By Laura Stamski
If you have lived in your home for the last 40-50 years, chances are you have accumulated a few things and those things have served you well.
Formal dining room sets, silver flatware, Noritake china and Waterford crystal have done their part, serving friends and family at countless baby showers and fancy dinner parties. Sturdy bookshelves full of atlases, dictionaries and volumes of encyclopedias provided your children with the facts they needed to complete their schoolwork. You invested in these items and they did their job — wonderfully.
But today, those things might not be as needed as they once were. Family gatherings tend to be more casual. Grandchildren have no idea what an encyclopedia is — they are accustomed to finding every song, world fact and map on the device in the palm of their hand. Your house, while loved for its cozy familiarity, isn’t meeting your needs anymore.
Rightsizing to a cozier cottage home or apartment would eliminate a lot of worry and stress for both you and your family. Senior living communities are designed to be the perfect fit. At St. Ann’s Community we have cottage and apartment homes with handicap-accessible bathrooms, security and the modern finished and features that make life comfortable. If you don’t want to part with a cherished hutch or grandfather clock, we can help you find the perfect spot with the right planning. We want you to bring what you love the most and what makes your home feel like home.
It’s easy for anyone to become overwhelmed with tackling clutter. Several businesses in our community offer assistance with reducing, donating and planning how your furniture will fit in your new space. A moving assistant can help you decide what to keep and how to fit it into your new home. They have connections with local businesses that can accept donations, auction off antiques, artwork and remove unwanted bulky items. But most importantly, they can help you organize your thoughts and start the process.
Nothing will change until you decide to take the first step. Part of my role at St. Ann’s is providing advice on what to do with all the stuff. I am always happy to help, even if it’s guiding you in the direction of a different apartment or senior living community. Our maintenance staff is happy to mount your flat screen TV and hang framed artwork in any one of our beautiful apartments. We are happy to put you in touch with a moving assistant and show you how our senior apartments can reduce stress and anxiety — and that is priceless!
Laura Stamski is a sales and marketing representative at St. Ann’s Community at Cherry Ridge. Contact her at lstamski@mystanns.com or 585-697-6703.