The emotional toll when we lose a parent is often overwhelming and debilitating. In the midst of grief, the last thing a family wants to add on their plate is the stress and headache that comes along with cleaning out their parent’s home. Sorting through a mix of clutter and keepsakes can become both a sentimental, winding trip down memory lane, and a difficult debate of what to keep and what to sell or donate.
Instead of facing these tough times alone, families entering a time of transition can now add an all- encompassing team on their side to relieve these burdens.
Caring Transitions is the nation’s largest and most trusted total-solutions provider for those needing compassionate care during life’s challenging transitions. With franchises located across the country, they are experts in relocation, downsizing and right-sizing, estate sales and online auctions, and home clean-outs.
Ted and Suzanne Austin are the local owners of Caring Transitions Twin Cities Central. Since 2021, this married couple has been changing lives in Minnesota, providing a much needed one-stop shop, and forming relationships within their community.
“It’s really like moving mountains for people,” Suzanne explained. “They just couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. They couldn’t imagine their way out of their situation and then we do it.”
“We like helping people, and we’ve seen monumental impacts,” added Ted.
“We had one client who had just lost her job. Her brother had been diagnosed with cancer. Her father had to relocate to a memory care facility, and her mother had just passed away,” Suzanne explained.
While these challenges began to pile up, the mounting pile of clutter at her parents’ old home loomed large. The Austins took on the task and began cleaning out the house, while helping to identify old belongings to sell on Caring Transition’s online auction, CTBIDS, to offset costs.
As the clean-out progressed, the family alerted the Austins to a special request: despite looking everywhere throughout the entire house, no one had been able to locate their late mother’s wedding ring.
After several days of excavating through the property, a Caring Transitions team member called Suzanne.
“He said, ‘You’re not going to believe this, but I just found the wedding ring.’ It was found inside a tool bin, in the shed next to the garage. Probably in their safe space,” Suzanne recalled.
The Austins were eager to deliver the news to their client and picked up the phone to announce the treasure had been recovered.
“She immediately burst into tears,” Suzanne recalled. “She told us that date, the moment we called her, was the one-year anniversary of her mother’s death. She had just been processing the day alone, processing not having her mother. To find such a treasure, that still gives us chills. It was amazing.”
For some, it may not be a wedding ring. Yet, most will search for family heirlooms that are cherished not for their value, but for the memories and emotions they hold.
No matter what transition your family is facing, you don’t have to go it alone. There are more than 280 Caring Transitions locations across the country that have the knowledge, experience and compassion to understand how delicate these times can be and to help create a way for you to move forward.
To learn more, visit caringtransitions.com
This article was written in partnership with our friends at Caring Transitions.
This article is featured in the Spring 2023 issue of The Growing Bolder Digital Digest.
