement living. You can be that voice that says you’re not going to need this. We can do that, but we don’t do it by saying you won’t need it. We say well, cheese, since they’re going to be cooking two meals a day for I seems to me like it might save a whole lot of room if you just took forth play settings. What do you there, you go, there, you go. We can talk to people so differently than the family can, and I even you know, I made all these mistakes. I told people don’t talk to your parents this way. I said, of course, I know any better. So we are talking to Katie Munio’s from moving forward ink and their local company here in the greater puget sound area. That helps our seniors and I’m sure other types of scenarios when we’re downsizing in the world. Helps us make some sense into the downsizing process. And Katie, I’m read an article most recently that there’s a lot of times like possessions, things that mom and dad have. Often Times our kids don’t want it, that they’re saving it. What right? What do you do with all that? Great Question. I think that people, well, you have to sentimental value and you want to pass it on because it meant so much to you. Sure, and you want somebody else to love it. And unfortunately we have so much abundance in our world now we almost take too much. We have too much stuff, too much and we could keep bringing more home. And so, yeah, people typically don’t want it and the world’s changed. Yeah, you know, as much as we want to say, I mean I have and I love having my mom’s China and crystal right, but I sit back and I look at the kids today and where the world is going. I don’t know where that’s going to go after I’m gone. You know I’ll I’ll treasure at the rest of my life because it meant a lot to my mom. But you know, if you talk to today’s young people, they don’t they don’t want that. You know some people do want it. Yeah, it’s but it’s usually not your children. Right. What we suggest people do is, instead of trying to sort of out every thing up front, you try to move with just about two weeks worth of stuff. Just get yourself settled over there. Usually you’re moving locally, you can come back to the house. You know if you need it another something or other. It’s here. Do the big sorting after the move. Yeah, because before the move there’s this huge anxiety about will I like the place, where I make any friends? What if everybody thinks I’m Dorky, like in high school, and nobody talks to me? And once you live there, you walk into the dining room, you meet a bunch of people, you make some friends and everybody so excited about having somebody new to talk to. Sure, now you go back and sort and house and it’s not so emotional, it’s not so fearful. I don’t need any of the stuff. You know, I’m going to take a one picture. It’ll fit right over the stair sure, and that’s I mean, that’s how you take a two year job and turn it into two weeks. And really it’s about, you know, learning. I think the important thing about bringing somebody in like you is having that unemotional side right, you know, helping you make that choices. It’s not somebody that’s like your daughter is saying to you. Will you know, mom, you out, you know you really need to keep this because it’s important to me. And that’s what happens and a lot of times and families. I do know that. So so, how if somebody was going to work with your company, how would they get started? Won’t the we tend to talk to people for a fair amount of time on the phone before we ever go out to meet him in person. That’s good and if only need is just the name of a great moving company. We’re not a moving company where all the other stuff around the edge, but you work with moving companies definitely always license bonded ensured. We research with the HINGTON’s. What is it called? Whatever utilities and Transportation Commission. Uh Huh. But if only needs a good moving company, here, here’s a name, here’s a phone number. If you really do need our work, then what we usually do is start with something called the express plan. MMM. Now, typically we charge eighty five dollars an hour. That’s for work and for travel coming from Woodenville, but with the express plan it’s only two hundred ninety seven. will go out. I’ll send a senior project leader out to meet with you in your home for up to four hours, Huh. And during that time they’re going to answer questions. There can help you sketch out the most efficient order of steps, which is not the intuitive way. Sure, and then they’re going to get out a big pile of stickers and start storting, because that’s usually where people are the most doc yes, sorry for by the sorting. And during that time we can make a realistic estimate of what it would take for us to finish the job the parts. So you don’t want to do now. If you choose to go forward with us, and there’s no pressure to do that, but if you do and you prepay the entire amount of front, we give you a ten percent discount. We just build against that money. That’s why I gave us and we’ll keep you posted by the week and you can change your mind in the middle. If you say, Oh, you know, I think my daughter’s going to take over now, will refund any unused money. So how do we reach you, Katie? You pick up the phone and you dial fos two hundred and five seven zero two eight hund seven six one, or you can go to the web page, which is moving forward inkcom. HMM, that’s moving forward IANCCOM. Wonderful. You can learn about us and if you hit the button over there that says get them moving forward. Tip of the month. You can get a download of my book. Get A yes today. Wonderful, and that’s important right now. And thanks so much for being on the program today, Katie. Well, thank you so much for having me. I hope your listeners really enjoy this and get a lot of good help. I know we will. Thank you.