How much does a senior move manager cost?

A Place for Mom puts the national average at $40 to $80 an hour, with whole moves running $1,500 to $5,000. Some managers bill hourly and others quote one package price. Members of the National Association of Specialty & Senior Move Managers give a written estimate before asking for payment, so ask for one.

Do we need a senior move manager or just a junk hauler?

It depends on who's doing the sorting. A move manager plans the new floor plan, sorts with your parent, and arranges movers, sales and donations. A hauler only loads and disposes of what's left. Families who can sort on their own can skip the manager and call a hauler for the last day.

Can the cleanout happen while my parent still lives in the house?

Yes, if you plan it. Mark the rooms and pieces that stay with tape or a list, and have one family member on site to answer questions. Ask the hauler whether the work can be split over two visits, one before the move and one after, so the house is never half-empty for long.

Senior Downsizing Cleanouts in Winston-Salem, NC

Senior move manager: $40 to $80 an hour nationally, and $1,500 to $5,000 for a whole move.
Haul-out time: half a day or more for a full house, with a return visit if it fills more than one truck.
Years in one house: most older adults who move haven't done it in 30, 40 or 50 years, says the senior move managers' trade group.
Charity pickup: free for clean furniture through the local Habitat stores, usually 3 to 5 business days out.

Winston-Salem Junk Co. introduces families to one local hauler for the heavy end of downsizing, which is carrying out everything that isn't going to the new place. The family decides what stays, what goes to relatives and what gets donated. The hauler loads the rest. Ask for the price before anything is moved.

Senior Downsizing Jobs a Hauler Can Take On

Bedroom in an older brick ranch house with labeled moving boxes on the bed, a cedar chest and a half-emptied closet

Moving to assisted living or a smaller home

The new apartment decides what goes. Measure its rooms first, or ask the community for a floor plan, and pick the furniture that fits before anything else moves. Senior move managers draw these plans as part of their service. Once the movers have taken the kept pieces, the hauler clears what's left, which works best on the day after the move, not the day of.

Formal dining room with a large cherry dining table, eight chairs and a lighted china cabinet in a split-level house

Furniture that will not fit

Dining sets for eight, china cabinets, bedroom suites, recliners and the guest room bed rarely make the move. Offer them to family first, then to a charity: the local ReStores pick up clean pieces free but turn down sleeper sofas and entertainment centers, so check donation pickup before you promise anything to a charity. An old piano is its own job; see piano removal.

Photo albums, a shoebox of letters and framed pictures on a kitchen table beside a roll of tape and labeled boxes

Sorting with family from out of town

Families are often spread out, and the trade group for senior move managers lists that among the reasons its profession exists. If siblings live in other states, do a video walk-through of each room, agree on a keep list, and tape tags on what stays. Set papers, photo albums and anything that looks like a will or deed aside in one marked box before the hauler arrives, and ask the crew to hand over anything they find in drawers.

Gloved worker carrying an old wooden kitchen chair down brick porch steps toward a white pickup with another chair in the bed

Why Winston-Salem homeowners call Winston-Salem Junk Co.

Your request goes to a single independent hauler
Hear the all-in figure before anything is carried out
Calling is free; the hauler bills only the job you OK
Mention stairs, a gate code or a hot tub when you call

Before the Hauler Arrives

Medications and documents
Pull out pill bottles, checkbooks, insurance cards, titles and keys, and keep them with you, not in a box in the house.
A keep zone
Clear one room or the garage for everything staying or going to relatives, and tell the crew that room is off limits.
Hazardous leftovers
Old paint, pesticides and propane cylinders aren't junk-truck items; the homepage lists where they go in Forsyth County.
One decision-maker
Name one family member the crew can ask when they find something unexpected.
Access
Leave a key or lockbox code if nobody can be there, and tell the neighbors a truck is coming.

Senior Move Manager, Movers or a Hauler

Senior move manager
Plans the move, draws floor plans, sorts, oversees movers, and arranges estate sales, consignment, donation and waste removal. Billed by the hour or as one package, with a written estimate first.
Movers
Carry the kept furniture to the new home. Some move managers are also movers; others hire them.
Junk hauler
Takes what nobody kept, in one or more truckloads, priced by volume. See the homepage for the load prices.

Two of the three is usually enough: a manager or a free charity pickup for the good furniture, then the hauler last for the rest.

See estate cleanout when the house is being cleared after a death rather than a move.