Ginsberg Moves Seniors Smoothly
Kaye Ginsberg formed Peace of Mind Transitions to help seniors and families ease the stress of moving and downsizing.
After 37 years with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and now with the AJT, , Jaffe’s focus is lifestyle, art, dining, fashion, and community events with emphasis on Jewish movers and shakers.
Few things, alongside divorce and getting fired, are as stressful as moving. Combine that with the emotions of a senior moving out of a sprawling family home with decades of collecting, into an 800-square-foot unit. Having experience with her own mother’s move and studying “graying” demographics, Kaye Ginsberg sought to make the entire process smoother.
She said, “I first learned about senior move managers when my mother moved from her home of 30-plus years to a senior community. While sitting with the marketing director of the community, feeling completely overwhelmed about the entire process, she referred me to a senior move management company. They helped with the entire process, and I was so impressed that I decided to learn more.”
She then completed training with National Association of Senior & Specialty Move Managers and took the plunge. Her original thought was that she would execute with a few friends, but demand grew as the number of senior communities in Atlanta also grew. Peace of Mind Transitions was hatched and grew to five full-time employees and 20 part-timers.
Peace of Mind begins with a complementary home consultation to determine the scope of work. Services include interior design, floor planning, sorting and downsizing prior to the move, packing, managing the moving company, unpacking, organizing and completing setting up the new home, and managing estate disbursement of items that are left. They also do staging, overseeing maintenance or repair of the current home, and going above and beyond by doing things like taking care of pets, and shipping items to out-of-state family.
Ginsberg added, “Every move is different. Some are in the works for several weeks or even months as a new home is being built, some take just a few days, and others are completed in one day. We average about 20-25 jobs per month.” Most of their jobs are local, but, as members of NASMM, they partner with others to help clients who are moving out of or into Atlanta. They have also driven to other locations like Savannah and Highlands, N.C.
Kaye, who has a calm and concerned manner, and understands the nuances, stated, “Moving is a stressful situation for anyone, but, as we age, it becomes even more so. That is because it is often predicated by another stressful situation, such as a change in health or death of a spouse. It can be very emotional. One of the most important things people can do when encouraging someone to downsize or move is to make sure they listen and acknowledge the other person’s feelings. A lot of moving-related anxiety comes down to loss of control; so giving people choices and making sure they are heard is important.”
Starting with a floor plan helps when downsizing to decide what furniture is moving. Kaye recommends thinking outside the box, a favorite chest that was in an entry way can now be used in the bedroom so the client is surrounded by the things they cherish and recognize.
Ginsberg added, “We do work with the Jewish population, we have eight Jewish employees in addition to me. We do our best to have at least one of them on a job with Jewish clients as they understand things like mezuzahs and handling two sets of dishes.”
Some marketing observations from Peace of Mind specialists include: the average age of moving to independent living is 87; Peace of Mind has worked with many clients, especially women, who are in their 90s and just moving to independent living; Peace of Mind are working with more baby boomers who are downsizing to townhomes, condos or apartments; and there are now more people in the U.S. taking care of aging parents than taking care of children.
As background, Ginsberg learned early on about the travails of moving, as her father was in the Air Force, and moved the family every three to four years. After graduating the University of Kansas, she headed to New York City, where she ultimately served as marketing director of Conde Nast “Traveler” magazine. In 1992, she moved with her husband to Atlanta and lived in Johns Creek for 25 years. They since downsized to a townhome in Brookhaven, where they are members of The Temple.
Ginsberg concluded, “We are truly a mission-driven company with strong core values of compassion and service.”
For more information, reach Kaye at 404-862-4271.
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