Don’t wait to shed excess belongings, don’t wait to organize your house and certainly don’t wait until it’s time to sell.
For older adults, but all adults alike, the longer you live with clutter, the less time you’ll have to enjoy the space you’re in and the more work you’re kicking down the road.
Real estate agent Cassie Kangas and home organizer Jaclynn Soet are partnering up for a Downsizing Information Talk, Thursday, June 6 at 2 p.m. in the Todd Room of the Victoria Gold Club, 1110 Beach Dr.
The event is designed for seniors but is open to all ages.
“Whether it’s just de-cluttering a home, or if someone needs to move into assisted living, the point is to do this in little bits so it’s not overwhelming,” Kangas said. “The thing that we hear every time after people do downsize is that they wish that they did it earlier.”
READ MORE: Getting a jump on downsizing your home
In her real estate work with Engel and Volkers, Kangas too often visits people who have been in their house for multiple decades, she added.
“It’s common for me to meet seniors who are living in their houses past when they should be,” Kangas said. “In Oak Bay we have people who’ve been in their home way longer than the national average. I’m talking about 30, 40, 50 years in the same home.
“When it comes to moving, they’ve been there so long they don’t know where to start.”
It’s a sign that it’s time to move into something smaller when you’re only using one or two rooms of the house, Kangas noted.
Another situation Kangas has run into, including in Oak Bay, is when a home has become a financial burden and goes without the needed maintenance.
“I come across this quite a bit,” Kangas said. “In extreme cases we see homes that end up in such a state of disrepair that what had been a perfectly good home, ends up being demolished due to the level of neglect, which is unfortunate.”
It’s the first joint seminar for Kangas and Soet. The latter runs a company called Happy Nest and spends her days helping people make sense of their homes in the consumer era, going into homes that aren’t working for people.
Sometimes people aren’t ready to move out of their house but they need to rearrange the way they use the house for mobility reasons.
On the real estate side, Kangas helps people find what they need, and sometimes that means selling and moving into third-party care.
“These are important topic affecting seniors in Oak Bay,” Kangas said.
The event is free, but guests are asked to register ahead by emailing Kangas, cassie.kangas@evcanada.com or by calling 250-589-0368.
reporter@oakbaynews.com
