Michigan winters can be cold, long and lonely, and this can be especially true for older adults. That’s why our team at American House Senior Living Communities in Sterling Heights has put together a list of 5 reasons this is the best time of year to move. Our American House Senior Living Communities team offers a fantastic array of physical activities, social gatherings and outings. In fact, at the Sterling Heights community, we offer “activity bucks” that our residents receive when they participate in activities. The “bucks” can be redeemed at the on-site store.

Whether you get involved in our activities or just enjoy a quiet game of cards with your new friends or having a meal with your neighbors, this is the best time of year to make a move.

5 Reasons This Is The Best Time Of Year To Move

Why should you move into one of our single-story, affordable apartments before the snow starts to blow?

1. You’ll be cozy and settled before the holiday season.
2. You will be all set up to decorate your new place and entertain your friends and loved ones, meet new residents and make new friends to spend long winter days with.
3. The cost of moving may be lower this time of year. You may also have more apartment options this time of year than in the spring.
4. You just don’t want to face another winter being lonely and isolated in your own home.
5. As an incentive to move into American House Sterling Heights before the end of the year, we are offering: $200 off your rent for the first twelve months, and we will also waive our one-time $1,500 community fee!

Cooler days make packing up your household and moving into a new apartment more comfortable than if you were moving in the height of a hot, humid summer. The bright, sunny and comfortable days and nights and the lovely foliage, as well as knowing the holidays are just around the corner, might just be the reasons you were looking for to make a move to a new, no-maintenance (and that means no shoveling this winter!) apartment in Sterling Heights, Michigan.

The crisp weather and bright colors of fall lead to falling leaves, and as homeowners, that means it’s time to get the rakes out and clean up the yard. The gutters will need to be cleaned, air conditioners removed and winterization tasks need to be performed before winter in Michigan arrives. Even if you’re an active adult or Boomer, raking leaves may not be the way you want to spend your free time, right?

Here are even more reasons to consider taking a tour of an American House Senior Living Community near you, moving into one of our lovely apartments and letting us take care of the raking this season!

• If you have a home to sell before you move into one of our communities, this is the best time of year to make any necessary repairs. This is also the time of year when home sales are brisk – before the holidays and winter – and you can take advantage of that.
• If you’ve been wanting a change, moving into a new apartment could be just what you’ve been looking for. There’s no reason to spend another holiday alone, as older adults sometimes do. You can be settled into your apartment and invite friends and family over to celebrate the holidays. If your friends and family don’t live close by, you can enjoy the holidays with the new friends and your new neighbors at Sterling Heights.
• Don’t let the winter chills get to you this year. The apartments at American House Senior Living Communities are cozy and warm. If you spend another winter in your home, you’ll be faced with shoveling your sidewalks and driveways (or paying a contractor, and that can get costly.) Our residents have access to transportation to and from doctors’ appointments and we have shopping trips and fun outings, and that not only makes it safe but makes winter more fun than being stuck in your home.
• If you live alone, winters and the snow and blustery winds can mean the weeks and months can be long and lonely, and isolation can lead to depression. Moving into an American House single-story apartment alleviates concerns for both the resident and their family.
• Moving now means you will be settled and comfortable in your new home. You can decorate your apartment for the holidays and know that you won’t be home alone. When you move before winter, you will have time to meet residents and make new friends to spend the holidays and those long winter days with.

Staying active and involved and living in a maintenance-free apartment will give you more time to enjoy your free time and less time worrying about home repairs and shoveling snow!

Contact an American House Senior Living Community near you and take a tour and also ask us about the benefits of moving into one of our communities this autumn. Imagine spending the holidays in your new home in American House Sterling Heights.

American House was founded in 1979 to enrich the lives of seniors and their loved ones in an environment that fosters independence, compassion, quality services and meaningful relationships. We provide a wide range of senior living options, including independent living, independent living with assistance, memory care services provided by a third party, respite stays and hospice in Dearborn Heights, Farmington Hills, Rochester Hills, Sterling Heights and Westland.

The post 5 Reasons This Is The Best Time Of Year To Move appeared first on American House Senior Living Communities.

If living in a maintenance-free apartment in a senior living community in Michigan that may offer meals, activities, access to medical assistance and the opportunity to make new friends, sounds great, you may need to consider downsizing.

Downsizing is not easy. Downsizing means you are looking at getting rid of items that may not have a practical use any longer, but that have sentimental value (and you cannot discount sentimental value) and it’s sometimes a heart-wrenching experience.

Whether you and your spouse or significant other are downsizing from a large family home into a senior community in Michigan or if you’re moving from an apartment or condo into an American House MI senior community, it will take time and planning.

Prepare To Move Into A Senior Living Community

The transition from your home to a senior community may mean you have to get rid of a lot of your belongings. Give yourself time to go through your belongings, even your furniture, and see decide what you cannot possibly live without. Once you have sorted items into that “pile” then you can go through your other possessions and decide whether you want to:

1. Donate
2. Sell (yard sales are a great way to bring in additional cash)
3. Gift to your children

Here are some tips to help you prepare for your move:

1. Try on all your clothing. If it doesn’t fit, don’t bring it with you. If you haven’t worn it in months or years, then get rid of it. If you have six winter jackets, decide which one or two you wear the most and donate or sell the others. How many pairs of shoes or boots do you need? We understand – it’s easy to buy so many clothes that you don’t wear half of what you have. In fact, it’s been said that people “wear 20% of what they own 80% of the time.”
2. If you touch an item, you need to decide on it. Don’t just set it aside “for later.” Have your piles set up: keep, donate, sell or give as a gift and make the decision immediately.
3. Ask for help. If you have children or grandchildren or siblings or friends ask for their help in sorting your items. It may make it easier to have someone to bounce ideas off of when you’re making a decision on which items to take and which to leave behind.
4. Don’t tell yourself, “I am going to go through all of my stuff today!” Give yourself time to go through it. Give yourself a week or a month or longer. 
5. What items do you own that could be digitized? For example, if you have boxes and albums of photos, you certainly don’t want to get rid of them. You can send them off to a company who will take all your precious photographic memories and digitize them. You can have all the photos put into a “cloud” also known as an online system, or you can get the photos back on a disc. This way, you still have all of your memories, but you don’t have all of the physical photos.
6. Know how much space the maintenance-free apartment or studio you will be renting in one of the six American House MI senior living communities. Once you know the square footage and the physical layout, you can decide which pieces of your furniture will fit and which pieces will even be needed.

Consider addressing these items and having a place for them during your move. Set up a space for items such as:

• Your important paperwork.
• Your prescription medications
• Who will care for your pet during the move? Many of the American House MI communities allow you to bring a small pet with you!
• Keep non-perishable food in an easy-to-get to place during your move so you don’t have to worry about cooking during the move
• Know where your toiletries are so you can easily bathe and brush your teeth when you’ve moved in.

It’s important that you prepare yourself for a gamut of emotions to wash over you when you’re going through the downsizing process. This is natural and therefore you need to give yourself ample time for this process. Moving from a family home into a Michigan senior living community is a major life transition and that’s natural because you’re entering a new phase in your life.

 American House was founded in 1979 to enrich the lives of seniors and their loved ones in an environment that fosters independence, compassion, quality services and meaningful relationships. We provide a wide range of senior living options, including independent living, independent living with assistance, memory care services provided by a third party, respite stays and hospice in Dearborn Heights, Farmington Hills, Rochester Hills, Sterling Heights and Westland.

The post 6 Tips To Prepare To Move Into A Senior Living Community appeared first on American House Senior Living Communities.