Beyond The Fork In The Road Blog

Clothing Closet Cleanout Tips

Wed, 28 Jun 2023 10:00:00 GMT

How to evaluate your clothing and your closet space.

With the arrival of summer, it’s a good time to re-evaluate your clothing closets! Can you easily identify the clothes that fit you well now? Are there clothes you love wearing because you feel good in them or receive compliments? These can easily be labeled “Keepers.”

When it comes to culling your wardrobe, you first want to look for items that no longer fit you, are outdated, or damaged. Try not to hold onto clothing that is out of style or doesn’t fit you, when you get back into those sizes the style may not be fashionable or will have altered in some way. If clothing has damage, you’ll want to assess whether that stain can be removed, there is a spare matching button to attach, or if you have enough material to have the stitching fixed or altered. Is the cost of these repairs worth your time and money? If you don’t need to mend your own clothing to save money, then you can let these items go. If ironing is no longer a priority, consider donating those pieces that require extra work that you just don’t want to spend time doing.

If dust has settled on your unworn clothing, hats, purses or shoes, it’s a good sign that these pieces can be removed from your closet. Consider also how your life has changed over time. If you’ve changed professions, leisure activities, social engagements, and so forth, you may easily identify clothing, shoes and accessories that are no longer needed due to those adjustments. As our culture has evolved, many of us have discovered that high heels, dresses, and suits are not in use as often, even in church settings. We can cut back on the number of formal pieces that we will keep for special occasions. Look at how body changes can also impact the clothing and shoes you wear. For example, if you have had shoulder surgeries, you may be able to identify blouses, tight tops, or clothing that zippers at your back that you can no longer wear with ease. Are there pointed-toed or narrow shoes or certain heels that are not comfortable to wear because of bunions or other foot issues? By parting with these items, you may be able to bless someone through a donation center that serves individuals who need dress clothing for job interviews.

If you are finding it hard to determine if your clothing piece is a keeper or item you would donate, then you’ll want to look at other criteria such as the fit and comfort, color, style, quality, and garment care. For example, when was the last time you wore this item? If we’ve just come out of winter and you haven’t worn that sweater, ask yourself “why?” Was the wool too scratchy for your skin? Do you no longer like the color, cut, or style? Was it too hot to wear when layered or did it pull or pill too easily? Do you no longer have the skirt or dress pants that you always wore with it? Look at those odd garments that have nothing that pairs with them and determine if you can add them to your donation pile. Perhaps you no longer wear items that require special care or washing, and a hand wash, dry flat sweater no longer fits your time or lifestyle. You can let them go to a better home and live carefree with your machine wash and dry garments.

If you are moving to a community where you no longer need to do yard work or maintenance type projects, then you can really cull the clothes you use for grungy work. You might only need one or two of these outfits in your wardrobe for the occasional task that requires them.

If a piece is damaged or no longer fits, but was once your favorite, do a little research to see if you can order a new one in your current size. Note any model or style numbers on the tags and search for it by also including the company, designer, or other keywords that will help you identify it. Ex. Banana Republic, cowl neck sweater, 95 % merino wool, Style # 123-456.

Think through the why’s. Why haven’t you worn the item? Do you have similar pieces that you always grab instead? If you have duplicates or others that are your favorite go-tos then perhaps you can let go of this one. Why do you want to keep the item? If it serves as a reminder of a wonderful event or memory, then take a picture of it, so you can see it again and remember. You don’t need to keep a piece of clothing that you no longer wear just for the memory it holds. A simple picture, saved in a computer memory file, can free up space in your closet!

How do you like to organize your closet space? Do you like to have your clothes arranged by season, color, style, occasion? What takes priority? Some people like to see their clothing ordered by season, then sleeve/pant length, then color. Others like to order their clothing for work, play, or special events. Do you like to have your shoes on a rack, in cubbies, or in their original boxes with the labels facing out? Do you like to hang matching pieces together? Do you love various colors and styles to fit your mood or do you align more with a capsule wardrobe, where all the pieces can coordinate with each other? By thinking through your clothing and organizational styles, you can better identify why you gravitate more toward certain items over and above others. For example, if you tend to grab the shoes that are easily accessible and most comfortable, you may want to reconsider storing shoes in their original boxes because you are less likely to take the time to seek out the pair you need. Maybe the thought of putting them back in their original boxes feels like a duty and not a pleasure, so you don’t even bother wearing them. Think through your motivations and habits. What thoughts or obstacles have you placed in your own way? If there is an easier way to display and care for your clothing, it may mean that you’d be more likely to wear those pieces.

If you are downsizing your wardrobe for a move to a smaller home, you’ll want to pare down your closets, before you design the closets in the new home. This way you’ll clearly know how much hanging space you’ll need versus how many shelves for folded items, purses, hats, shoes, etc. By identifying what you currently use, you’ll be able to see how much space you’ll really need for long-hanging coats, pants and dresses. This will free up space so you can add a second rod below for a double hanging area for shorter blouses and pants. Don’t forget to take into account your height and range of motion. You don’t want to hang everyday items too high and out of reach, or too low so that you don’t have space if you need to store shoes under the hanging areas. Think through the type of rods, bars and shelves you’ll want to use in the closet. Some closet systems have segmented hanging areas, which don’t allow for you to freely slide hangers along a bar. This can limit what you can hang. Also consider the supports that are offered for the shelving or bars. If there are no supports, you may reach a weight limit or otherwise cause your shelving to collapse under the strain. Shelf supports may also dictate the height of items placed below the shelving. You’ll want to measure to see if a dresser or other piece of furniture will be short and narrow enough to fit under and between the shelf supports. If you will be installing metal shelving, you may want to purchase shelf liners. Shelf liners will allow items to lay flat and will keep smaller items from falling through the wire shelving (ex. chains, straps, belts, laces, etc.)

Paring down items that hang, like hats, belts, ties, scarves, and purses, can free you up to look at other storage options like specialized racks, hooks, and containers. If you are going to use containers, you’ll want to either label them or use clear bins. Bins with lids will allow you to stack things. Remember that you’re more likely to use the items that you can see. If you always wear a particular scarf, tie or necklace with the outfit, you may want to keep these pieces hanging together on the hanger. When you’re thinking through organizational strategies for your new closet, don’t forget to look at the unused wall space and back of the closet door. You may find these areas can work well for a hat display, hooks or organizers. Hanging shoe organizers can be used for more than shoes. You can store belts, scarves, socks, ties and extra toiletries or linens in them. If you find you have extra hanging space in your closet, you may even wish to hang jewelry or scarf organizers on the rod with your clothing. Take the time to think through how your current closet works for you and how you’d like to improve it. By removing what you no longer wear and thinking through how you’d like to better organize your wardrobe, you can have the closet of your dreams!

Garage Sorting Tips

Sun, 28 May 2023 10:00:00 GMT

Here are some tips for sorting your garage and preparing for a move to a home with limited storage options.

Is your garage the place where you drop off items that you don’t want to deal with at the moment? Are your shelves loaded with things that you have left over from past projects that you might need someday? If you’re starting to prepare for a move, you’ll want to leave extra time in your schedule to tackle your garage, especially if you’ll be working in hot and humid conditions.

Before you begin, make a list of the items you will want to keep for your new home and items that you will only keep until the old house has been sold or a final cleaning has been completed. For example, if you are moving to a retirement community where most yard and home upkeep will be covered by the maintenance teams, you may want to keep a small tool box, winter shovel and broom, some hand tools for flower or vegetable gardening and items for feeding the birds, watering house plants, etc,. While shoveling may be covered by the community, it may be handy to keep one if you want to clear your porch, balcony, or patio sooner than their crew is able to arrive, or if you have a pet who needs to have a path cleared to the lawn. If you need to maintain your own property until closing on your house, you may want to keep your trimmers, rake, riding or push mowers, hoses, etc. Beyond The Fork In The Road can assist you with asset dispositions before or after your move. Make a list of items you’d like to offer to the new owners. It may save you from trying to sell or donate your items quickly after moving. Your realtor will be able to communicate to the new buyers if you’re offering snow blowers, ladders, mowers, trimmers, lawn furniture, etc., for purchase.

When it comes time to organize the garage, you’ll want to tackle it like other rooms, starting in one corner and working your way around the room. If you can’t park your car in your garage, then you may want to start working in the middle of the room or near the larger garage door, so you can easily move items into the driveway for sorting. Check with family and friends to see if there are any items they may want or need before you begin. They may appreciate the resources you have that could help them finish their home projects. Set up trash cans, bins, or boxes for trash, recycling, donation, and the few items you want to keep. You may need to set aside a special bin for metal recycling and another for electronics. Throw away broken or damaged items that can no longer be repaired.

If you’re planning to donate items to Habitat for Humanity Re-Store, you may want to sort items into categories like plumbing, electrical, paint supplies, hardware, tools, etc. Check their website for their donation guidelines and what they will and will not accept. Some building supplies have minimum quantities or size requirements. Their website states that “All donations should be in clean, working condition, with no rust, broken parts or mold.”

If you can, set aside a bin, rather than a box, for your hazardous chemicals. Then you won’t need to worry about liquids leaking through to your upholstery when transporting them in your car to the waste management facility. Companies can dispose of these items for you, but you may find there is an additional fee for a business to drop them off instead of a homeowner. If you have new or almost new bottles of cleaners, yard chemicals, automotive fluids, etc, Beyond The Fork In The Road may be able to consign them for you.

As we continue to look at sorting your garage in preparation for a move to a smaller home, you’ll want to think about your new destination’s storage options. Will you have a utility closet within your home, a smaller garage, or a storage cage or closet outside of your apartment? Aside from your garage, your new limited storage space may need to also house items from your current attic, basement or shed. You may find that you’ll need to also store items from a porch, patio or balcony in the off-season. Creating a list of what you may need to store may reveal areas that need further culling.

If you will be keeping a small toolbox for your new home, empty out your entire toolbox, wipe down the interior, as well as your hand tools, and only put back the items you will need. You don’t want to carry around extra unnecessary weight or pull out dirty or greasy tools in your fresh, new home.

Check all extension cords, power strips, tools, and appliances for cracks or exposed wires. Keep only the ones that are in good condition and properly insulated, and won’t be the cause of electrical shock or fires. If you don’t find the UL (Underwriters Laboratories) certification mark you may want to dispose of the product. Don’t forget to check your christmas lights, powerstrips and extension cords for damages.

As you clean off any shelving, take note of which shelves are cleanest and sturdiest and could best store items in a future storage cage or closet in your new home. Keep in mind what size boxes or bins you will use for storage, as smaller metal shelves may not offer enough height between shelves or depth for larger storage bins.

If you are considering the rental of an additional storage unit, consider the cost of the unit and the value of the items you will store. Will you need a climate controlled storage space? Is it worth the money to store the items you want to keep or would it be better to part with those items?

Remember to ask yourself these questions about each item that causes you to pause in your decision making: Do I need it? Do I love it? Will I use it? Will I have space for it? As always if you need help, Beyond The Fork In The Road can assist you through the process with a one-one-one sorting session, or we can bring in a team to help you sort through what to sell, donate, recycle or trash once you know what you will be keeping and your family has received what they want to keep. Contact us at 717-335-8080 for a free consultation and to learn more about our disposition services.

Sort First, List Later

Fri, 28 Apr 2023 10:00:05 GMT

Taking the time to sort what you own, before listing your home with a realtor, can reduce the pressure and stress of your move.

When you begin thinking about a future move, it’s best to start as early as possible on the sorting and right-sizing task before you choose to list your home with a realtor. Whether you’re on a long waiting list for a community or plan to move into a smaller private home, you’ll want to give yourself as much time as possible to process through the years of possessions you’ve accumulated. If you don’t take the time to right-size and sort prior to your move, you may spend a lot more on teams to pack, move and unpack items you ultimately won’t be keeping or have the space for in your new home. Starting to downsize early can save you money in the long run.

If you’re looking into realtors, make sure you clearly communicate your plans and intentions with them. Realtors want to get you the best selling price for your home and they are watching the trends for buyers and sellers at the present time. If you don’t work out a clear moving plan with your realtor, you may find that the process is moving faster than you can handle. You don’t want to have your house selling quicker than your schedule allows for you to manage the sorting, packing, moving, and cleaning that is necessary to turn your home over to new owners.

Your realtor may ask you to quickly remove personal items like family pictures from the rooms or “cluttered” items in closets, on counters, shelves and table tops. They may ask you to rearrange furniture or remove furniture from crowded rooms. You may want to paint, make repairs, purchase parts, and schedule landscapers, handy-men, or movers. You will need time to make these changes, so the realtor can take pictures or begin walkthroughs and offer open houses. Your realtor may desire these changes faster than you, your family or even a team of professionals can schedule the time to make them, because it will help them get the best price for your home while the market is hot.

It takes time and planning for your family to schedule weekends to help you sort or to move out furniture they want to keep. It takes time to declutter, sort, pack, and haul away donations and trash. By getting an early start to the sorting process yourself, before you give your realtor the go ahead to list the home, you’ll have the necessary time available to make the difficult decisions while you sort. You also won’t need to juggle the sorting mess with the last minute call to have your home clean for a showing. Sorting through years of possessions is emotional and stressful enough, without the additional pressure of open houses, an imminent moving deadline, or closing day. You need to look out for your own well-being and allow yourself the time to rest between sorting sessions and give your brain a break from all of the decision making.

You can take control of this process by sorting your possessions well in advance of listing your home. Talk with your family and schedule sorting sessions if they are available to lend a hand. You can also hire a professional to help you through the process. Beyond The Fork In The Road offers morning and afternoon sessions to assist you in right-sizing and we can manage the distribution of donations and consignment items. We can also sub-contract movers and trash haulers for you. Clearly communicate your plans to your real estate agent and formulate a plan with them for when repairs will be completed and pictures and showings can begin. It takes a team to prepare and sell your home, and by planning in advance, you won’t feel the pressure to do everything on your own.

Give Yourself The Gifts of Time and Grace When You Downsize

Tue, 28 Mar 2023 10:00:18 GMT

Start downsizing early and give yourself the time and the grace you need to reach your goals.

When you’ve made the decision to downsize to a smaller home, you’ll want to begin the process of sorting through your belongings. Over many years you’ve brought things into your home. When it comes time to begin sorting, you must stop bringing more into your home and focus on downsizing. Setting goals or creating a sorting schedule can help you keep on track. You’ll want to start as early as possible and give yourself plenty of time. A floor plan is the best way to determine what furniture will move and which furniture will be destined for family, resale, donation or trash. After you’ve made the decisions on what furniture will move and which will not, you’ll have a better idea on how to right-size your smaller household items. If you’re taking one bookcase and not the second, for example, you’ll know that you need to pare down your book collection to fit onto the bookcase that is moving with you. How will you decide which books will stay and which will go? You will keep as many of your favorites as possible, but you may have to say goodbye to books that were a part of your past, as well as books that you never found the time to read. These types of decisions will face you in every area of your home.

Give yourself grace as you sort. You’ll be facing a lot of memories from your life. Perhaps you want to keep a journal handy to jot down memories that you’ll want to share with family at a later date. A notepad is helpful for making lists on who will receive gifts or follow-up tasks that are required. As you sort, take time to give thanks for the person you were at each stage of life. You have grown over the years through different careers and pathways. If you have children, you’ve experienced many different stages of life and may have keepsakes from those time periods. Check with your children to see if they’d like to have them or view them one more time before you let them go. It can be difficult to say goodbye to these items that you’ve treasured for so many years, but by giving thanks for those experiences you can part on good terms. You can also take pictures of items to store on your phone, tablet or computer. This will take up much less space and will allow you to revisit the memories that seeing these items bring to mind.

Over the years, you’ve exercised different skills and pursued various hobbies or interests. As you face who you were, and who you may no longer be, you’ll find yourself grieving what once was. Again, give yourself grace. This can be a difficult time. Perhaps you were the one to host all the holidays with the children and grandchildren and once you move, someone else will do the hosting. Perhaps you enjoyed gardening, lawn care and home repairs and these jobs will now be handled by the community you’re moving into. As you sort, you’re not just saying goodbye to the things you owned, but also the person you were. There may be hobbies and skills that you will no longer have the interest, strength, time or ability to accomplish. You may have hopes and dreams that never came to fruition and projects that were left unfinished. You’ll be saying goodbye to what was and what never came to be. Give yourself the space to grieve and fully evaluate each memory and experience.

By starting the downsizing process early, you’ll give yourself the necessary time to grieve and say goodbye on your terms. Don’t wait until you’ve found the right community or accepted an offer on your new home or current home. Start now. Downsizing takes time and once you sign a contract for your smaller home, you may find that you’ll need to review what you’re keeping once again to right-size for your new home and the limited storage opportunities that it presents. If you’re contemplating a future move, start the process now and give yourself time and grace as you say goodbye to the past, live in the present, and dream about your future. How will you live your best life going forward, beyond the fork in the road?

How To Right-Size For A Smaller Home

Tue, 28 Feb 2023 11:00:02 GMT

By looking at every area of your life and comparing who you were, who you are, and who you’d like to be, you can form a better picture of how to right-size for your future home.

By looking at every area of your life and comparing who you were, who you are, and who you’d like to be, you can form a better picture of how to right-size for your future home. Will you be giving up yard work, maintenance and repair jobs, or cleaning tasks in your new home? Then perhaps you’ll want to cut back on the necessary tools, chemicals, and storage needed in closets, garages, sheds or the basement. Has your activity and mobility level increased or decreased and how does that affect your current situation and future lifestyle? You may have certain chairs or sofas that no longer offer you the back support you need or that are more difficult to get in and out of which could be downsized. If you’re giving up a sport or exchanging it for a new one, then you’ll want to make adjustments in what to keep or what will need storage space. Sometimes your interests haven’t changed, but the amount of work you’re willing to do yourself and the time you want to commit has changed. Perhaps instead of owning that kayak, boat, rv, sports car, beach house, etc., you’d rather opt for have a rental that is maintenance and storage free. Try to adequately evaluate the time you currently spend and anticipate spending in these areas and what items you will truly use in the future, then you’ll have a better idea of what stays and what goes.

Imagine how you’d like to live in the future and discuss with your spouse or loved ones what it would mean to make that a reality. What is the root cause or desire that is prompting your dreams? Do you want more freedom? More space? Less work? Less clutter? More time with family or time spent doing what you love? Think through the types of decisions that you will face…For example, if you want to move into a smaller home, you’ll want to plan whether or not you will still have a guest room for visitors, children or grandchildren. You’ll want to think through how many and what kind of toys, bedding, linens, snacks, etc. you will keep on hand for your special guests. You’ll want to see if you’ll have the necessary closet and/or storage space available for these things. If your visitors are few and far between, you may want to create a flexible space with either a sleeper sofa, Murphy bed, or air mattress, so you can use the space as a craft, exercise, or reading room, or office the rest of the time. Evaluate and prioritize what is good, better and best for you. Where can you make sacrifices or compromises? The local grandchildren could bring their own sleeping bags or store yours at their house until they need them. Guests from farther away may need a bed in your home. Or, you may discover that out-of-town guests prefer a hotel, AirBnB or to rent a room in your retirement community. Discussing these ideas with family and friends can help you to pinpoint the areas in which you can rightsize and even the number of rooms you may need in your future home.

As you consider right sizing your home, think through your travel plans. If you want to travel more you may need to find a house sitter or pet sitter. Will you move to a place that offers lawn, snow and cleaning services or will you hire companies to help in these areas? You might choose a home based on proximity to airports, bus terminals or train stations. These questions may lead you to choose a home in a certain type of community where the costs and services are included. By traveling more, you will want to have storage available for suitcases and travel bags. Are you usually one who brings home souvenirs in the way of knick knacks or clothing? Consider how your travel plans will affect the home you choose, the amount of storage you’ll need, and the amount of downsizing you will need to do to accommodate your pursuits.

Your personality may affect how you will right size your home. If you’re more outgoing and social in nature, you may find your days or evenings will be spent out of the home in the company of friends and neighbors. You’ll want to consider the location of your home or community and its proximity to shopping and entertainment, as well as what social events and excursions are offered within the community itself. How does an active social calendar impact what you will need or want to keep in your smaller home and does that change based on the seasons? A choice to spend more time in your home over the winter months versus snowbirding in another state can greatly modify what your wardrobe and entertainment needs will be. A person who is more introverted may desire to have more items related to their hobbies and entertainment located within their personal living space, rather than going outside of their home to engage in them. Look at how you and your spouse currently live in your home. Do you each need your own space for your desks, crafts, reading or tv watching? The introvert in the home may want a quieter space of their own, while the extrovert may desire a larger living room for entertaining friends. Can you share a room throughout the day or evening, or do you have different schedules and interests that require separate rooms? Sleep schedules, separate bedrooms and bathrooms, computer and tv usage, and social needs can all impact how many rooms you’ll want in your home and how you will rightsize for those spaces.

When determining how to rightsize for your future home, you’ll want to evaluate your life history and how you typically surround yourself spatially. Do you like wide open spaces, or the shelter and comfort of a closer environment? Some people love having an open floor plan or the space and ability to rearrange their furniture for different seasons or events in the home. They may choose to highlight artwork or sculptures with their use of negative space, and may rotate their collections, thus needing space to store their extra art or decorations. Other people are accustomed to a cottage feel, where the furniture is grouped closer together and there is a feast for the eyes at every turn through artwork, displays, curios and the like. They may showcase their collections in unique ways to bring honor to them. What was your home like growing up? What type of spaces bring you joy? You may discover that you like both styles, but that it’s dependent on the individual room and its purpose. Think through the unspoken spatial needs you and your spouse have and discuss how this will impact your ability to rightsize. You may find that moving to a smaller home may require you to remove more furniture if you want to keep that open feel or that your smaller “cottage” may mean that you need to reduce the size of your collections. Artwork and photos tend to be a challenge when rightsizing before the move. It’s easier to part with the pieces you no longer like or want beforehand and then wait until after you move to downsize again. This way you can see which pieces you will actually hang and where you can let go of art based on available space.

When looking to right-size for a smaller home, it’s important to ask yourself why you are keeping an item. For items that you use or need, it can be easy to identify the “why”, but for things that aren’t necessarily useful, you’ll want to evaluate the emotions behind the item. Treasures from loved ones who have passed away hold a special place in your heart and that’s understandable. But what about the everyday items that you’ve been given? Why are they special to you? If your love language is receiving gifts, you may find it especially hard to let go of items you have received as presents. Each item is precious because it reminds you of the person who gave it to you and the love it represents. If this is a struggle for you, you may find that taking pictures of the items you no longer need, want, use or have space for in your home, will help you to “keep” the memory and love it brings, without keeping the item. You are then free to pass that gift onward to someone else who can put it to good use in their lives. Knowing how you receive love and thinking through why you may hold on to certain things, can help you to better evaluate how to right-size for your future home.

Right-sizing is finding a way to live for today and to live a bigger lifestyle in a smaller home. To right-size your possessions you have to first take time to rediscover who you are and the motivation behind your desire to keep things. You have to understand your “whys” in order to move forward. You’ll want to dream about the future life you want to live and seek out a pathway to your goals. Discuss how the choices you want to make will impact your spouse or loved ones and see if there are any obstacles to tackle or compromises to be made. You’ll want to research the opportunities available to you in your new town or community, so you can better evaluate how to live beyond your doors. You’ll also want to think through your seasonal and travel needs, to be sure you have a plan in place for items that aren’t needed year-round. Consider the personalities in the home, how you like to spend your time, how you decorate and the spatial preferences you each have. By doing your mental homework and choosing the “why,” you’ll have an easier time figuring out the “how” and making decisions about each item you come across as you sort.

Caregivers and Moving

Wed, 28 Dec 2022 11:00:07 GMT

Senior Move Managers Can Assist Caregivers During A Move

Having a family member care for you as you age can be very rewarding on many levels and can even allow you to stay in your home longer. If you are a caregiver to a loved one, you understand how meaningful and valuable your service is to your spouse, parent, or grandparent.

If you have never been a caregiver, you may not understand that taking care of a loved one can affect the caregiver physically, emotionally, mentally and even financially. There can be many long hours spent looking after someone who needs assistance with their daily living. Sometimes help is needed to enable your family member to live independently, so you may offer help with groceries, shopping, driving to appointments and the care and maintenance of the home and yard. As time goes on and one’s health declines, the activities of daily living such as bathing, eating and toileting, may require assistance.

More and more families find they need to care for their loved ones in their home as they age, face disabilities, and battle chronic illnesses. The average family caregiver spends 20 hours per week on caregiving. If you live with the person you are caring for, you usually spend 40 hours per week on their care. Children or grandchildren who care for a parent or grandparent may also find their job and finances are impacted as they care for their loved one and need to miss work for doctor’s appointments, therapies and other needs.

Caring for a loved one can impact the caregiver emotionally and many caregivers find that they experience depression, guilt, anger, and frustration. If you are a spouse caring for a husband or wife, you are much more likely to be depressed. The stress and exhaustion of daily care can also open caregivers up to more illnesses.

As more people continue to remain at home and age in place, they often find that they have not accounted for all of the upkeep and maintenance required of the home or for the safety measures they will want to utilize as they age. The desire to find a home that is maintenance free and increases accessibility and safety features then becomes a priority.

Having to care for a loved one, as you begin the process for a move can be overwhelming. Adult children may be caring for one or more parents and their own children, while maintaining their careers. In cases such as these, the entire family is under great stress and would benefit from a senior move management company such as Beyond The Fork In The Road.

Beyond The Fork In The Road can come alongside the family to help them declutter and downsize in preparation for a move. They will measure the new home, townhouse, apartment or suite and will create a customizable floor plan. Furniture will be measured and the clients will be given a magnetic floor plan with magnetic furniture, so they may determine in advance what furniture to keep and where to place it in their new home. Prior to moving day, Beyond The Fork In The Road’s team will come in to pack the home. On moving day, Beyond The Fork In The Road will be on hand to supervise movers and do a final pack of any belongings needed from the last night in the home. Then the team will begin unpacking everything in the new home and putting away belongings as desired by the client.

Moving with Beyond The Fork In The Road not only minimizes the stress involved, but provides emotional and physical support for clients and caregivers. For caregivers and families, the customizable action plan offers a variety of services to support them as they transition to a new home. Beyond The Fork In The Road can dispose of hazardous waste materials, perform light cleaning at the old property, coordinate and schedule contract services, facilitate sale or distribution of unwanted property and arrange charity pick-ups if necessary.

For a full list of services visit our website https://www.beyondtheforkintheroad.com/ or contact us for a consultation at 717-335-8080.

Click the link below to see the Caring.com article "A Caregiver's Guide to Coping with Stress and Burnout." The page gives statistics, symptoms, coping strategies, respite options and more. Learn how to better care for yourself or encourage the caregivers in your life...

https://www.caring.com/caregivers/burnout/

Holiday Planning

Fri, 28 Oct 2022 10:00:00 GMT

Planning tips to reduce your holiday stress.

Now that Halloween has passed us by, it’s time to look ahead to the holidays! If you find yourself dreading the stress of the upcoming season, you may want to take some steps to simplify and organize your calendar before you find yourself overwhelmed and overcommitted. There are 8 weeks between Halloween and Christmas, whereas the days between Thanksgiving and Christmas can change year to year. If you try to wait until after Thanksgiving to begin preparing for Christmas, you’ll find you have more or less time based on the year. Start now to adjust your schedules and tasks for both months and come out on top of this holiday season.

Thanksgiving and Christmas both have their family traditions. For some people the holidays are always held in the same town or location, for others there is a rotating schedule of who will host the festivities. If you are traveling for the celebrations, it’s best to make reservations ahead and also seek out less costly transportation and accommodations. If you have family visiting your home, you may want to add arrivals and pickups on your calendar, and plan out when you’ll accomplish extra tasks like changing out the sheets on the beds, cleaning restrooms, hiding or wrapping gifts before the grandchildren can spot them, shopping for extra groceries, etc.

Traveling for the holidays may also impact your gift giving plans and what you will ship or pack in your suitcase. If you will be seeing family at Thanksgiving but not at Christmas, you may want to have your Christmas shopping done early so you can deliver your presents at Thanksgiving. If you’re traveling for Christmas, what types of gifts are you willing to ship versus place in your luggage? Evaluate whether or not you will have time to shop at your destination. You may be able to pick up presents or gift cards for local stores and restaurants at your destination. Please note that if you are traveling with presents, you may have to wrap them at your destination due to TSA regulations. If you wrap them ahead of boarding, the TSA may unwrap them when inspecting your baggage.

When you look ahead at your calendar for November and December, note all of the events you have coming up on the weekends. A busy weekend schedule will cut down on time you have for gift shopping and wrapping, food preparations, house cleaning and decorating. Filing out your weekend plans can help you delegate other holiday tasks that take less time to your weeknights. Can you sign cards or wrap gifts while relaxing to holiday music or watching a holiday film? Will you declutter, dust or vacuum while dinner is in the oven? Are there dry or canned ingredients you can purchase weeks ahead to use for your holiday meals or with holiday leftovers? Try to find ways to break down your holiday to do lists so all of your preparations won’t sneak up on you all at one time.

As you look ahead at your holiday calendar, be sure to note any vacation days that are coming up for yourself and your family. Note when the kids and grandkids are off from school and see if you can incorporate more family time into the events you already have planned. For example, if you will be volunteering at a family friendly event over the holidays, see if your family wants to attend. If you find it takes you longer each year to pull out the holiday decorations and decorate the house inside and out, then look for a day or weekend that works for your family to come together for the festivities. Maybe your grandchildren can help you decorate the home or make holiday cookies, while their parents get that needed break for Christmas shopping. More hands make for a lighter work load and having your family come together for more than a meal can increase the joy during the season’s tasks!

Look for ways to create memories, share traditions and enjoy the holidays together. Would it reduce your stress to minimize your own holiday decor and decorating time, so you can join your extended family in decorating their home and see them pass on traditions? Are there decorations you can pass down to the next generation or homemade decorations that you can create with your grandchildren, just like you did with your own children? Take the time to sort out ornaments or decorations that you no longer need or want. Keep your favorites, discard the broken items and choose whether to gift, donate or sell the items that you no longer use. Unwanted ornaments may be used to decorate wrapped presents or gift bags and add a little pizzazz to your gift wrap. Spending a few minutes here or there to downsize your decor can save you time after the holidays when you pack it all away and save time next year when you break it out again. It can also reduce the space needed to store it all and the cost of moving it if you decide to downsize to a new home in the new year. If you decorate early enough in the season, you can pass onward your unwanted decor and someone else can still use them this year.

If you love baking Christmas cookies but don’t have the energy to make all the family favorites this year, consider doing a family cookie exchange and delegate a few of the batches to others. You could also set a date to have family or friends over for a cookie day, where they each bring ingredients, cookie tins and baking sheets, and you can all make a bunch of cookies at one time. This can save on having to clean your kitchen over and over again in the busy holiday season.

If making the entire holiday meal is too much to handle this year, try delegating side dishes to other family members or asking them to join you in your kitchen so you can spend time together preparing the meal. Look for recipes that allow you to prep dishes a day or two ahead or that taste better when reheated, such as twice-baked potatoes.

The holidays are best spent with the ones we love. How will you incorporate more time with your family and friends into your seasonal calendar?

As you continue on with your holiday planning, try to combine your efforts to save time and enjoy the errands on your to-do-list. If you are mailing pre-printed cards, you can sign them while watching your favorite holiday films. If you are out running errands or picking up groceries for the holidays, be sure to pick up some postage stamps or any special mailers or boxes you may need for shipping. Purchasing gift cards at your local grocery store can often impact your club points and may result in gas discounts, grocery discounts or a free turkey or ham. Can you save time by purchasing gifts for multiple family members or friends in one box store or website? Can you save money by combining items into one shipment or with one trip in the car?

When you call to discuss upcoming Thanksgiving plans, ask what each person needs or wants for Christmas or Hanukkah and begin making your shopping list. By planning early, you’ll know exactly what you are searching for when the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales begin. If your family or friends have all they need, consider gifting them with an experience such as dinner at their favorite restaurant, a night at the theater or cinema, tickets to a sporting or musical event, or a vacation or bus trip. A future day-trip, a special sleepover, or a mystery date with the grandparents can be very exciting for grandchildren and extend the holiday season into the new year.

If you will be visiting the stores or websites in search of presents for your family, consider putting your shopping list in the Notes app on your smartphone or in a small notebook that you can carry with you. Keeping a Christmas gift list allows you to update the list with purchases and prices so you don’t overspend. It’s a handy list to have when you can’t remember who you still need to shop for and when you are searching your home’s hiding places for the gifts that are waiting to be wrapped. Having a designated gift closet or a special place to store gift cards can reduce the time spent searching for lost items.

What suggestions do you have for saving time and enjoying your holiday errands?

As you plan for the upcoming holidays and review your calendar, make a note of when you want to mail out your Christmas cards or invitations. How far in advance of this date will you need to sign or print your cards? Do you need to start looking through the year’s photos now for your holiday photo card?

While you search for the perfect photos to share, take a few moments to delete or toss the photos that aren’t the best quality, most flattering, or are too similar. It’s a great way to cut down on photography clutter, either digitally or in the home. If you will be making a photo book or ordering any photo gifts, you’ll want to note the deadlines for such orders and mark your calendar accordingly. Look back through your calendar and jot down any notes for what you’ll include in your holiday letter. Your calendar can be a great source of inspiration and remind you of the year’s vacations, visits with family, and events you’ve attended that you may want to share in your letter. Start off the new year with computer file folders labeled “Christmas Card” or “Christmas Letter” where you can add copies of digital pictures that may make next year’s card or you can add notes or stories for that holiday letter. By adding to these files throughout the year, you’ll be able to save time as the busy season approaches.

If you have collected Christmas cards from loved ones over the years and now need to downsize them for a future move, sort through your cards and see which ones could be trimmed down to serve as gift tags on your presents. You’ll not only save on space, but may just find a new way to show off your crafting and recycling skills on your gifts.

When it comes time to wrap your presents, having all of your tools at the ready can speed up the process. Designate a gift center in your house to store your gift wrapping supplies or set up a holiday workstation so you can easily access the wrapping paper, boxes, tissue paper, ribbons, bows, gift tags, scissors and tape when you’re ready to wrap. Turn on your favorite holiday music or movie to set the mood. Don’t forget to set aside a cup of coffee, tea or cocoa to enjoy. Keep it on a side table so you don’t spill your favorite drink when wrapping those oversized items.

What uses have you found for old holiday cards? Do you have any holiday time saving tips or gift wrapping suggestions?

With the hubbub of the holidays, remember to plan time to relax and enjoy the season. Take a break in the middle of preparing that big meal to absorb the smells, sights and sounds. What do you love about being in the kitchen? What memories do you have when you inhale the smell of that turkey, fish, or ham? Listen to the parade on television in the background, the laughter of your family, or the holiday music on the radio. Take in the sight of your family and friends as you gather at the table or around the living room and embrace the time you have together.

Take some time to list the reasons you’re grateful at Thanksgiving or jot down what Christmas or Hanukkah really mean to your faith. Is there a special devotional or meditation you can use at this time of year to center yourself and remind you of what is most important?

What will you take away from this year’s preparations and gathering times? What changes have you seen in your family and friends over this past year? Pause amidst the hustle and bustle as you decorate, prepare, and celebrate each holiday to soak it all in. Take a mental picture and a moment to enjoy the people with which you are spending this day. Be present as a present to yourself.

Be kind to the strangers shopping alongside you or waiting with you in line. Smile and share a laugh, tell a holiday story, or point them to the gift they are seeking. Be neighborly with those you meet in the parking lot or behind the counter. You can be the reason someone is thankful this year. You can be a gift to those who are missing family, are mourning a loved one or are feeling a little lonely.

How will you embrace the holidays and share that joy with others that you encounter?

What Is Right-Sizing?

Wed, 19 Oct 2022 21:06:27 GMT

Rightsizing is when you choose to live according to today’s lifestyle. You use and enjoy the space you have and you live big in a smaller space.

We talk a lot about right-sizing and downsizing. Downsizing is when you lose or part with your possessions. You give them away, sell, donate or toss them. Rightsizing is when you choose to live according to today’s lifestyle. You use and enjoy the space you have and you live big in a smaller space. Yes, you’ll be saying goodbye to some of your possessions when you move into a smaller home, but you’ll be welcoming a new way of living where every room in your home is used and everything within it has a purpose. Which rooms or spaces in your home aren’t being used to their fullest potential? In which rooms do you spend most of your time? Answering these questions can help you determine how you may want to rightsize into a smaller home in the future.

Have you ever watched one of those tv shows that highlight the minimalist lifestyle and wished you could be free to live that way? The people living in a tiny house are content with what they have. If you look closely you’ll see they don’t just have what they need, but their homes also hold decor that fits their personalities and a few items that suit their interests and hobbies. They’ve managed to adjust to a home where every space and item within it is purposeful. What can we learn from these homes that are right-sized? Some furniture serves double-duty, for example an ottoman or bench offers storage space within it. Their smaller rooms are often flexible and serve them in multiple ways, for example the living space may transform with a fold-out table into a classroom, office space or dining area. They utilize vertical space wisely with tall, narrow bookcases, wall-mounted shelving or storage cabinets. How could similar choices benefit you when you move into a smaller home?

What have you learned from watching people on tiny house shows? Aside from being content with what they have and the space in which they reside, you can see that they embrace life beyond their homes. Many of them enjoy life out-of-doors and consider their yards as an extension of their homes. When you’re looking to right-size into a smaller apartment or cottage, you’ll also want to look beyond your doors. If your new community offers a library, fitness room, gardens, walking paths, game rooms, woodshop, lounges, business spaces or meeting rooms, you may find it easier to adjust to a smaller living space. You can live big by using these additional areas and joining in the fellowship of the community. You can let go of your under-utilized home gym equipment or office furniture. You can donate your stacks of unread books or unused board games to the community or a donation center. How can you live big, beyond the walls of your smaller home?

It may go unnoticed when watching shows on HGTV, but it would seem that the homeowners, designers and decorators have one thing in common. They have each done their homework when faced with a housing project and researched the homeowner’s personality, interests, budgets, needs and desires. Lists have been compiled, pros and cons identified, and everything has been assessed and prioritized. They may face limitations and obstacles, but ideally in the end, the homeowner has a home that fits them in every way. If you’re right-sizing, you also need to do your homework. How well do you know yourself? It’s always a good idea to sit down and do a self-assessment before making important decisions. Really take the time to think through how you want to live in your new home. How will the life you want to lead make a difference in what you will keep or use? Who are you today and what do you like?

Over time your color choices, style selections and interests have changed. Are you living in your past or have you embraced new aesthetics? Maybe a new color or furniture style suits you better at this time in your life. As you cycle through life you may find that your hobbies and interests have been altered. What craft supplies, tools, sports equipment or games do you no longer use? As your family grows and changes, new traditions may have been grafted in or replaced old ones. Maybe you loved cooking for a large family, but now that it’s only you and a spouse in the home and you eat out more often. Will you continue to plan and host family gatherings or has that duty been undertaken by someone else? Your social calendar may look a lot different today than it did when the kids were younger. Have you moved away from throwing dinner parties and opt now to meet at a restaurant with friends? You may have unused cookware, dishes, glassware, platters, utensils and canning supplies that you can pass on to others who would use them. Evaluate how your life has changed and how that alters what you will want to keep and use. You may find that much of what you’re holding onto is no longer necessary and can be a better resource for others.

Check back next month for more tips to help you think through how to right-size for a smaller home that suits your personality, spatial preferences, hobbies, family and seasonal needs.

Beyond The Fork In The Road Estate Store

Wed, 28 Sep 2022 10:00:00 GMT

Our Estate Store is featured on the October 6-22, 2022 Best Kept Secrets Tour!

Beyond The Fork In The Road Estate Sale Store will be a featured business on the October Best Kept Secrets Tour! Visit our store to purchase your ticket!

56-F West Church Street, Denver, PA 17517

New store hours: Wed. & Fri. 8 am - 3 pm, Thurs. 12 pm - 8 pm, 2nd & 4th Sat. 8 am - 12 pm.

Store: 717-335-8482

LANCASTER COUNTY’S BEST KEPT SECRETS TOUR

OCTOBER 6-22, 2022

An unusual shopping/food and fun adventure featuring 41 off-the-beaten path businesses, hand-picked for their uniqueness. Set up like a home or garden tour, you’ll travel place to place, in your own vehicle, enjoying all the special free things (refreshments, games, gifts, farm tours, demos, workshop tours, make & take projects, etc) the businesses have planned for you.

Your ticket is valid the entire time—do what you can in a day or take 16 days—it’s up to you. Collect tickets to play the shop & win game and enter to win over $895 in prizes. Enter to win a $200 shopping spree at the tour business of your choice. Plus, each place has given you a valuable coupon.

Although we won’t tell you the names of the businesses ahead of time (that’s part of the fun secret!), we will tell you the types of places you’ll visit & what you’ll see . . . a variety of home décor & furnishings stores, craft shops and artisan wares, a pet boutique, thrift, upcycled & consignment shops, farm markets & creameries, floral shops & green studios, an amazing pop-up shop, artist & pottery studios, gifts shops, clothing & jewelry boutiques, sweet shops, cookie & pretzel bakeries, candle makers, a local cast iron company, greenhouses and a pumpkin farm bursting with the colors of fall, a quilt shop, a new tavern, local eateries and cafes, a few specialty shops and more! There is something for everyone!

The stores are located throughout Lancaster County but if you follow our path you will never travel more than 15 miles between places and most are closer together. What a fun way to find the best kept secrets of Lancaster County!

Tickets are $11 ea--$1 per ticket is donated to Lancaster Early Education Center. The first 2000 people to purchase tickets will also receive a free goody bag containing promotional items and gifts from the businesses—so reserve NOW. Your ticket is a booklet which contains a guide that lists the name, address and description of each business, a map to get you around, the calendar of extra events, and coupons from every business. Call 717-721-9409 or go to www.bestkeptsecretstour.com

#bestkeptsecretstour #lancastercounty #smallbusinessshopping #shopsmall #freestuff #discounts #ticketsavailable #explore #daytrip #bkst

Clothing Clean-Out and Consignment

Sun, 28 Aug 2022 10:00:00 GMT

Tips for sorting and consigning your clothing.

Every year we make resolutions and cleaning out your clothes closet can be a great goal. We suggest turning all of your clothes hangers backwards. Then as you use your clothes you can turn the hangers the right way and at the end of the season, you'll know which clothes were unused because they are still hung backwards. These clothes can then be donated, sold or tossed.

For some seniors, lifting heavy clothing or swapping out their seasonal closet is a challenge to their strength or range of motion. Why not use clothes pins or clips to mark your clothes? Then you don't have to rehang all of your clothing backwards and at the end of the season, the items that still have clips, have been unworn and can be removed. Find a solution that works for you and say goodbye to the excess clothes that someone else could use!

If you are paring down your wardrobe and hoping to consign your clothing, you’ll want to do your research on clothing consignment stores. They can save you the time of pricing, advertising, displaying and selling your own clothes, but they also have higher requirements for the clothing you bring them. Yardsale or donation quality clothing will not work for these consignors. You’ll want to offer them your higher end clothing and will need to be prepared for them to reject what you’ve brought them.

A quick search can tell you that most consignors are looking for clothing that is of a certain quality, brand, and from a more recent fashion season. For unique, retro and more historical styles of clothing, you’ll want to research a store with a similar offering of products. Costume shops may also be interested in your outfits of yesteryear for theatrical productions.

Consignors are looking for clothing that is…

Freshly laundered and free of pet and smoke odors
Ready to Wear - no pills, stains, open seams or tears, missing buttons, wrinkles or pet hair.
Current season or up-to-date styles (not more than 3 years old)
Clothing brought in laundry baskets or bins, neatly folded or on hangers.

Don’t bag your clothes and don’t price your items. They will set the price for each item. You can leave tags on the items if they are new from the store, but don’t expect to make the same amount of money consigning them.

Most consignors will list on their website their own rules for consigning with them. Typically, they will want you to set up an appointment so they can review what you bring in. They will want you to remain in the store while they choose which items they’ll sell, so you can then take with you the remaining items that won’t be sold there.

Their website may also list the process they use for consigning. They may choose to buy your clothing outright or will return to you a portion of the selling price after a certain period of time. They may mark down the selling price as time goes by and they may take full possession of your items after a set time to then sell or donate on their own. Look for policies that may also relieve the store of any liability for breakage, theft, etc.

Consigning your clothing is an easy way to make some money from your special occasion outfits and new and gently used brand name clothing.

Right-sizing and Organizing Your Photos

Thu, 28 Jul 2022 10:00:04 GMT

Tips for storing and sorting through your photos.

Photographs are near and dear to our hearts. They preserve our memories and they are a history of days gone by. If you love taking pictures of family, vacations and scenery, you may find that you’ve amassed quite a collection of photos. What’s the best way to sort through your photos and store them?

Here are some tips for organizing your photos...

First think through what system of organization makes the most sense for you. Do you like to have your pictures sorted chronologically or by subject matter? Perhaps you’d like to combine those areas and have pictures chronological within the categories.

Next figure out how you’d like to store your photos. Do you prefer photo albums or photo storage boxes? Sometimes the sheer amount of photos may have you choosing boxes over albums. However if you want to view your pictures more often or share them with others, photo albums may be preferable.

Are you, or is anyone in your family, skilled with a computer and scanner? You can digitize your photos, create photo albums, and share photos with family members online. Digitizing your photographs and even your negatives is a great way to save space in the home, preserve, and share your pictures with more family members. If you have slides or negatives, do a little research to find the necessary tools that will be compatible with your computer and the items you want to digitize. Going digital with your photos also allows you to use your pictures in creative ways as gifts for loved ones. Your pictures can be printed on mugs, shirts, blankets, posters, as greeting cards, on canvas, metal, wood and more.

When you look at all the photographs you’ve taken over your lifetime, it can be difficult to know where to begin when it comes to downsizing. How can you possibly organize and pare down your pictures without feeling like you’re losing an old friend? You may not want to let go of your holiday photos, vacation pictures or everyday snapshots, but there is a way to cut out some of your photos while keeping the most important memories intact. Here are some tips to help you sort through your photos...

As you begin to sort, set aside any duplicates. You may wish to share some of these with family members or divide them between your children or grandchildren. Other duplicates you may want to toss.

Are there any pictures that aren’t flattering of you or loved ones? Get rid of them and only keep the photos that show everyone in a pleasant way.

Are there pictures of people that you don’t know or can’t remember? It’s ok to let these pictures go. Are there photographs of people that you no longer like, perhaps you have photos of people from toxic relationships? Get rid of them.

As you look through your vacation pictures, weed out the shots that are very similar in nature and only keep the best of the best. There’s no need to keep the attempts at a good photo that are blurry, off-center, askew, etc. Just keep the photos that show your vacation in the best light.

Make sure to label and date your photos, album pages or storage system. Note any important people, family members or locations so your descendants can have a better understanding of the photos you kept and why they were important to you. Take the time to jot down some memories of the vacation or event to store with the photos.

When you are sorting through your photographs and organizing them, remember that you'll eventually be leaving them as a legacy to your family and friends. Keep what's most important, label them or leave a note with the who, what, when, where and why, and toss the pictures that no longer hold the same meaning for you.

Most importantly, have fun reminiscing and remembering the good ole days as you sort!

Shopping Suggestions To Curb The Clutter

Fri, 08 Jul 2022 17:59:38 GMT

If you need a little help curbing the clutter and the desire for more, here are a few helpful tips…

Do you like to shop and find yourself buying things you don’t really need? It’s fun to browse and see the newest trends, but if you end up coming home with more items that will sit around your home and go unused, you’ve not just wasted an afternoon but also your money. Why is it that we purchase things on impulse? What void are you trying to fill with the excitement of a new bit or bauble? If you need a little help curbing the clutter and the desire for more, here are a few helpful tips…

Only go shopping when you need something. Quite often we shop for things we think we need, or for a product that improves on what we already have at home. Ask yourself if you really need to go shopping or if you even “need” that product. It may be that you just want to get away from home for a little while. Perhaps you like to shop with friends. Seek out other entertainment or an experience that you can do yourself or with your friends that don’t require you bringing home another duplicate or knickknack. Is there a local event you can attend, a park you can visit, a new restaurant to test out? By curbing your shopping habits, you free up your time and wallet for other adventures!
Leave the credit card at home. If you’re more inclined to purchase things you don’t need or won’t use on your credit card, then leave your card at home. With cash, you’re more likely to stop and think before you buy. It’s hard to think of the purchase as just a number that gets adjusted in your account when you’re counting out your money.
Buy one and remove one. If you’re going to buy something new, then determine ahead of time what equivalent item you will get rid of when you return home. Then follow through and donate or discard your items right away. This plan works especially well with large purchases like furniture, but it can also work with your clothing, tools, linens, kitchen gadgets and everything in between. If you’re purchasing a newer model or upgraded version, then make a plan to get rid of the older one. If the thought of parting with something at home has you on edge, then maybe this new purchase can wait a little longer.
Space and time. Try walking away from the purchase you were about to make and give yourself a little more time to think about it. If this wasn’t something you were desperately searching for and it isn’t a one-of-a-kind piece of art, then you have the ability to walk away, grab lunch, and possibly even return in a day or so. Process your thoughts and feelings and see if it’s really that important to you. Will you use it? Do you have space for it in your home? Thinking through your purchases when you’ve given yourself some time and space will help curb your impulse buys in the moment. If you happen to be on vacation at the time and it’s a unique item, ask a clerk to hold the item while you continue shopping, so you can ponder your purchase. Remember, you can also call the store once you’re back home and have the item shipped if you really love it.
Don’t purchase something just because it’s on sale. If you’re buying things you don’t need or won’t use just because they are on sale, you are not saving, you are spending! Just because you have a coupon, doesn’t mean you have to use it. Buy One, Get One Free, just means you’re saving 50% on each item. Do you need either one? If you need one, but not two or three of a “free” item, see if a family member wants to split the purchase with you. Buy One, Get One 50% OFF is only saving you 25% on each item, which isn’t the best savings plan if you only needed one to begin with. Think through what the coupon or sale signage is actually saying and make a wiser decision before you buy. It might benefit you better to wait until you actually need it or could use it and there is a better sales price.
Don’t buy in bulk if you don’t have the storage space. If you’re living in a smaller home and storage space is at a premium, don’t buy the 24 or 48 pack of toilet paper. Shop smaller and you won’t be looking at clutter or falling over tripping hazards because you can’t store bulk items in your closets or cabinets.
You don’t need to own backups. In our day and age with Amazon, Ebay and Esty, you can probably find a duplicate product when your old one breaks. There’s no need to keep extras on hand “just in case.” If you wait and buy quality items the first time, you’re less likely to need to replace the inferior knockoffs. Do your research and make smart purchases the first time around. Magazines like Consumer Reports can provide buying guides and comparison charts for both large and every day purchases.
Take pictures. Quite often when we’re shopping we see something that evokes an emotional response. Maybe that item reminds us of a loved one, causes us to laugh, or fills us with joy. Just because an object brings about a memory or feeling, doesn’t mean we need to pull out our credit card and purchase it. Pull out your cell phone instead and take a picture! You can show the item to friends or family this way and bring joy to someone else. There’s no money spent and nothing to dust! You can even create a photo album on your phone of funny things you see, cute knick knacks, or items that remind you of your loved one. Try this technique on your vacations instead of buying more “state” or “beach” named products. Sure a sweatshirt or baseball cap is a useful article of clothing and may be a great purchase, but not if your closet is filled with unworn sweatshirts and hats from vacations of yesteryear.
Think about the impact. Before you make that purchase, think about the impact that purchase will have on your home and your time. Will buying a large piece of furniture or new rug cause you to question and redesign your home’s layout or lead to other purchases? Would acquiring an ornate decorative piece or new tchotchke require more of your time when it comes to dusting and cleaning? Don’t forget to consider the impact your purchase makes on the environment. Do you really need to upgrade to the newest model when your older sofa or tv still do the job? We impact our world by disposing of perfectly good items in exchange for the newest improvement or style. We buy multiple inferior products and toss them away instead of waiting to purchase something of a better quality that will last longer.
Prioritize your budget. Before you make that purchase, consider what you are giving up financially in other areas of your life. Is this money well spent or money that was designated for something more important? We need to contemplate the future rather than rushing to acquire more for the immediate gratification. Pause to evaluate how all of your smaller purchases are impacting your future stability and goals. We usually discuss spending habits with children and try to show them the importance of foregoing the immediate desire so they can save up for the bigger toy, and at times we must stop and remind ourselves of the very same things. Am I short changing my vacation or retirement plans or delaying reaching those goals because of my immediate wants?

What shopping tips would you offer to someone who tends to splurge on unnecessary things?

Home Safety

Tue, 28 Jun 2022 10:00:00 GMT

Simple things you can do to create a safer home for you, your family, and your guests.

It’s always a good idea to review our homes no matter our age to be sure we are living in a safe environment. We want to remain safe and independent no matter where we live and we want to stay in control of our lives. Each year we are reminded to do simple things like check our smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to be sure they are in good working order. But, when was the last time you looked over the rest of your home for any safety issues?

Businesses are concerned with OSHA regulations to keep their employees safe, while our homes are, by and large, left up to us for improvements. What areas of your home would be considered unsafe? What simple things can you do to create a better and safer home for you, your family, and your guests?

As we age our needs and abilities change. A slippery bathtub or floor mat becomes more dangerous as our aging bones become more brittle. As we become more unbalanced and our reaction times slow down, an unsteady step stool or a cluttered pathway through a room can be more risky.

Are your walking paths wide enough for you to easily pass through? Could you get by with a walker or wheelchair if necessary? Is your sidewalk or driveway in need of repair to eliminate tripping hazards? Do you have any cables or cords, loose carpeting, floor mats or flooring that could cause a fall? Adjusting furniture placements, tidying up cords, adding double sided tape to secure area rugs can all improve walking areas. The addition of a ramp over small steps can make access easier, while a coating of non-slip or textured paint can reduce falls as well. You may find that you’ll need to adjust rug placements so the corners or edges aren’t located in major walkways or doorways, or you may need to remove small area rugs from your home altogether.

What about fire safety issues? Are your powerstrips and extension cords overloaded? Are there phone or extension cords, wires, or cables with frayed edges? Are your curtains, towels, bedding and other flammable materials kept away from your heating units, oven, burners and appliances?

Does your home need more lighting both inside and out so you have better visibility for your exterior doorways, on stairs, in hallways and in rooms? Would installing night lights, additional light switches, remote controlled lighting, or touch lighting offer you better visibility at night?

A phone beside your bed or in the bathroom, as well as, medical alert devices can offer additional security and peace of mind for care receivers and caregivers. Grab bars, railings and non-slip mats, abrasive strips and decals are some more ways you can reduce falls.

A quick search online can help you find “Home Safety Checklists” so you can be sure you’re looking over every area of your home.

The Pennsylvania Department of Aging has fall prevention tips in an online booklet: https://www.aging.pa.gov/aging-services/health-wellness/Documents/Falls%20Prevention/Printable%20Falls%20Prevention%20Checklist.pdf

AARP.org has a caregiving checklist at: https://assets.aarp.org/external_sites/caregiving/checklists/checklist_homeSafety.html

If you’ve been putting off some of these simple repairs and improvements, today’s the day to start! Do it before you or a loved one has an injury that goes beyond a simple bruise to requiring a hospital and rehabilitation stay. It’s time to be proactive instead of reactive with regret!

The Cost of Too Much Stuff

Sat, 28 May 2022 10:00:00 GMT

Did you ever consider that holding on to so much “stuff” is costing you time and money?

We all have things in our home that we either stopped using or never used to begin with. The question you have to ask yourself is “Why?” Why do we hold onto things that we no longer use, need or love? One could argue that some of those items have value, but that value may have diminished right after you purchased it. Like driving a new car off of the dealer’s lot, your new gadget, toy or knick knack has just transitioned from being “brand new” to being labeled as “used.”

You’ve spent the money to purchase it or have been given an item as a gift and it just sat around your home taking up space and adding to the clutter. Did you ever consider that just holding on to so much “stuff” is costing you time and money?

You’ll lose time sorting through all of your belongings to find something that was lost or misplaced. You’ll spend hours dusting and caring for all of those items throughout the year. How long does it take you to thoroughly clean your home? It will cost you in time, lots of time, when you want to sort and downsize all of your things at once so you can move into a smaller home, a ranch house, or a retirement community. If it took you years to accumulate all of these resources, it will take you months to decide on what to keep and what needs to go.

It costs you money when you need to buy more organizers, shelving, or containers to store your stuff. You’ll exhaust more money in heating and cooling that larger home over the years. If you run out of space in your home, you’ll fork over extra cash on a shed or in monthly rates at a storage unit. If it’s a storage unit, you’ll even pay for the fuel to drive things back and forth from your home! You may even choose to buy more insurance to cover your assets or purchase extra home security measures.

What is the cost of the stuff you’ve collected over the years? Have you ever considered how your current or former purchases impact your budget?

When considering the cost of all of your stuff, you need to also look at what you will spend in time, energy, and money to get rid of all of your stuff! When you decide to part with your collection in an attempt to downsize, you’ll pay for more fuel to drive it to the donation center, or on boxes, postage, and packaging to ship it to a relative or friend. If your item isn’t worthy to be given or gifted, you’ll pay for the trash guy to haul it away.

If you want to recoup any of the value your items have left, you’ll spend time researching the selling prices on Ebay, or searching for the perfect auction house. Will you take the time to learn how to sell on Ebay yourself or will you seek out someone else to sell on your behalf? If you find a consignment shop who will give you a portion of the selling price, you may have to pay to have the store pick up your furniture or you’ll need to buy the fuel to drive your clothing or small items to the store yourself.

If you find that downsizing your home’s contents is too large a task and too overwhelming to handle yourself, you’ll need to ask for help and take up someone else’s time to assist you. If friends and family aren’t available, you may need to hire a professional to join you.

When you are ready to move into your new home, you’ll spend your finances on the packing, moving and unpacking of your belongings by professionals. If you choose to spend time doing the job yourself, you’ll also spend money buying the boxes, bubble wrap, tape and paper to protect your items.

Multiply most of these calculations by two if you have a beach house, mountain cabin or second home that stores more of your assets and will need to be downsized one day. You may spend time and money traveling back and forth to handle the contents and real estate of your vacation home or in hiring a moving company to consolidate your furniture and belongings back to one home.

If by chance you move to your heavenly home before downsizing, your loved ones will need to spend their time and money trying to determine which things in your collection were most important to you and what to do with all the things you’ve amassed.

As you can see already, having a lot of stuff will cost you in time and money. We get caught up in the worth and value of our items, but forget to look at the cost to our most precious resource… time. We can only make a withdrawal on our time, not a deposit, and the funds are limited. How much of your life has been lost to your things, when it could have been spent with the people you love?

Failure To Plan Is Planning To Fail: Planning Your Move

Thu, 28 Apr 2022 10:00:09 GMT

How To Schedule Everything From Pre-Move To Post-Move

When you are looking to downsize before a move, you need to understand that the closer you get to your move date, the more demands will be placed upon your time. We might consider all the things we need to sort as we look around our home, but we may fail to calculate all the time it will take to make decisions and remove the unwanted items. We may make a list of all the utilities we will need to update with a change of address, but we may not take into account the time it will take to reach a live person who can handle our services, access our information and make the necessary adjustments. Pre-planning your move on your calendar can help you to iron out all the details you’ll need to handle, make early decisions that can save you money, and reduce the stress of your move.

Whether or not you know your actual move-in date with a new community or home, you need to start early to line up a senior move management company like Beyond The Fork In The Road. Beyond The Fork In The Road assists clients by subcontracting movers, trash haulers, cleaning companies and helps homeowners to sort through their belongings and distribute their assets. By allowing a senior move management company to handle those needs, the homeowner can focus on all the decisions that need to be made for their new home, furniture, and belongings.

Make a schedule for yourself and note the goals you’d like to accomplish. Start with your potential move date or month and work backwards to set deadlines. No matter your move date, you’ll want to start sorting your belongings right away to determine what you’ll keep, gift, sell, donate, or trash. Look for ways that your family, friends or professionals can help you reach your goals. Ask for help sorting through your home’s belongings if you have too much to handle on your own. Seek assistance with the distribution of your assets. If you’re running errands, plan to also drop items off at your local donation site or recycling facility to save time and money.

Set daily, weekly, and monthly goals. For example, “Each day of this week I will sort through a cupboard in my kitchen while dinner is in the oven. Saturday, I’ll call my children to see if they need or want any of the items I no longer want. On Sunday, I’ll see if the church kitchen has any need for my donations. Next week, I will drop off my kitchen donations on my way to the grocery store.”

Design a plan that works for you. You may want to start small to find success and prepare for larger rooms or areas. Many organizers recommend beginning in a bathroom where items are less personal and you can make easier decisions. Perhaps you want to do one bathroom each day, if you’re able to do so, as in the example below.

Week 1: Bathrooms:

Monday - Powder Room

Tuesday - Guest Bathroom

Wednesday - His Bathroom

Thursday - Her Bathroom

Friday - Drop off Donations

In rooms that will require a more detailed and thorough sorting process, such as an office with lots of paperwork, you may want to divide up the room, furniture piece, or storage area into smaller tasks of increasing amounts to celebrate and motivate you toward success. Be more specific about what you need to do if it helps you to stay on task as in the example below.

Week 2: Office

Monday: Top of Desk (Organize bills, Toss old mail)

Tuesday: Desk Drawers (Sort supplies)

Wednesday: 2-Drawer File Cabinet (Remove outdated paperwork)

Thursday: 4-Drawer File Cabinet (Remove unnecessary files and tax folders over 7 years)

Friday: Office Supply Closet (Consolidate / Donate unused supplies, recycle older electronics)

In much the same way as going on a diet, you know yourself and what type of strategy works for you. Perhaps cutting back rather than cutting out a certain food works better for you mentally, so you don’t rebel against the diet altogether. In the same way if the idea of sorting a whole room at one time or over one week seems too daunting because of the amount of stuff you’ve amassed over the years, then create a plan with goals that you can attain and will leave you feeling a sense of accomplishment. Set yourself up for success and keep sorting slow and steady if that works for you. Extend your personal sorting deadlines if need be, but always keep in mind what the bigger goals and constants are in your moving plan. Your moving date is approaching fast and you don’t want to run out of time to tackle the bigger tasks before the movers arrive. If you can’t finish the sorting before moving day, you could be paying to move things that should have been donated or discarded. Make a plan as soon as possible so you can accomplish everything you need to do before the packers come and moving day arrives.

Planning Your Move:

As you prepare for your move, you’ll need to decide if you will want to list and sell your home before you move. Knowing when you’ll sell the home will determine when you’ll need to have unwanted furniture and smaller items removed from the home. Talk with your realtor and discuss what, if any, furniture they want to keep for showings. If your home is listed before you move out, you may need to have some furniture removed prior to the showings so it doesn’t look overcrowded to potential buyers. If the house is selling after you move, your realtor and a stager can discuss if they want your unwanted furniture to remain for staging or if they will bring in other furniture to show the home. Either way, you’ll need to work out a plan to have your unwanted furniture removed from the home.

If you won’t be selling your home until after you move, then you may be able to focus on the move first and the removal of unwanted furniture second. If your house has already been sold, you will want to schedule the removal of all furniture and smaller items before moving day. Next you’ll want to schedule a final cleaning of the home for the day after you move and before the closing and the keys are turned over to new owners. As you can see from the examples below, the removal of unwanted furniture could happen before or after the move depending upon when the home will be sold. If you need to save money, you’ll want to schedule only one pickup date for furniture.

Example: Moving Schedule when using unwanted furniture to stage home after the move:

Furniture Pick Up - Date: After house sells

List Home - Date: Unknown or July 6

Cleaning Company - Date: July 5

Trash Removal Company - Date: July 5

Moving - Date: July 4

Packing - Date: July 2 & 3

Example: Moving Schedule when home has already sold and there needs to be a quick turnover:

Closing on Current Home - Date: July 6

Cleaning Company - Date: July 5

Trash Removal Company- Date: Morning of July 5 or before

Moving - Date: July 4

Packing - Date: July 2 & 3

Furniture Pick Up - Date: July 1 or before (Furniture Pick Up can be as late as July 4 if the moving company is the one contracted to remove unwanted furniture for delivery to a store, auction, etc.)

When creating your schedule it’s important to consider all the vehicles that will need access to your home for packing and moving, trash removal, cleaning, consignment and donation pickups. You’ll want to schedule some of these services at different times or on different days to cut down on the cost of crews waiting to access your home or waiting to do their jobs. The examples above are if you would be contracting a professional to clean your home and would need to set aside a day for a cleaning crew. If you are cleaning the home yourself or through other means, you may be able to schedule the cleaning for the evening after the other crews have left for the day.

Plan out how and when you will be selling your home and discuss with your realtor what you will need to arrange for the home’s showing and closing. By making a moving schedule, you won’t have as many last minute surprises to handle when the stress of moving day arrives.

Service Providers:

Planning for a move is a lot like planning for a wedding. You have various venues with multiple businesses coming to support your big day, moving day! When planning for your move, your moving calendar should also take into account the different service providers that will need to be servicing your new home prior to moving in. If you are hiring a closet company to renovate your new closets, you’ll want to add a few days or weeks into the schedule for them to do installations before your move-in. Likewise, you’ll want to have your window treatments put in place and your maintenance team will want to mount your televisions before the cable company arrives. If possible, have your maintenance team install new television mounts where you want them prior to move-in so that the movers can hang your television for you upon arrival. (New mounts will need to be purchased for the new home. Old mounts usually remain in the old home as they are attached to the wall.) Prior to putting your house on the market, you’ll want to hire an electrician to remove any lighting or chandeliers that you will want to move to your new home. You’ll also want to have an electrician install your lighting fixtures at the new home prior to moving day. If you have a piano, you may want to schedule tuners and specialized movers for your instrument. If you have grandfather clocks, you could hire a clock repairman to remove and install the weights and pendulums before and after the move respectively. If you are ordering new furniture, you’ll want to add these delivery dates and times to your schedule. You will want to keep a detailed plan so you can work around each company’s needs and not have too many service providers bumping into each other or blocking access to your home at inopportune times.

Some services may need to be set up after you move in and after other utilities have finished their work. For example, if you need to have computers hooked up, you may need to have the phone and cable providers scheduled the day before the geek squad arrives to ensure that everything will be operational. Check with your cable tv provider to see if they will be using the old equipment or will be bringing new equipment. You may need to collect all of your old routers, cable boxes, remotes, etc., to return to the provider so that those charges can be removed from your monthly statement. Alert your senior move management company to your needs so they can help you collect these devices from around the home or pack and resettle them for the service provider or technician.

Example:

Geek Squad: July 6

Telephone & Cable Company Date: July 5

Moving Day - Movers hang TVs on new mounts. Date: July 4

Packing Day: July 2 & 3

Electrician installs chandelier in new home. Date: July 3

Community Maintenance Team installs TV mounts @ new home. Date: July 2

Electrician removes the chandelier and installs another fixture in the current home. July 1

Window treatments installed. Date: June 26-27

Closet installation. Date: June 20-25

Pick up keys to the new house. Date: June 15

Purchase new TV mounts & deliver to new community/house. Date: June 5

Don’t schedule service technicians until the day after moving in, so that you can be sure you have all the electronics and cables unpacked and ready for use. Having a technician arrive too early in the middle of the moving process can slow down or halt the progress and cost you more money as the movers must stop what they’re doing to locate, unpack, and set up your electronics and the furniture they require. Your cable and internet technicians will need your undivided attention to explain all of the ins and outs of the equipment they are providing to you and they may need you to set up online accounts or emails for the services. It’s best to have this meeting in a quieter home after all of the stress of moving has been lifted and you are able to focus solely on this new service.

If you are still employed and plan on having your computer, televisions, and phones serviced the same day as you move in, then you may want to transport these items yourself so they are not tied up on a moving truck or in the middle of a room full of boxes. Alert all moving companies to this appointment and what your needs are going to be. Schedule your technician for the late afternoon or evening after teams have finished moving or unpacking and resettling your home. You may also want to have the desk, entertainment cabinets or other items in place as soon as possible and ready to support this technology, so that the technician can be free to do their job without slowing down your movers. Plan to have another family member or friend on hand to answer questions for the movers, since you will be busy with the service technicians.

Creating a detailed moving plan with extra time allowances for each service provider will keep everything running smoothly and will reduce your stress as moving day arrives. You won’t find yourself pulled in multiple directions by various companies and technicians and you’ll be able to focus on what needs to be done in each moment. Grab yourself a calendar and start planning!

By scheduling everything from pre-move sorting to post-move service providers, you’ll have a well-thought out timeline that will enable you to quickly make changes when surprises happen. Your master plan will help you master your move with less stress and anxiety and free you to enjoy yourself throughout the process. Beyond The Fork In The Road can help you manage the details of your move and support you throughout the process. Contact us at 717-335-8080 for a free consultation and to learn more about the services we offer.

Lancaster County 50plus Expo

Thu, 21 Apr 2022 22:00:03 GMT

Visit our booth at the Lancaster County 50plus Expo!

Visit our booth at the Lancaster County 50plus Expo on May 4, 2022 from 9 am - 2 pm at the Wyndham Resort (formerly Lancaster Host) and meet our president and founder Liz Fry and vice president Nancy Ulrich. Our locally-owned and locally-operated business won the 2019 Small Business of the Year Game Changer Award from the Central Penn Business Journal. Our company continues to grow as we serve Adams, Berks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, and York Counties.

Stop by our table and explore our customizable moving solutions and how we can assist you with sorting and downsizing, packing, unpacking, resettling, floor plans, estate clean outs, and asset liquidations. We've given 25% of our revenue back to our clients through consignment sales from their estates. Selling your unwanted household items and furniture can help to offset the cost of your move. Discover how our unique packing strategies can save time, money, and the impact to our environment. With so much to share about our company, you'll want to pick up a brochure, a business card, and a treat and discern how Beyond The Fork In The Road can move you into a bright new future!

Decluttering Can Be Easy And Fun!

Mon, 28 Mar 2022 10:00:16 GMT

Discover fun and easy ways to declutter your home.

Sometimes in life, it’s best to take the easy road. Fear of failure, guilt or shame at where we are, depression, anxiety and a whole host of other emotions can leave us feeling stuck. We aren’t sure of how or where to start and so we don’t. We keep feeling awful about our situation, stressed by the mountains before us, and yet we remain in the dark shadow’s of our mountain trapped in the valley.

When it comes to your clutter, sometimes it’s best to just take the easy road to begin putting your life back in order. “Baby steps,” if you will. Similar to weight loss, where you begin to move a little more each day and eat a little less, decluttering means you bring in a little less each time you shop and remove a little more from your home. Bit by bit, you’ll start seeing a change around you. You’ll gain inches on your countertops, you’ll lighten the load on your shelving and will find extra space in your cupboards, cabinets and closets.

Yes, there may be times where you fall back into an old habit and bring home oodles of unnecessary knicknacks from a shopping spree, but you just begin again by removing some items to even out the score from your purchases.

Take the easy road and declutter what’s easiest for you. Take the pressure off of yourself and just begin with removing one thing. Easy does it at the start of any project. Instead of trying to tackle a large room at first, begin with a drawer, a shelf, a cabinet or closet. Feel good about the little things you’re doing to declutter that will all add up to a cleaner room in the future.

How do we take the easy road in decluttering? Here are a few ideas for you to try out…

As you wait in the kitchen for the water to boil, the microwave bell to ring out or your food to simmer, you can quickly pull a few items that you no longer use off of the counter or out of a drawer or cupboard. What outdated paperwork is still hanging on your refrigerator? How many souvenir plastic cups or mugs do you need from gas stations, coffee shops or sporting events? Take a few minutes while you wait to cut back on the items stored in the back of your cupboards that you haven’t used in years.

Try decluttering during the commercial breaks or while your spouse scrolls through all the movies and shows trying to find what to watch next. You can quickly dust the tv room or den or shred paperwork during a break. While watching tv or a movie you can sort through stacks of mail or paperwork or organize your photos. If you’re on your phone during a commercial or movie break, you can declutter your photo app, remove unused apps, clean out your email inbox or unsubscribe from annoying ads.

If something needs to be on a different level of your house, take the time to bring something downstairs or take something upstairs when you travel throughout your home. Don't waste a trip up or down with empty hands!

Take your egg timer, alarm clock or cell phone and set an alarm. Then jump into dusting, cleaning, folding laundry, or decluttering everything you can grab that belongs in another room in the few minutes you have. We once did this type of “cleaning game” in preschool at the end of the day before being picked up by our parents. Let’s do it again and turn decluttering into a game. Imagine what prize Bob Barker or Drew Carey from The Price Is Right would award you after the bell rings and they see how much you got done in such a short time! This type of cleaning works for your kids and their toys, why not let it work for you? You can test it out on your spouse. The next time they run an errand, jump up and clean as much as you can before they get home and see if they notice! It may even be easier to clean when they aren’t home to distract or hinder you.

If you’re a list person, make a list and have fun crossing things off as you do them. Break up your list by area or room. Just start small and don’t try to do everything on your list at once so that you become overwhelmed and quit. Stay on your small task and do one thing a day to start off. Similar to a day at work, you can’t get it all done in a day and that’s ok. Feel proud of what you do accomplish and don’t beat yourself up for what is still left to do.

Make decluttering a game and guess which rooms have the most items you want to donate, give away or trash. Keep a scorecard. Place bets on which child still has the most stuff at your house or how long it will take your children to return home for their items, once you tell them your plan to downsize. Ask them to help you declutter at the holidays by taking some of their belongings along with them when they return home.

What easy ways can you think of to make decluttering work for you? How will you start small? What’s worked for you in the past? Share your comments and inspire others to find their new happy place with less clutter!

Dementia and How to Communicate

Mon, 28 Feb 2022 11:00:05 GMT

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Today we’ll look at the topic of dementia for a better understanding on what the term means and how it may affect your loved one. Then we'll offer tips for communicating with your loved one.

According to eSMMART, “Dementia is not a disease, but is the term used to describe a group of symptoms that result from changes happening in the brain. Dementia can be more than just memory loss, as it may include cognitive problems with reasoning, language, abstract thinking, recognizing people, and personality changes that are severe enough to interfere with social or occupational functioning.”

Our brains are very complex and the range of symptoms may vary greatly from person to person or in how severe the symptoms may be. As dementia is a group of symptoms, you may find that some of these symptoms are treatable with medications, while others are not. For example, you may notice that your loved one has had a change in their personality to be more belligerent than they previously were. They may lash out more, react in anger or with swear words when under stress and anxiety. Medication may address the symptoms leading to these personality changes and help return them to their calmer self, but it may not stop the progression of the changes happening within the brain.

Have you noticed when speaking with your loved one that they are having more issues like the cognitive problems listed above? Perhaps they can share an example within the topic you’re discussing, but when you mention an example yourself, their brain cannot make the leap. They find themselves stuck on their absolute and can not understand that you are merely giving them an example of a similar item or situation. There has been a change in their ability to think through abstract concepts.

You may find it more difficult to reason with your loved one as their brain changes. Perhaps the fact that they seem unreasonable to you, is because their brain is changing, not that they are purposefully trying to remain steadfast in their beliefs. Their brain cannot process and reason as it once did. Perhaps they need more time to come to the same answer or it may be that they aren’t able to see different options or think through multiple scenarios like before.

Brain changes can be gradual and so it may not be as recognizable to you if you are close to your loved one and see them on a regular basis. You may find yourself getting more frustrated with them and not understand why, because you haven’t identified the source as possible dementia. If you live further away and visit infrequently, it may be easier to notice the differences in thought patterns and behaviors when you see them and interact.

Just because your loved ones brain is changing, doesn’t mean they can’t be in control of their lives and make important decisions. It means it may take a little more effort in communicating for them to do so. In fact your own brain is changing everyday as you learn new information and process in new ways. You may have noticed in yourself that you learn better when you use multiple senses to retain information. Perhaps you need to hear and see things, or receive feedback in writing to retain it. Maybe you learn or process information better when distractions are reduced, like the background noise from coworkers. These same things can be true for the person with dementia. Try limiting distractions and background noise. Turn off the tv or radio. Move away from the noisy fan or air conditioner unit. Put things in writing, speak slower, use hand motions or body language to help express your message. Speak calmly and lovingly. Yelling at your loved one is unacceptable. It is a poor way to communicate which demeans the other person and causes them further anxiety. Be patient and speak in shorter sentences, pause, and try to explain in new ways. But limit your examples or the choices you offer so you don’t bring more confusion to the conversation. Take time to listen, not just to what they say, but to their emotions and the sentiment they are trying to express. They may have trouble coming up with the right words at the moment, and may offer a “no” when what they really wanted was a “yes”. Clarify with them what they said, to be sure it is what they truly meant to say. If they hear you say it back, they can adjust their meaning if it was expressed incorrectly the first time.

When your loved one shares the same story again and again, seek out new questions to ask about their memory and dive a little deeper. Seek to understand why this memory is so important to them, how it makes them feel to relay it and what they are trying to pass on to you in the retelling. Play detective and ask the who, what, where, why, and how about their story and discover more about their history and yours. It will show that you are interested in them and that you care, and it may remind them of other stories you haven’t heard.

As your loved one’s brain changes, you can change with them. You can become a more patient, compassionate and loving friend or family member. You can be empathetic to their needs and show them that they are loved and have your support. Put yourself in their shoes and think about how you would like to be treated should you face a similar future. Don’t simply use these communication tips with your parents going through dementia. Try them on your teenager, whose brain is also changing, or your difficult co-worker who needs to know someone understands them. Treating people who think differently than you with respect, never goes out of style. Learn to listen and listen to understand. As you learn, your brain will change too.

Purging Your Pantry

Fri, 28 Jan 2022 11:00:03 GMT

Look for new ways to store your food in your pantry that make it easier to access what you need and in the serving sizes that are healthier for you.

If you’ve chosen to set a goal for the new year in the area of your diet, then January can be a great time to purge in your pantry! A resolution to eat healthier is more successful when you’ve removed or reduced the candy and junk food that you typically turn to when you need an emotional boost. When the weather turns colder, you may also find that digging deeper into your cupboards reveals evidence of little critters that have moved into your home!

Start your kitchen reduction by taking everything out of your cupboards. Look to remove expired items. Notice which items you never used and assess why you didn’t use them. Perhaps you didn’t have all the necessary ingredients, it no longer appealed to you or your family or it took too long to prepare, whatever the reason, make a note to avoid such purchases again.

Keep an eye out for any insects or mouse residue. If you find any evidence of bugs or mice, you may want to switch over to plastic or glass storage solutions to protect your food. If you need to swap containers, an easy way to remind yourself of serving sizes or calorie counts is to cut and tape the product labels onto your storage containers or note those details on customized labels. By stowing bagged foods into a sealed container, you can keep them fresher longer and you can slide the nutrition panel or flap with expiration date into the container beside the bag, keeping it clean and visible.

If you are removing things from your diet that you have in stock and they aren’t close to expiring, you can box them up to donate to your local food bank. Check to see if they have a suggested list of foods to donate and that what you have is acceptable.

If you have food that is just about to expire, set aside an area for the items you want to use first and add them to your meal plan. Keep your healthier eating plan in mind and don’t force yourself to eat food that isn’t within your goal just to be rid of it and not waste money. Prioritize your health first and don’t let the poor choices of last year impact your decisions for the future.

Some people choose to organize like items with like items in the kitchen. For example, you might want to place all the canned goods together. But if you stack them all in one cupboard and you can no longer see the items in the back, you may find that they’ll go unused and will expire. Were most of the items you just purged located in the back of a cabinet? Can you use a tiered shelf to see what is in the back row or a lazy susan to rotate your stock? See if storing boxes sideways or on their sides will allow you to see more of what’s in your cupboard or cabinet.

Other people choose to organize items according to meals or ingredients. You may wish to store your taco seasonings, with your unopened jars of salsa, taco shells, and cans of refried beans. Maybe keeping all of your tomato based products together makes more sense to you and therefore the jars of salsa fit right alongside your tomato paste, puree and stewed tomatoes. Set up your kitchen in a way that makes sense to you and your family.

Purchase or measure out food according to serving sizes or calorie counts and organize your single serving items in baskets or bins, so you can easily grab what you need and see when your stock is depleted. Put healthier options in the front and make it easier to choose what food is best for you. These tips work well if you are someone who packs a meal for work or a day out volunteering. Use baskets or bins in your refrigerator or freezer for quick and easy access to those smaller items you need to grab.

As you sort and purge in your pantry, take time to evaluate your food and see if there are small tweaks you can make to have a healthier impact on your diet. Make a note to next time buy the same foods with less sodium or fat and fewer carbs or calories. Examine the number of servings and make a plan to measure, weigh, or count the foods you really tend to go overboard eating. For example, the number of chips in a serving can vary greatly across brands and according to the size of the chip, so counting potato, corn and sweet potato chips according to serving can make a big difference from eating them by the handful! Purchase extra measuring cups, spoons, or scoops to help you reach and maintain your goals. You may find it’s easier to stick with a single serving of ice cream if you measure it out according to the packaging, which again differs in size and calorie count across brands. Eat it straight from the measuring cup if you want to do so. The measuring cup will be full compared to the bowl that you’ll want to add another scoop to. You’ll find that you can still enjoy eating the foods you love in those recommended serving sizes and you’ll be more aware of when you’re eating too much.

Look for new ways to store your food in your pantry that make it easier to access what you need and in the serving sizes that are healthier for you. You’ll not only have a better organized pantry, but a healthier stock of food from which to choose!

Make A Moving Plan

Tue, 28 Dec 2021 11:00:04 GMT

Creating a "Moving Plan" with lists, calendars, and goals can help ease the stress of your future transition.

When you are preparing for a move, it’s important to make a list or multiple lists. You’ll have a lot of things that you want to do and things that you’ll need to do. It may even help to purchase a calendar and schedule your deadlines. Think of it as planning your own wedding. For a wedding you needed to schedule a photographer, church, officiant, wedding license, cake decorator, reception hall, caterer, dress shopping and fittings, tux rentals, ring shopping, honeymoon and more. Some of those resources needed to be scheduled weeks to months in advance. The same is true for your move.

If you’re moving into a newly constructed home, you may have meetings and deadlines with contractors, decorators, and landscapers and you may need to arrange deliveries and installation for flooring, appliances, furniture, and utility hookups. A separate project calendar can help you to easily identify deadlines and see conflicts between multiple contractors and what needs to happen to reach all the goals between various projects. A general contractor may provide you with a calendar or schedule if they are overseeing the project and can help guide you as you make decisions for what you will need to accomplish. This schedule can also guide you as you evaluate your current home and what you will need to do to prepare before your move.

A move into a pre-existing home can also benefit from a calendar to keep you on track. You may have fewer meetings to choose your new home’s decor or furnishings, but you will still need to coordinate preparations in your old home and schedule when utilities will cease at the old home and be installed in the new home, delivery of any new furniture and packing and moving dates.

You’ll need to schedule when you’d like to move or will need to be out of the house. If you can move a few days before the house transfers to the new owners this will give you time to do a final cleaning and have extra time to remove items you are donating or selling. It will allow you to focus on getting your new home in order first. You won’t feel as rushed on moving day, as you’ll still have time to go back to clean and you’ll still have a way to remove items that you may decide you no longer want after you’ve moved into your new home.

Make lists of all the companies, institutions, physicians, and others you will need to notify of your change of address. Research if you can transfer accounts to your new home for telephone, cable and utilities or if you will need to switch companies based on your new home’s service location. This may impact when you end service at the old house and start it at your new home. Do you need to contact businesses or services that you use at your old house? Do you need to change your address for subscriptions, prescriptions or other delivery services?

Set up goals on your moving calendar and keep lists, so you can easily see what you’ve accomplished, where you are, and where you need to go. It’s best if you can methodically go through each room before moving on to the next. Make lists of what furniture you’d like to move to the new home, which furniture may be sold or donated and then tackle the pieces you’re not sure about. It’s ok to have a “maybe” list as you can reevaluate these items when you have a customized floor plan and know the true dimensions of your new home. You may find that you’ll be able to take some of these items with you as you strategize your furniture placement.

Plan a few months out from your moving date if you will need to downsize for a smaller home. You’ve made a lot of memories over the years and amassed a number of sentimental items and it will take time to evaluate what you’d like to keep and what you will part with. As soon as you’ve made the decision to move, you should start the process to downsize and declutter. This is especially true if you plan to put your current home on the market, as it will need to be in tip top shape to show your home to prospective buyers. Even after your home has sold and is no longer on the market, you may want to take more time to downsize your belongings. But don’t wait until a month or two before the move to start downsizing. Even if you don’t usually have trouble making decisions, this process can be emotionally draining. You’ll want to take your time down the winding path of memory lane and not feel rushed into making decisions that you may later regret. Start early and don’t keep putting things off, because as you delay, your moving date quickly arrives.

Make lists of what you’d like to give to family and friends, then you can easily call them and see if they are interested in any of the items you have set aside for them. Set dates on the calendar for them to pick up any furniture or belongings, so they are out of the way come moving day. Anything they are uninterested in, can then be given to someone else, donated, sold or disposed of and you will free up the space.

If there are things you’re keeping that you can begin to pack now and won’t be needing in the coming months, feel free to do so. These can be holiday decorations, off-season clothing, home décor and other items you can keep in storage up until and a little beyond moving day. This will make the weeks leading up to moving day easier. A lot of people put off packing items until the last minute and then find that other needs take precedence. They are then left with a lot of stress the days before the move when they realize they don’t have time to take care of everything. Do a little each day to reach your goal and not become overwhelmed. Packing these items in advance can also open your eyes to how much you are taking with you. Do you have enough storage space for all the extras you are planning to keep? Or do you need to pare down a little more on the home décor and superfluous holiday decorations. Keep in mind that you may be moving to a new home with smaller or different decorating spaces.

Remember, packing things in advance will require space to store the boxes in your home or garage. Protecting your breakable possessions means more space is taken up with packing paper and bubble wrap, so a few fragile items could take up much more space once packed securely. It may be in your best interest to let the professionals pack your breakables, because not only are they trained in the best way to protect them, but should something be broken during the move, they will not be held responsible for items that have been packed by the homeowner. For your safety, be sure to store your boxes out of the way, so they do not become tripping hazards. Purchasing boxes that are all the same size will allow you to better stack your items and take up less space.

Make a plan, create lists and schedule your calendar to reduce stress as you prepare to move into your new home. Beyond The Fork In The Road can assist you, from the early prep work of organizing, downsizing and packing at your old house, through the moving and unpacking in your new home. We can also assist you with your asset dispositions. We’ll help you develop a customized plan that works for your needs. Contact us at 717-335-8080 for a consultation and see how we can reduce your stress as you transition to a new home.

Lunch and Learn: Learn How to Prepare for a Move and Declutter

Mon, 29 Nov 2021 22:00:03 GMT

Tips for Downsizing!

Sue Gunselman of Smart Moves and Coaching with Sue invited Beyond The Fork In The Road's Relocation Coordinator, Sarah Hamblin to be a guest speaker at her Lunch and Learn "Learn How to Prepare for a Move and to Declutter" scheduled for December 7 at Noon on Sue's Facebook page. You'll be able to see their video interview on December 7, 2021 by visiting: https://www.facebook.com/smartmovesandcoachingwithsue .

They'll dive into how Beyond The Fork In The Road creates a customized floor plan to help clients decide what furniture and belongings can fit into the new home and which items can't fit. You'll learn the "Four Rules for Rightsizing" and how to differentiate the good from the not-so-good when it comes to the worth and the value of your items. They'll describe how Beyond The Fork In The Road researches items to determine which items are valuable for resale. Sarah will share how they assist clients with decluttering and the disposition of their assets. You'll hear a little about Beyond The Fork In The Road's packing and moving process and how quickly a client can be resettled into their new home. You'll also discover why you have a hard time parting with family heirlooms and you'll see what most homeowners have too much of in their homes. Tips and questions to ask yourself when downsizing pictures and clothing will also be a part of the discussion. Lastly, you'll learn about the odd things Beyond The Fork In The Road has uncovered when assisting in a downsize and the advice they would give to homeowners who are preparing for a move by downsizing.

Mark your calendars for this event and then grab a pen and paper and get ready to take notes on December 7, because there is a lot of helpful information in this interview! Share the link to this video interview on December 7, 2021 by visiting: https://www.facebook.com/smartmovesandcoachingwithsue .

Moving Into A New Kitchen

Sun, 28 Nov 2021 11:00:02 GMT

Let us take the stress out of unpacking and resettling your new kitchen.

Beyond The Fork In The Road packs, moves and unpacks your belongings for your transition to a new home. We strive to set up your kitchen, just as you had it in your old home. If you like to have your potholders next to the oven, we’ll put them there. If you like to have your drinking glasses stored in the cabinet upside down, we’ll duplicate your setup in the new home. However with the changes in styles, trends, and advances in new cabinetry, drawers and shelving, we find we must adapt these spaces not only to fit your kitchenware, but to suit your changing needs.

One of the first changes you’ll note is in the hanging positions of your new kitchen cabinets. In newer construction, ceiling heights are often higher than in older homes. This may translate to kitchen cabinets and shelving being at a higher reach than to which you are accustomed. As we age, we may also find that our reaching range and strength are diminished. Have you noticed it’s getting more difficult for you to lower heavier items from upper shelves? Are you struggling to even reach some of your higher shelving after a surgery? Stretching and staining, carrying a step ladder around, and climbing your way to your dishes may be unsafe for you as you age. You may have placed heavy mixing bowls on a shelf above the counter in your old farmhouse, but in the new villa, you may want to place these bowls, heavy serving dishes and appliances in lower cabinets. What changes have you noticed lately in your use of the old kitchen? Are there items you wish you could access that could be moved to a lower or higher location depending on your physical needs? Are there things you no longer use as much that could be eliminated or tucked away for rare occasions? Maybe we can swap their locations in the new kitchen. If you’ve taken the time to evaluate your own kitchen needs, you can let our kitchen coordinator know how to better serve you. Communicating your desires, needs, and concerns will also enable us to unpack your kitchen drawers and cabinets the way you’d like them and in safer ways. Together we can find solutions and our staff can make suggestions that have worked for other clients in the community.

Your new kitchen may also have deeper drawers than your older home, which work very well for keeping your heavier bowls, serving ware, appliances, and pots and pans. Some people choose to have their new kitchen designed with a drawer that has vertical storage dividers for their everyday dishes to rest on their sides, rather than in a stack. This type of system allows them to easily take dishes straight from the dishwasher to the drawer, without a lot of heavy lifting or stretching. This is especially nice if you have weighty Pfaltzgraff dining sets.

In your new kitchen, you may have chosen to have open shelving or glass cabinet doors to showcase your china or pottery. Beyond The Fork In The Road will clean the glass doors and/or shelves so your new display shines bright for all to see. Just let our kitchen coordinator know how you’d like your items placed in these open concept cabinets.

When we unpack your dishes, food, and spices into your new kitchen, we can also work with you to adjust the shelving within the cabinets for easier access or to maximize space. Thankfully, newer kitchen cabinets offer adjustable shelving versus the older stationary shelving of yesterday. Beyond The Fork In The Road will also provide space savers as necessary to add additional storage options within reach. Space savers such as coated metal racks can keep you from stacking all of your plates and bowls onto burdensome piles. You may choose to keep only a few dishes, mugs or bowls on the lower shelves and store the extras out of reach, to be brought down for special gatherings or family meals. Tiered corner space racks also allow us to use as much vertical space between shelves as possible, keeping more of your dishes close at hand. Stepped racks are great for elevating spices and smaller tiered and rotating turntables or lazy susans also allow you to find what you need without a lot of hassle. When you can see what you need, you’ll use it. When it’s hidden in the back of your cabinet, it’s more likely to expire before it’s used or you’ll spend more money buying duplicate items. If you think about it, grocery stores alphabetize the spices on their shelves to help consumers make quick and easy purchases. We’ll alphabetize your spices if desired, so they are quicker to locate when you’re cooking.

You may find that your newly designed kitchen has done away with the round lazy susans in a base corner cabinet. Newer designs exchange this for a kidney-shaped corner lazy susan which can rotate out of the corner and make it effortless to see and access what you are storing. This will save your knees and back as you won’t have as much trouble getting down to what you need on the inside of the rotating shelf. Base cabinets may also contain what’s referred to as an appliance garage, which is a pullout drawer situated far below other shelves or drawers, so you can stow your bulky appliances out of sight and free up precious counter space.

Beyond The Fork In The Road will also organize your kitchen drawers with cutlery trays and baskets as needed. We will neatly arrange everything from your utensils to your junk drawer if desired and will help you find solutions to eliminate counter clutter in your new home. We can also cut shelf paper or shelf liner to fit your new drawers and shelves. Let us know if you’d like us to purchase these items for your new kitchen prior to moving day. To save yourself time and money in the moving process, it’s best if you downsize before we arrive to pack, so we know exactly what is moving to your new home. See our Blog “Preparing Your Kitchen For A Move” for some helpful suggestions. If downsizing your kitchen poses a challenge for you, we do offer sorting as part of your customized moving solution. Contact us at 717-335-8080 for more information. We can also offer solutions for donating, selling, or disposing of your unwanted kitchen items.

If we have access to your new home at the end of our packing day, we’ll transport your kitchen in our company vans to your new home. Then on moving day, our kitchen organizer can begin unpacking and setting up your kitchen while the moving company is loading their trucks with the rest of your furniture and property at your old home. There is a lot of time and planning that goes into arranging your new kitchen, so this earlier unpack is time well spent assisting you in the perfect layout that works for you.

On moving day at your old home, we will pack all of your “final pack” kitchen items, like your breakfast foods, remaining place settings, and coffee maker. Final pack items are those things you need to be comfortable at home the night before and morning of the moving day. When the moving truck is almost finished being loaded with furniture, we will pack the contents of your refrigerator and freezer into our sterilized coolers. These items will be placed on the truck last, so they are first to come off and be moved into your new kitchen. We will arrange like items as we load your refrigerator and freezer taking note as to how your old appliances were stocked. We’ll also sort and organize as we unpack your dry and canned goods and place them in the pantry or cupboards so you’re ready to cook your next meal.

As we unpack, we’ll layout your kitchen as close to the way you had it at your previous home, while also setting it up to be more organized, functional, and safer for you. You are free to tell us how you’d like it set up or leave the job to us. You’re in control of the move and we’re here to serve you. We are happy to assist you in whatever ways will reduce the stress of moving for you and allow you to find your kitchen gadgets in the natural places you’d look for them.

For our clients who are moving into personal care, where meal plans are typically provided, Beyond The Fork In The Road will guide you in taking a place setting or two and the items you will want to have on hand for preparing the occasional snack, cold beverage and cup of coffee or tea, for you and your guests. We will take the same great care in assisting you with these choices, packing, moving and unpacking your kitchenette and minifridge, so you can feel at home in your new suite or apartment.

Contact us at 717-335-8080 to learn more about the customized action plans we offer. We look forward to assisting you in transitioning into your new home and easing the stress of setting up your new kitchen!

Rock, Paper, Scissors… File!

Sat, 02 Oct 2021 13:30:14 GMT

Solutions for cutting the paper clutter that is weighing you down like a rock.

Paper is the one thing that weighs us down like a rock and is hard to cut back on! Every day we go to our mailboxes and find more and more paper, much of it unsolicited! If you’re looking to cut the clutter when it comes to paper and find a better way to organize the paperwork you do need to keep, read on…

One of the easiest things you can do to eliminate the piles of paper is to place a trash can between your mailbox and your counter, table or desk. As you walk in and page through your new mail, you can easily drop off all unsolicited mail and advertisements in the trash before sitting it down.

Next, designate a place where you’ll place all of your bills and keep them separate from the general mail coming in, so they don’t get lost and are easy to find on the days you designate for paying the bills. Of course with today’s technology you can opt to go paperless with some companies and have your bill payments automatically withdrawn from your banking account. Once bills are paid, you can toss out the paperwork or keep the most recent bill if you don’t have important customer service and account numbers written down. If you create a file folder for bills, it can be handy to write each company, account number and customer service number on the file folder, so you always have it when needed. If you want to keep track of your bills over the course of a year, you could jot notes on the folder or a separate piece of paper for how much electricity, gas, water, etc., was used and cost each month, to save on having to keep each month’s bill.

Then, separate out all the coupons or special catalogs for shopping. It’s helpful to use a large clear pocket or envelope to hold your coupon clipper magazine, warehouse club mailings, coupon mailers, etc. Keep this in your car so you have it when you’re out shopping or need a restaurant coupon. Coupon Clipper magazines often include a number of pages devoted to home repair businesses. If you aren’t in the market for those services or don’t frequent certain stores or restaurants in the publication, you can tear out those pages to save space and reduce the weight of your pocket or envelope. If you find that you spend a lot of time clipping coupons, but never using them, it may be time to reevaluate what you usually buy, where you keep your coupons and if it’s really worth the time to clip and sort the coupons. Some stores are now offering coupons on their website or phone applications (apps) so you can just click on your device and save them to your club card or account to be automatically used at the register. More companies are going this route since Covid-19 has impacted customer/cashier interactions.

Many restaurant menus can now be found on the internet. This is helpful as most menus are not dated and it’s hard to know how old the menu is and when the menu has changed or the prices have increased. To save on storing menus at home or in your car, you can take pictures of the menus and keep them on your computer or phone. If you have a favorite or standard order that you place with your favorite restaurant, you can program their phone number into your phone and in the “notes” area, you can add any information you usually need like combo numbers, sub or pizza toppings, etc.

Magazines are another source of paper. If you’ve read the magazine and found an article you’d like to hang onto, just remove it from the magazine and recycle the rest. Then you can file the article under a topic like home décor or home repair, vacation tips, etc. There’s no need to have a collection of magazine ads and articles that don’t interest you. If you have trouble finding time to read your magazines, determine if you can cut back on subscriptions and receive a refund, gift the remaining issues to someone else by changing the address, or schedule time to read them. If you find yourself waiting in the car for a spouse or appointment, you may want to move your unread magazine and book there for a chance to catch up on your reading.

If some of your mail is reminders for scheduled appointments, keep a calendar handy by the phone or refrigerator and make a note of it, or put it by the computer to add to your digital calendar the next time you’re on the computer. Then you can toss the card or place it somewhere else as a reminder. Dental appointments are usually 6 months out, so those reminder cards are helpful in the medicine cabinet to remind you to keep flossing before your next exam!

If you have mail that doesn’t have a home, create one! Some mail can’t be dealt with right away or isn’t for you. Set up a basket, box or system so you, your spouse and other family members can easily tackle the mail coming into the home. Maybe each family member needs their own mail slot, perhaps a box on the counter can serve as a go-to for all new mail coming into the home. Having a system in place can keep the mail from piling up or spreading throughout the house.

If you already find you are surrounded by old paperwork, set aside time in front of the tv or with some music playing in the background to generally sort papers by type or individual. You can quickly sort papers onto piles by person or topic, like husband or wife, medical, financial, receipts, etc., and then go a little deeper to open envelopes and pare down the papers within each one. After you have your separate piles, see if you can eliminate the extra pages and offers from the necessary ones in each stack. Take the time to sort by date and eliminate the items you don’t need from months or years past. Once you know how much you will be keeping, you’ll know better what type of storage system you’ll need.

Accordion files are a great way to separate mail by date, alphabet or name. How would you usually look for your old credit card statement? By the date that it needs to be paid, under the letter C for credit card, under V for Visa? Think through what makes sense for you and create a system that works for you. Accordion files don’t hold much paperwork, so it may be a better solution for you to keep only the necessary papers for the year.

If you need to keep records for longer periods of time, you may want to purchase a filing cabinet. This is very helpful when you need to separate personal and business files, receipts and paperwork. Color-coded hanging file folders and tabbed folders will help you separate out papers and label them for a system that is easy to use. Be sure to give each folder a clear name or heading. Filing multiple things under “Miscellaneous” will not help you find it later when you need it. If a folder is bursting at the seams, it’s time to divide it in half. For example, a folder for medical records may be too large. Maybe you need to separate it by year, by physician, surgery or so forth.

If you have lots of paperwork, such as taxes from previous years, you may want to purchase bankers boxes or filing boxes from an office supply store. These work well as they can be stored on top of one another and labeled with the contents.

When it comes to product manuals and instructions, it’s helpful to cut out and toss the instructions that are in other languages that you can’t read. Some products even have separate booklets or pages for other languages. There’s no sense in keeping paperwork you can’t decipher. Next label a folder or envelope to sort by product or location. For example, you may want to keep all of your manuals for power tools and lawn equipment in one folder located in the garage. Appliances may be divided up by location, such as the laundry room or kitchen. What makes the most sense for your needs? Does it work better for you to keep all the manuals in one place and divide them into separate file folders? Is it better for you to staple receipts and warranties to the manuals or to file them separately? If you’re missing a manual or have one you don’t want to store, search the internet. Many companies and users post manuals online, some of which are even updated after recalls and product improvements.

Find systems that work for you to organize what you want to keep and eliminate the paper flowing into your home. Ask to be removed from mailing lists. Eliminate subscriptions that you no longer value. Go online for your bills, catalogs, menus, manuals and coupons. By cutting back on the paper coming into your home, you’ll save space, time and money, freeing you up to read the books, newspapers and magazines that interest you!

Moving On - Lunch and Learn

Tue, 28 Sep 2021 21:03:39 GMT

Moving On: A Free Lunch and Learn tailored to seniors and their families.

Join us for a free seminar where experts will guide you on:

* Real Estate Transition Coaching - The process of discovering your moving options and educating you on all the aspects of a move. Giving you confidence and peace of mind prior to moving.

* Financing Strategies - Creative financing options on how to purchase a home without the sale of your current home.

* Planning and Managing your Move - Guidance on decluttering, downsizing, space planning, packing, unpacking, and setting in, moving, and preparing your home for sale.

Join Us:

Wednesday, October 20, 2021 from 11:30-1:30 (lunch will be served)

The Brossman Building, 3rd Floor, 124 East Main Street, Ephrata (Free parking in the garage)

RSVP and Register by Wednesday October 13, 2021.

Call 717-475-4300 or visit http://www.smartmoveswithsue.com/contract-us-2/.

Repurpose And Redeem

Tue, 28 Sep 2021 10:00:02 GMT

Before you haul items like furniture to a landfill,

do a quick search on the internet for ideas

on how to repurpose or redeem them.

We all struggle to find homes for items that we may be sentimental about and we want to be sure they are repurposed, wanted, and enjoyed as much as we enjoyed them. Things like your children’s baby furniture, or maybe that vintage furniture that was passed on for generations like a piano or old organ are not accepted at donation centers and charities. Before you look to haul these items to a landfill, do a quick search on the internet.

Today there are creative, talented people who turn old unwanted furniture into pieces of usable, beautiful and even functional art! A quick search online using words like “upcycled” and repurposed” with “crib” or “piano” can open up a world of images and ideas.

Metal cribs can be painted and placed outside to use as raised flower beds. Wooden cribs can be transformed into dog crates, benches, porch swings, children’s craft tables, desks and shelving. The side rails may be hung on the wall to organize craft supplies or as a head rest.

Upright pianos can be given new life as desks, work benches, sewing cabinets, liquor cabinets, bars and wine racks. Baby grand pianos can have the legs removed and be hung on the wall as a bookshelf. Child-sized pianos can be turned into coffee tables or smaller display shelves.

Think about the needs you have and whether you have the desire and skills to upcycle these items for yourself or would need help transforming them. If these are pieces you’re willing to part with, why not search for someone else who can repurpose and redeem them, so they can have an extended life and be enjoyed in a new way.

In Lancaster, PA an online search for repurposed furniture reveals shops like Always Never Done ( www.alwaysneverdone.com ) which also offers classes in chalk painting and Vintage and Co. ( www.vintandco.com ) another store featuring repurposed furniture.

It’s exciting to know that unwanted furniture can find a new use and maybe a new home with just a little work.

Is It Trash?

Sat, 28 Aug 2021 10:00:02 GMT

It's sad to think that charities are spending money, which could be used to help others, on trash removal.

Did you know that charities have to pay to haul away trash from their donors? That's what happens when people donate trash!

The picture above isn't pretty and it's sad to think that charities are spending money, which could be used to help others, on trash removal. So how do you know if what you want to donate is considered usable or trash?

Here are some questions to ask before you donate...

Is what you are donating in need of repair?

Is it missing parts?

Is it ripped or torn?

Is it stained?

Has it stopped working properly?

Would you be ashamed to look the person in the eye who received the item you donated?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, please do the right thing and trash your item at home. Don't pass it on to a charity and force them to throw it out along with their money.

Remember, you want to feel good about what you give away!

Where To Donate

Wed, 28 Jul 2021 10:00:02 GMT

Find a way to give back to your community and feel good about making a difference in your life too.

Before you begin boxing up the items you'd like to donate, consider what lies before you. Do you have a wide variety and lots of items to give away? Or do you have a lot of one type of item?

For the wide variety you may want to think about donating to one of the larger charities who take and use just about everything. These are places like Community Aid ( www.communityaide.org ) and Salvation Army. This will save you from making multiple donation stops around the county.

If you want to donate a large volume of one type of item, then you'll need to locate a charity that focuses on that item. For example, you could donate books to your local library, as discussed in our June 28 blog, or craft supplies to Lancaster Creative Reuse ( www.lancastercreativereuse.org ) or Art of Recycle ( www.artofrecycle.org ). By donating to these specialized centers you can be sure your items are reaching their intended recipients who will appreciate them as you do.

As you look at your donation pile also consider the charities that best suit your passions. Are you a pet lover? Old blankets and towels that may not be resold can be donated to animal shelters like the Humane League ( www.humaneleague.com ). Love working with tools? Habitat for Humanity Restore will accept tools for home and garden.

Find a way to give back to your community and feel good about making a difference in your life too.

Beyond The Fork In The Road supplies our clients with a booklet “Too Much Stuff: The Dilemma of Downsizing” which highlights donation centers, offers contact information and a table that shows you the variety of locations that will accept each type of donation. Contact us today at 717-335-8482 for a consultation.

Too Many Books!?

Wed, 30 Jun 2021 11:30:54 GMT

Downsizing your book collection can make room for new reading adventures in your life and pass on the joy of reading to someone else!

For the readers among us, there can never be too many books. But when it comes to moving your books into a smaller home with limited space, there may just be a few extras that could be donated for another book lover to enjoy.

Sometimes it's best to begin with the books you love and know you could never part with and set those aside to keep. Then look for the books that you would like to pass on to your children, grandchildren or friends and put them on a pile to go to their homes. Make a third pile for the books you can easily part with and then you're left with a smaller set of books to evaluate closer, also known as the "maybes." These may require a little more time as you consider whether or not you would read them again, reference them or want them taking up valuable space in your new home.

One of the first places to consider donating your books is your local library. Then you could visit them or borrow them to read again without them taking up space in your home. While the library may already have a copy on their shelves, they may utilize your donated copy in the county library system, the bookmobile or for book sale fundraisers that support your library.

Other charities also accept books such as:

Community Aid Thrift Store (31 Rohrerstown Rd, Lancaster, PA), Freedom Thrift (114 Rancks Church Road, New Holland, PA), Matthew 25 (48 E.Main Street, Lititz, PA), Purple Heart ( www.purpleheart.org ), Reuzit on State (1054 S.State St. Ephrata, PA), Reuzit of New Holland (707 W. Main St. New Holland, PA),

and the Salvation Army.

You can also check with your local school, as they may hold used book sales as fundraisers, or ask your local church if you have religious books to pass on. If you're moving to a retirement community, check to see if their library is accepting books or if they could use them for a fundraiser.

Downsizing your book collection can make room for new reading adventures in your life and pass on the joy of reading to someone else!

How Much Do You Need?

Fri, 28 May 2021 10:00:03 GMT

When downsizing for a move to a new home,

it's important to dream about what you'd like

your life to be like after the move.

When downsizing for a move to a new home, it's important to dream about what you'd like your life to be like after the move. Do you plan to travel, spend time visiting family, or stay at home more? Would you like to spend less time cleaning and more time doing hobbies? Will you host large groups or small groups?

As you dream, consider what you need to make these dreams a reality. For example, if I want to spend less time cleaning, perhaps I cut back on my knickknack collection and find an enclosed cabinet to keep my pared down favorites dust free. If I usually visit my family because of the grandchildren's needs, then maybe I can take a smaller set of dishes to my new home and simply use decorative paper plates on the occasional holiday when we gather at my new home.

Think about what you need to add or take away from your current home, habits or possessions to make your dream a reality. You can do it! Beyond The Fork In The Road can help you right-size for your new home. Call us at 717-335-8482 for a consultation if you'd like help downsizing, decluttering and organizing prior to your move. We can also help with asset dispostion, relieving more of your stress come moving day.

How To Donate Magazines

Wed, 28 Apr 2021 10:00:02 GMT

After you've enjoyed your magazines consider passing them on to a worthy cause and blessing others with your generosity!

If you have magazines that you'd like to donate, be sure to remove or cross out your name and address for security purposes prior to boxing them up for donating.

Y ou can look to donate your magazines at the following locations...

While many charities don't take magazines, they can be donated to nursing homes, retirement communities, shelters, doctor and dentist offices, and schools for crafts or book sale fundraisers.

Ronald McDonald Houses offer local drop offs and they use magazines as a fundraiser. Donating your magazines is therefore a great way to help families with sick children to receive the necessary lodging to keep their family close to the hospital. You can learn more at RMHC.org.

Local craft stores The Art of Recycle in Ephrata, PA ( www.artofrecycle.org ) and Lancaster Creative Reuse ( www.lancastercreativereuse.org ) in Lancaster, PA also receive magazine donations.

So after you've enjoyed your magazines consider passing them on to a worthy cause and blessing others with your generosity!

Living With Less

Sun, 28 Mar 2021 10:00:01 GMT

Let go of the items that aren’t as important,

so you can free yourself up to have more time

to spend with the people you love.

As you look around you, have you noticed that you’ve grown tired of some of your belongings? Can you see where the dust and cobwebs have covered what once was a treasured or honored object?

The passage of time, gathered experiences, and changes in your passions all signal a new day. You’ve grown, gained wisdom, and have altered your habits and dreams. Take some time and look at all you’ve acquired. You have been blessed with abundance. Are you ready to share some of those blessings with others?

Maybe it’s time to give thanks for things that no longer hold the same importance in your life. Maybe it’s time to take a step toward minimalism. Those items have served a purpose in your life and brought you joy. Now it’s time to give thanks and say goodbye.

Life is short. Hold on to the things that bring you joy and remind you to give thanks. Let go of the items that aren’t as important, so you can free yourself up to have more time to spend with the people you love.

Contact Beyond The Fork In The Road at 717-335-8482 so we can help you downsize for a move and live with less clutter. Then you can live with more purpose in your new home!

Time vs. Treasures

Sun, 28 Feb 2021 11:00:01 GMT

Giving the gift of your time and finding ways to make memories as a family or with friends is much more valuable than a trinket or toy.

Think back over all the years and identify the gifts that meant the most to you. Were they gifts that were homemade by one of your children or a friend? Do you give thanks for the gifts that came at just the right time, fulfilling a need that you had? What about the gifts of time that were offered to you? Quite often we forget to give thanks for the gifts of time that people have given us.

When you remember holidays past, it may be difficult to recall every present that was under the Christmas tree or given to you for your birthday. But it’s often easier to remember a trip spent visiting family, an excursion to a special place, park or monument, or a special day with family or friends.

Today you may find that it’s harder to get together with family or friends. Perhaps you only see each other at birthday parties or the holidays. Instead of buying your loved ones a gift card or another knickknack, consider giving them the gift of your time. With overflowing toy boxes and a busy after-school schedule, the best gift you may be able to give your grandchildren is a sleepover with an outing. Take them to a local farm which offers customers a chance to pick fruits or vegetables. Spend the day sharing about what life was like when you were a child. Share your wisdom, advice and family histories. Schedule a craft day and teach them how to paint, sew or build. Gift them a new deck of cards or a board game and set up a time to play it together. Find ways to teach the next generation how to do the things you enjoy and take some time to learn about what interests them. Give them a coupon or certificate good for a trip to the movies, local museum, zoo or aquarium with you. Explore the world together and see things through the eyes of a child again.

When it comes to friends, set up a game night or an ice cream social. Have a movie night or share your vacation photos some evening. Join a book club, find a senior center with activities, or take a bus trip together. Your local library offers activities for adults and children! Celebrate anniversaries and birthdays at a local restaurant. Grab your lawn chairs and enjoy music or movies in the park. Set up a night at a theater or dinner theater, sporting event or tour the local art galleries or museums. You can even make plans to volunteer together and give the gift of time to those in need.

If your family gathers to celebrate the holidays in December, give the gift of time by making plans to spend time together later in the year or every few months at a local restaurant. Plan a family reunion or family vacation. Find ways to be together when there aren’t a lot of holiday preparations and stress. Plan a picnic at a local park and rent a pavilion so you can save on house cleaning!

Giving the gift of your time and finding ways to make memories as a family or with friends is much more valuable than a trinket or toy. It will last longer, doesn’t need dusting or batteries, and takes up space in your hearts and not your home.

How will you give thanks for the people in your life this year? Will you give them your most valuable gifts of time and love?

How To Prepare Your Clothes And Accessories For A Move

Thu, 28 Jan 2021 11:00:02 GMT

When you are preparing for a move, you may have a lot of questions on what you need to pack versus what Beyond The Fork In The Road’s employees will pack. Today we will discuss clothing so you have a better understanding on how our skilled professionals will handle your clothing and accessories.

Clothing may remain in dresser drawers if the furniture is light enough for the moving company. We will cover your clothing in packing paper to secure it for the move. If the dresser is too heavy, we’ll remove some of the clothing to lighten the load. Removed clothing will be placed in sterilized labeled bins. We will cover the clothes with packing paper labeled with which dresser drawer it came from, so we can unpack the items and place them back into your dressers in the new home. Smaller items in dresser drawers like keepsakes, odds and ends, and paperwork may be removed and placed securely in packing bins, so as to not jamb drawers or come loose in the move. These items will also be labeled and returned to the dressers or night stands during the unpacking process.

Some clients are uncomfortable having others see or handle their undergarments and other personal items. You are free to pack these in a box yourself or you may wish to simply place them in a garment bag within your dresser drawers to unpack later.

Clothing hung in a closet will be packed into wardrobe moving boxes so the clothes may remain on their hangers and be rehung in the new home with fewer wrinkles. Men’s ties will be taken from their hanging positions and gently wrapped in packing paper and placed in a packing bin.

Shoes and belts are packed in packing bins. If the shoes are in their original boxes, they may be packed in cardboard boxes. Purses are packed in packing bins and large bags/luggage may be packed in wardrobe boxes.

When it comes to jewelry, some clients wish to pack and move their own jewelry, as they would their prescriptions. If jewelry is in an open tray within or on top of a dresser, we will seal it with plastic wrap before securing it in a packing bin, so no jewelry comes loose in the bin. Necklaces that are hanging on hooks in the old home may be taped with painter’s tape to packing paper and wrapped to avoid tangling as they move to the new home. When moving a jewelry cupboard or chest, the hanging necklaces are taped to the interior to avoid tangling and drawer contents may be secured with packing paper. The entire jewelry cupboard is then wrapped with plastic wrap to keep drawers and doors closed during the move.

Whatever our team packs for you on packing day, they will unpack for you on the move-in day. Since they know how items were situated or stored in your old home, they will be able to replicate it for you in your new home. For your peace of mind all staff are insured and bonded. There’s no need to stress yourself over packing or unpacking items by yourself, when our skilled professionals can provide you with a smooth transition into your new home.

If you are preparing for a move, contact Beyond The Fork In The Road at 717-335-8080 for a consultation.

Right-Sizing Your Sentimental Collections

Mon, 28 Dec 2020 11:00:04 GMT

Beyond The Fork In The Road can help you to declutter and organize before your move to a new home. Downsizing takes time and with our assistance you can double or triple your efforts!

Beyond The Fork In The Road can help you to declutter and organize before your move to a new home. Downsizing takes time and with our assistance you can double or triple your efforts! While you tackle the tough decision making, we can sort objects, box up items for storage or your new home, pack items for donation, or haul trash out of your old home. We’ll even label the items that you want to give to family members so you can contact each loved one and have them stop by for a visit!

When you’ve held on to things for so long, it can be hard to part with them. Your new home may have smaller rooms, less storage and less wall space for hanging pictures and art work. By starting to downsize now, you can evaluate your true feelings for your property. Looking at your belongings with an eye to downsize may seem overwhelming at first, but it becomes easier as you spend more time prioritizing.

Look through your collection of toy or model cars, mugs, figurines, framed pictures, knickknacks, souvenirs and more. At first glance, they might all seem like “keepers.” Viewing the whole group at once brings back a flood of memories.You’ve had them for years, but a few stand out as your favorites. You remember where you got it, who gave it to you, who was with you and the story that accompanies that treasure. Put those favorites aside. They are the ones you truly value and want to keep. Think about how you will display these items in your new home as well. Does it make sense to keep something that will remain in a box or hidden? If it has a particular use, will you use it for its intended purpose or will it continue to lose its value?

If looking at the remaining items in your collection has you anxious or indecisive, step away. Each time you return to those that are left, you’ll be able to prioritize their rankings. Give thanks for the memories these items bring. If there are unpleasant reminders, consider parting with these items and only keeping the things that bring you true joy. It’s ok to break up sets and keep only the ones that bring you joy. Someone out there is probably looking for the very thing you’re donating or selling to complete their own set or collection. You may not have the space to keep a full collection in your new home, but you can at least keep your favorites. Take pictures of your full set before selling or donating the remainders, so you can continue to remember the joy you had in collecting them over the years.

When downsizing your dining room or kitchen, think about the type of entertaining you will do in the future. Celebrate the good times you’ve had throwing holiday parties, dinners and events. You’ve been blessed to have beautiful china, dishes, serving trays and platters. Your family gathered around large tables that were decorated with fancy tablecloths, ornate floral arrangements and holiday decor. Give thanks for these memories and rediscover your favorites.

Will your new home be able to accomodate a large dining room set or dining table or will you need to downsize or repurpose your furniture? For example, your hutch stores dishes that you no longer use and your buffet has tablecloths that will no longer fit the smaller table for your new dining room. In your new space, you won’t have room for both pieces of furniture. Will you keep the piece with the most storage in the dining room? Can you use the buffet as an entertainment center and sit your flat screen tv on top for better viewing? Once you downsize the furniture’s contents into what you are keeping and let go of what you no longer need, you’ll be able to calculate what furniture is necessary for storage and discover what can be repurposed, sold or donated.

As you assess your serving dishes, table coverings, and dinner sets, think about what size table you will have space for in your new home and what size groups you’d like to host. Has a daughter or son already taken over the larger holiday hosting duties? Perhaps they could use and enjoy the items you are ready to part with. Just keep in mind that party planning and etiquette has changed over the years and larger events often utilize paper and plastic products, so hosts can spend more time with family and friends and less time scrubbing dishes in the kitchen.

If you have a set of dishes or china that you really love, but you don’t need a full set, consider dividing the set in half. You may not want to sell or donate the half you aren’t keeping, but a discussion with family can determine if anyone is interested in accepting half a set for their use until you part with the ones you are keeping. Planning to temporarily divide dishes or even furniture sets is a great way to keep things in the family. You never know when you will one day need to downsize into a personal or memory care home with less space. Making plans in advance for who will receive a bedroom or dining room set can reduce the stress of those decisions when you must quickly move into a smaller space for health reasons and can’t take all of your dressers, night stands, dining chairs, matching dining room pieces, and so forth.

Another way to downsize now, with a mind for future revisions, is to invite your family over and see what they would like to receive now and in the future. Don’t be afraid of this type of discussion as it can be a great time to tell stories and relive fond memories together. You may even learn some new things about your children and grandchildren. You can share family histories and explain the provenance of family heirlooms. Write down some of these stories or make a note to store with the item listing which great, great, grandmother/father or relative made or purchased the item. You may decide to give some things away to your children now, just so you can see them enjoy and value your treasure. If there are items you want to keep with you as you move to your new home, you can always label the item or make a list of which things will eventually be passed on to which child or grandchild. Having these important discussions now can bring joy and laughter to your decision process and can alleviate stress and family feuds over your belongings after you’ve made your final move to heaven. It’s important for everyone involved to remember that in the long run these are just “things” and they aren’t worth fighting over. Family relationships are much more important and more valuable than any knickknack or collection which could rust, break or go missing.

If you’re planning a move and downsizing seems overwhelming to you or you don’t have family or friends available to help you when you need it, Beyond The Fork In The Road would love to come alongside you to help you sort, declutter and organize. It’s much easier and less stressful to start the process now, rather than waiting until packing day to make decisions or realizing on moving day that you’ve brought along more things than your new home can handle.

We’re here to provide the emotional and physical support necessary to ensure a smooth transition to your new home. Allow us to minimize and eliminate unnecessary stress as you prepare for your next chapter. Call Beyond The Fork In The Road at 717-335-8080 so we can assist you through this process.

Preparing Your Kitchen For A Move

Sat, 28 Nov 2020 11:00:02 GMT

Beyond The Fork In The Road’s employees

are trained in the proper way to pack your fragile china, glassware and dishes so they may arrive safely to your new home.

Kitchens are filled with an assortment of objects requiring a diverse set of packing techniques. Beyond The Fork In The Road’s employees are trained in the proper way to pack your fragile china, glassware and dishes so they may arrive safely to your new home.

Drinking glasses and other fragile glassware are placed in foam sleeves for protection before placing them in special segmented moving boxes designed especially for glass. We individually wrap each piece and then unwrap it to place it within your new kitchen cabinets exactly how you'd like it, right side up or upside down.

Our bins are lined with packing paper or bubble wrap on the bottom of the bin for extra cushioning.

Bowls and plates are stacked with layers of paper between them and paper wrapped around the group to keep them secure, before packing them on their edge in a bin. Delicate China dishes are placed in foam sleeves and then wrapped in packing paper before being placed on their edge in the bin. We do not stack these items flat, as that can cause breakage when the moving truck hits a pothole!

Fragile items, like a decorative pitcher or vase, have their handles or neck wrapped with packing paper for added protection. Then they are wrapped in bubble wrap and then again with packing paper before being placed in a bin that has packing paper surrounding the fragile item.

We’ll pack everything from your dishware, to your pantry, to your junk drawer! If necessary, open food containers are sealed with tape or plastic wrap before moving. Knives are secured in packing paper and labeled as ‘sharp” for the move. Drawer organizers, utensil canisters and jars with lids are wrapped in plastic wrap to secure contents or keep lids with their bases.

We recommend you sort through your dry and canned goods and refrigerator to remove expired items prior to the move. Prior to packing day it is also wise to organize and downsize all of your plasticware, leftover containers, and dishware. Reunite all of your lids and containers and decide what you will want to take to your new home. You may find that your new kitchen has cabinets that aren’t as deep so sorting before the move will allow you to fit in all of the items that you regularly use. Newer kitchens sometimes offer deeper drawers, so stacking items like pans and bowls may be an option to fit more in, but then getting to what you need may be a hassle. If stacking pots and pans has bothered you in your old kitchen, consider how downsizing or storing things in a new way can bring you joy in your new kitchen. See what you can pare down in the way of plastic novelty cups, extra glassware, plastic containers, holiday dishes, tins, serving plates, etc. Consider the type of entertaining you will do or not do in the future at your new home and adjust what you will need in your kitchen.

Sort through your hot pads, trivets, dish towels, and placemats and toss those that have stains, burn marks, or holes. You are moving to a new home and will want to use newer and color-coordinated linens to show off your new kitchen to your friends and family.

While downsizing your kitchen, be sure to consider your gadgets and appliances. What do you have that you haven’t used lately. Have you stopped canning or freezing foods? Is there a bread maker or food dehydrator, blender or food processor that you no longer use? Many of us purchase gadgets to make cooking easier, but then seldom use them as we grab our old standards. Simplifying your kitchen before Beyond The Fork In The Road arrives on packing day will speed up your moving process and eliminate the stress of last minute decisions.

On moving day, Beyond The Fork In The Road will pack up the contents of your refrigerator and freezer. Food will be placed in coolers and then moved to your new home for immediate unpacking. Later when your new home has everything in place, you can sit back and relax with your chilled wine or ice cream!

If you are planning to transition to a new home, contact Beyond The Fork In The Road at 717-335-8080 for a consultation or help organizing and downsizing so you can take the worry out of your move!

Customized Floor Plans

Wed, 28 Oct 2020 10:00:02 GMT

One of the services Beyond The Fork In The Road offers our clients is a customized floor plan.

Beyond The Fork In The Road creates customized action plans for each client. You and your family can choose from a variety of services that fit your needs with our detailed consultation.

One of the services Beyond The Fork In The Road offers our clients is a customized floor plan. Space in the new location is assessed, as well as any limitations determined by the community. We will measure your new home and create a magnetic floor plan of the layout. We’ll make notes on the location of cable, phone, electric and switches. We’ll measure the furniture in your current home that you plan to take with you when you move. Then we’ll meet with you to discuss your new floor plan and we’ll provide you with all the magnetic furniture in position, so you have the ability to move your furniture and visualize your new living space prior to making final decisions about what to relocate to your new home.

Planning your new home’s layout provides you with peace of mind as the big day approaches. You’ll know how your new closets compare in size to your old closets. You’ll be able to see just how much space your couch will take up in your new living room and you’ll know where your cable hookup is for your television. You’ll even be able to see if one or two nightstands will fit around your bed. A floor plan helps you to make decisions on what furniture you will keep, what you will want to part with, and what new furniture you may want to purchase, so you have the perfect fit.

Once you’ve decided what furniture is moving to your new home, we’ll tag each piece on packing day with color-coded ribbons that match the colors we’ve tagged on your floor plan. Then on moving day, the movers can quickly locate where your furniture is to be placed in your new home.

A well thought out floor plan also reduces your stress on moving day, as our unpacking team and movers refer to your floor plan and take action, rather than asking you where each piece belongs as it comes into the home. Of course, you’ll be there to supervise the move and you will be able to have the movers position your bed or couch in just the right spot within the room.

Once your furniture is placed where it belongs in your new home, we’ll dust the furniture, clean the glass and mirrors and remove the tags.

The NASMM Code Of Ethics

Mon, 28 Sep 2020 20:02:26 GMT

Beyond The Fork In The Road is a member of the National Association of Senior Move Managers (NASMM).

We abide by the NASMM Code of Ethics. What that means is that our client is the person in transition and we provide services and recommendations based on the needs and concerns of the person in transition.

Even if the client isn't the one paying for our services, their needs will be honored above all other family, caregivers, friends and neighbors, unless a verified Power of Attorney is present and advocating for their needs.

Rest assured as our client, the person in transition, you will be respected and encouraged in your right to be in control and make decisions regarding your move and your belongings.

Your wishes are paramount and we will respect your belongings regardless of their condition or material value.

We will also respect your life experiences and will honor your right to reminisce and reflect on past experiences.

We value the relationship we have with our clients and look forward to serving them in a way that honors and respects them and their belongings throughout the moving process.

If you are planning a move and would like the reassurance of a team that puts your needs first, and provides emotional and physical support during your transition, please call Beyond The Fork In The Road at 717-335-8080 to learn more.

Beyond The Fork In The Road Blog

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Make A Moving Plan

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Before you haul items like furniture to a landfill,

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It's sad to think that charities are spending money, which could be used to help others, on trash removal.

Where To Donate

Find a way to give back to your community and feel good about making a difference in your life too.

Too Many Books!?

Downsizing your book collection can make room for new reading adventures in your life and pass on the joy of reading to someone else!

How Much Do You Need?

When downsizing for a move to a new home,

it's important to dream about what you'd like

﻿ your life to be like after the move.

How To Donate Magazines

After you've enjoyed your magazines consider passing them on to a worthy cause and blessing others with your generosity!

Living With Less

Let go of the items that aren’t as important,

so you can free yourself up to have more time

to spend with the people you love.

Time vs. Treasures

Giving the gift of your time and finding ways to make memories as a family or with friends is much more valuable than a trinket or toy.

How To Prepare Your Clothes And Accessories For A Move

Right-Sizing Your Sentimental Collections

Beyond The Fork In The Road can help you to declutter and organize before your move to a new home. Downsizing takes time and with our assistance you can double or triple your efforts!

Preparing Your Kitchen For A Move

Beyond The Fork In The Road’s employees

﻿ are trained in the proper way to pack your fragile china, glassware and dishes so they may arrive safely to your new home.

Customized Floor Plans

One of the services Beyond The Fork In The Road offers our clients is a customized floor plan.

The NASMM Code Of Ethics

Beyond The Fork In The Road is a member of the National Association of Senior Move Managers (NASMM).

your life to be like after the move.

are trained in the proper way to pack your fragile china, glassware and dishes so they may arrive safely to your new home.