Making Room for Mom In Los Angeles: How To Survive Parents Moving In

Having an aging parent or two moving in with you is a loving gesture. Just be sure to be prepared--not only with a warm welcome, but also with a way to make compromises in your new living situation.

Choosing a space
Before you carry your dad or mom's suitcases across the threshold, ask plenty of questions about the prospect of moving into your home. Most important is finding which room best suits his or her fancy and still works for you. As you both get involved in the transitional process, help facilitate this step by hiring an interior designer for a consultation to make the chosen space work. Check out Caroline Burke Designs & Associates for its diverse expertise in bathroom remodeling, reupholstery services, and window treatments.

Interior design
Encourage your parents to help decorate their own room. Start by taking them to Living Spaces where every piece of furniture imaginable can be found at an economical price. Hint: Encourage higher seat chairs for more support and a lower-than-standard height bed for easier entry. Employees at this helpful outlet will assist in making the right selection for the right person, so ask questions before making any purchases.

Hours: Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. - 9 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, fron 9 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Move in day
Move in day may be more emotional than imagined, so make a party out of the process. Invite a few friends by to welcome your parent to the neighborhood, while leaving the heavy work for the professionals. Leave Starving Students to the grunt work. It's a reputable organization that has been moving folks for nearly four decades.

Getting organized
After the move-in, consider hiring an organizer to work with your parent on making his or her new space both efficient and exciting. By working together to get everything in the right place, your mom or dad will not only enjoy a fresh start, but he or she will also have made a new friend. Consult Bonnie Freeman, organizer extraordinaire. She will help you pull it altogether in perfect order for only $20 an hour.

Bonnie Freeman
(323) 719-8789.
Contact: thebonster224@gmail.com

Staying busy in the garden
Ask your parent to take part in the landscaping opportunities in their new front or backyard. Pick a patch and assign him or her to that area. Then, after discussing the course of action, take your kin to a great nursery for some starter plants. Visit The Theodore Payne Foundation in Sun Valley. Not only for the variety of native offerings and shared expertise, but also for this not-for-profit's educational programs and fields trips, provided for all ages.

Los Angeles freelance travel writer Jane Lasky, contributes to publications such as Travel + Leisure, Vogue and Esquire. Her weekly sojourning column ran in 40 newspapers for 20 years. Jane is anything but an accidental tourist. Check out her articles on Examiner.com.