Pat & Dean - Senior Move
Last spring, we had the good fortune to work with Pat and Dean as they transitioned from their lovely home on the lake to a beautiful apartment in a brand-new Senior Community. Where this is often an emotional move for older adults, Pat and Dean were fully looking forward. They were excited about this next leg of their journey and that made this move special.
We met with Pat and Dean originally in February. The Senior Community was scheduled to open in April so that gave us plenty of time to prepare. We created a plan, and God love them, they worked it.
Pat and Dean planned to buy new furniture for their new home. As she ordered, Pat would send Jon photographs and dimensions so he could create floor plans. They donated, sold and gifted what they were not taking. Pat gave regular progress reports. It was a wonderful, I loved it.
The new furniture arrived shortly before the apartment was ready and the community stored it. Moving day went off without a hitch. We packed, loaded, off loaded, grabbed the furniture from storage, and unpacked in about eight hours. Pat and Dean walked into a beautiful apartment. Kitchen and baths were set up, the bed was made and the office was ready.
This move showed the strength of good planning and powerful execution. Pat and Dean made our job easy and a pleasure.
“In the spring of 2019, my husband Dean and I decided to move from our retirement home on Lake Buchanan, where we’d spent 20 wonderful years to a brand-new senior living community in Round Rock. When we mentioned how much “stuff” we would need to do something with, we were told about Leah and Jon Harlig with Essential Next Steps. They are experts in downsizing and senior move management. That referral truly transformed our move from a daunting task to a smooth easy (well, almost easy) transition.
From my first conversation with Leah we hit it off and I knew we’d hire them. They came out to “the lake” for a consultation and started right away measuring furniture and making suggestions. We decided to keep very little of our old furniture and did mostly on-line shopping. Jon did an excellent job placing our old and new furniture on the floor plan.
Leah was especially helpful with suggestions about preserving keepsakes and memories as well as how to dispose of things we couldn’t keep. We had two fun parties, inviting family members to take what they wanted before having a huge garage sale. It was heart-warming to share family history and to see family heirlooms go to the younger generation!
They coordinated with the senior living community staff for a smooth transition. On moving day, they showed up with awesome movers before 8:00 a.m. The four of them packed and loaded the truck in just over two hours and we were at our new home by noon! By mid-afternoon, the furniture was in place, all the boxes were emptied and removed. Everything was set (kitchen was almost identical to the one we left), and the bed was made! Leah and Jon came back the next morning and hung our artwork. They’re a real team, working well together (she eyeballs, he measures.) We were settled and ready to begin our new life while many of our neighbors were still unpacking boxes and looking at unhung paintings!
When our community had a fire three months after we moved in, Leah called immediately to check on us and offer assistance. The community hired Essential Next Steps to coordinate the moves within the building for residents displaced by the fire.
We highly recommend Essential Next Steps. We don’t plan to move again but if we ever have to, Leah and Jon will be our first phone call!”