Senior Concierge Service in Bend, Oregon Bringing Balance and Sanity to Caregivers.

Bringing Balance and Sanity to Caregivers

The Pew Research Center estimates that 47% American adults aged 40-65 are currently raising a child and supporting one or both parents at the same time.  This so called “Sandwich Generation” is feeling the crunch of supporting a multigenerational family. They face unique challenges in caring for their loved ones and often feel burdened.

The Senior Concierge industry is a new industry that is on the rise. A concierge can help bring balance and sanity back into the lives of caregivers. In the corporate world, concierges are often referred to as personal assistants. A Senior Concierge provides personal assistance to lighten the load of family caregivers by providing a wide arrange of non-medical services. Services range from daily welfare checks and companionship to seniors, help with home management, bill pay, errands, pet care, reminder services and much more.

The concept of “home” is highly significant as we age. All of us perceive home to be a part of our identity. That personal space where things are familiar, we maintain autonomy, independence and a sense of control. Many seniors today are choosing to “age at home” rather than find alternative living situations. Seniors feel secure and have a better quality of life when they have a local concierge available to assist with needs that arise. Sometimes, minor adaptations to the home environment and scheduled concierge assistance can made a huge difference in helping loved ones maintain independence. In addition, a concierge provides a warm human touch for a person who may feel lonely or isolated.

Senior Concierge’s also provide personal services to residents who reside in retirement communities. A concierge is a resource that a resident can use to increase their independence and get scheduled personal assistance to help with day to day necessities. The mission of a senior concierge is to enrich the lives of clients by delivering personal services that allow seniors to maintain an independent, dignified, quality lifestyle for as long as possible.

Life Tree Personal Service LLC, atwww.lifetreepersonalservice.com.

 (Pew Research Center, 2013) http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/files/2013/01/Sandwich_Generation_Report_FINAL_1-29.pdf

Enjoy your collection!

“The more the merrier” may be the case in regard to good friends and great food. But, when it comes to displaying collectibles, more may just look cluttered and prevent you from enjoying your treasures.

Most of us have some type of collection that we display in our homes with pride. These collections can range from rare fresco paintings, music boxes to action figurine collections.

My grandmother became an unwitting collector of porcelain pig figurines much to her amusement. One day in the early 1980’s she came home from a weekend trip with two small pig figurine that she fell in love with and brought home. She showed off these cute piggies to friends and family and had many laughs over their sweet facial expressions.

Grandma was not an easy person to shop for, and the joy that she showed towards these “pigurines” inspired several birthday and Christmas gifts that she received over the next few years. As word began to spread about her interest in piggy themed collectibles  it did not take long before she amassed a large collection of pig inspired nick knacks, hand towels, pictures, clocks and more!

As she filled her curio cabinets and shelves with her new collection, the original figurines were pushed to the back of the display and began to collect dust. Eventually, grandma thanked family and friends for their thoughtfulness, but asked that we refrain from adding to her collection, as she was out of room.

Do we enjoy our collectibles when they become unmanageable?

I have found that we do not! In order to enjoy our collections, whether they are favored pieces of pottery, favored China or our favorite chess pieces from medieval times, we have to be able to see them to appreciate them.

Collections are best enjoyed when favorite pieces are highlighted and clutter is removed. The best way to do this is to pick out your favorite pieces and highlight them in a display. If there are many favorite pieces and the collection is too large to display, how about rotating your display. Carefully pack up your pieces that you wish to display in the future, and store them in an easily accessible place. Plan on rotating your display seasonally, or as often as you prefer.

Caring for your collection 101

Nearly all materials show signs of aging over time. In order to preserve your treasures 

be sure to do the following.

•   Keep collectibles out of direct sunlight
•  Store items away from heat sources
• Control room humidity
•   Protect from dust and oil (includes the oils on our hands that can accumulate from handling)

Most important….Enjoy your collections!