Area company specializes in moves for seniors

Moving into a new home can be one of most stressful events in a person’s life.

Suddenly, you’re faced with neverending closets full of things you know you don’t need, but can’t find the heart to get rid of.

After the move, you wish those teetering stacks of boxes had the ability to unpack themselves.

But with the help of a move manager, the transition process doesn’t have to be so overwhelming.

“I had a client on moving day who went to breakfast with her friend, had a pedicure, had her hair done, went to lunch, came back and her whole house was ready. That was her moving day,” said Heidi Kruse, owner of Home to Home Moving Management, a Southern Arizona company that specializes in working with senior citizens.

“This is an emerging market, and a lot of people don’t know that they have the option to call us instead of the movers.”

Move managers do much more than help a client pack the moving van; they essentially act as professional organizers, helping to orchestrate all facets of a relocation.

Kruse handles the downsizing, organizing and packing that precede the initial move, setting up estate sales online through eBay, even working with Realtors to manage home repairs and close out the house. She then settles her clients into their new home, drawing up a space plan before arranging furniture and hanging pictures.

“I want everything to look good. It’s their new home, and I want them to be excited about it.”

She says the physical move is the easy part, and makes up about 25 percent of the total process.

“A huge portion of my business is actually the selection, the downsizing, looking at all the stuff and helping the owner decide if these things are really necessary or not,” said Kruse.

“Who needs tax returns from 20 years ago?”

“I say, Let me handle the minutia; let me handle the details, of packing up the Hummels, of what’s going to go where and how we’re going to execute the move.”

“It’s amazing what a difference this makes to the client.”

Helping people has always been a priority for Kruse, who has worked primarily with non-profit organizations and got her start with the American Cancer Society, where she coordinated a camp for children battling cancer. She later became the Executive Director of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation in Tucson, and was director of the Prime School of Music, a community music school in Tucson, before investing her life’s savings in Home to Home.

She first heard about senior move managers from her mother, who’d read about the burgeoning industry in a newspaper article.

“Before I started this business two years ago, I made a list of all the things I liked to do, and number one on my list was that I like to help people. I also enjoy interior design, and I like solving problems — it was a perfect fit for me.”

Home to Home is a member of the National Association of Senior Move Managers. As a member of the Green Valley-Sahuarita Chamber of Commerce, Kruse plans to work within the community, hiring local moving companies and partnering with area organizations to spread the word about the services available.

Each move is handled on an individualized basis. Some are planned far in advance, and Kruse’s involvement may last as long as a month. Some situations are more time-sensitive. In either case, Kruse says that her client’s safety always comes first.

“It’s difficult getting rid of things we’ve had for so many years — we become emotionally attached, and we try to make it all fit,” she said. “And fitting is one thing, but fitting with safety is another. Once I draw up a space plan, they’ll see, for example, that the King-sized bed they think they need to have just isn’t going to work.”

Kruse once helped a visually-impaired Green Valley couple in their late 70s who, after moving into their new home, were left with a room full of boxes, some that were too heavy to lift without assistance. They could barely find their way through the mess, and “it was completely unsafe,” she said.

“Movers normally don’t help with the unpacking, but our motto is that we’ll never leave a box.”

“When we’re done, the client will be completely moved in, and they’ll feel comfortable in their new environment.”

You can get more information about Home to Home Moving Management by calling 520-529-4524, or by visiting www.movehometohome.com.

jrichardson@gvnews.com | 547-9726