0:21

Hi there, welcome to the Probate

0:21

Podcast I'm so glad you're here.

0:25

My name is Sherri Lund and I am the host.

0:28

I'm also the founder of

0:28

Willow Wood Solutions.

0:31

It's another company that I started. I help families that are downsizing,

0:33

trying to make decisions for their loved

0:37

ones on care and making probate smoother.

0:41

I'm not an attorney. I do things that attorneys don't do.

0:44

So I meet people in the mess. I help them figure out property problems.

0:49

And then I help them deal with all this stuff. Today, my guest is Elizabeth Strauss

0:51

and she's the founding and co owner of

0:56

the founding member of all organized

0:56

and the co owner of that company.

1:02

We're going to be talking about

1:02

downsizing seniors and all that's

1:06

entailed in that for the family as well

1:06

as the person who's making the move.

1:11

You're going to want to grab your

1:11

favorite beverage and pen and paper

1:14

because we're going to be talking

1:14

about tips and suggestions that you're

1:17

going to want to refer back to later.

1:19

Again, thanks so much for being here. Elizabeth, thanks for taking time

1:21

out of your day to join me here.

1:24

I am so excited to chat with you and

1:24

share your resources with the people

1:30

that are going to be listening. Thanks for being here.

1:33

Thank you so much for having me today, ms. Sherri.

1:35

Let me tell you a little bit about Elizabeth. You're going to want, you're

1:37

going to want to know Elizabeth.

1:41

She's going to be your best friend. Elizabeth Strauss is the co owner

1:42

and founding member of All Organized.

1:47

It's a company that specializes

1:47

in helping seniors go through

1:51

downsizing process with ease.

1:54

Elizabeth began her quest to help people

1:54

in the third grade, and that passion

1:58

for being organized has never faded.

2:01

She graduated in 2009 from Sam Houston

2:01

State University with a bachelors of

2:06

science degree, and she's constantly

2:06

learning and growing both in the business

2:11

realm as well as an entrepreneur.

2:14

Elizabeth is a national parks enthusiast.

2:17

So, when she isn't helping seniors

2:17

downsize, she enjoys hiking and

2:21

exploring different parks for their

2:21

husband, Troy and their daughter Delta.

2:25

She loves every dog ever and she's

2:25

also a fan of llamas and possums.

2:31

Elizabeth is the life of every

2:31

party, but she especially shines

2:35

on a wedding reception dance floor. So welcome my friend Elizabeth.

2:40

You guys are going to have fun

2:40

listening to our conversation, but

2:43

you're also going to walk away with

2:43

some really helpful information.

2:46

Elizabeth again, so glad you're

2:46

here and you took some time out

2:49

of your busy schedule to join me. Well, thank you so much for having

2:51

me on this wonderful podcast today.

2:55

Yeah, you know, I started I

2:55

never wanted to have a podcast.

2:59

I don't know if I told you that,

2:59

but don't really like to be on video

3:02

all of the things, but I'm here

3:02

to help people that are up at 2 in

3:07

the morning, trying to figure out

3:07

what the heck am I supposed to do?

3:10

And why didn't somebody

3:10

tell me about this?

3:13

And why isn't there a book? And I don't have time

3:14

to read a book anyway. So that's why I am here with you to

3:16

help that person at 2 in the morning

3:22

before we get into our topic though. If you and I met, say, on a trail

3:25

at a national park somewhere and

3:30

I said, Elizabeth, tell me

3:30

about you not counting work.

3:34

Who who are you Elizabeth?

3:36

What would you say? That's such a great question.

3:39

I am a very proud mom to an

3:39

almost 3 and a half year old

3:42

little girl named Delta Pearl. She is so much fun when I'm not working.

3:47

I'm spending as much

3:47

time as I can with her.

3:50

I do love a good national park. Some of my favorites have been aisle

3:52

rail all the way up in Michigan.

3:56

I also really love the

3:56

Redwoods out in California.

3:59

And I also love to crochet. I make baby blankets for my friends.

4:03

I'm working on a big one right now

4:03

for an Alzheimer's donation this year.

4:08

The truth is it was supposed to

4:08

be a last year project, but so

4:11

many of my friends had babies. I had baby blankets to give to them.

4:16

And I just, I, I love my dog.

4:19

I love to help people find

4:19

great resources to rescue dogs.

4:23

And I am passionate about

4:23

efficiency in my life.

4:28

And so I really do love it

4:28

outside of having this business.

4:32

I have always loved organizing and really

4:32

focusing on minimalism and just how.

4:38

Our possessions don't define us

4:38

and how having exactly what we

4:43

need really helps grease that wheel

4:43

and helps it move forward easily.

4:46

Love that. Love that. So tell us a little bit about

4:48

this experience in the 3rd grade.

4:52

I'm so curious. I had a friend and I won't say her

4:53

name, but she had many things and

4:58

her room was not always tidy and

4:58

so I would go over and clean up her

5:05

room and pick up the closet and I

5:05

thought we were having the best time.

5:09

And when I met her later in life and told

5:09

her, I had started an organizing business.

5:13

She said, well, that makes sense because

5:13

you would always come over and clean

5:16

up my room and you were just playing.

5:19

She said, you were the only 1 having fun.

5:22

Oh, I just always felt like picking

5:22

up and making a space tidy was just

5:27

fun for everyone and same thing.

5:29

My parents had some friends out in

5:29

California and they had like, like a

5:32

playhouse outside and I went outside

5:32

and I tidied up the whole playhouse and

5:37

again, they reminded me later in life. They're like, you were the

5:39

only one having a great time.

5:41

So you just like your place

5:41

all nice and neat and tidy.

5:45

I just love things where they go. Yeah.

5:48

And so have you, what was the process

5:48

to getting all organized started?

5:53

So exactly like how you had no

5:53

plans and no intentions to start a

5:58

podcast., I never in a million years

5:58

thought I would be a business owner.

6:03

I was working in the corporate world as

6:03

a corporate accountant, and I'm really

6:06

lucky that I got a really terrible boss. At the time, it didn't feel so lucky,

6:08

but I'm so lucky because she is what

6:12

pushed me out of those golden handcuffs

6:12

and out of kind of the corporate nest.

6:16

And at first, I went around

6:16

to every organizing business

6:19

I could find on the internet. And I said, I'm a great organizer.

6:23

I'm a really hard worker. When can I start?

6:26

And all of them told me the same thing,

6:26

like, well, we don't hire other people.

6:29

You just have to go out and

6:29

start your own business.

6:32

And to me, that was crazy. How am I going to start a business?

6:36

Like, where do you even begin with that? And through just many rejections,

6:38

I started an organizing company.

6:43

I went to my CPA who set up an LLC

6:43

for me, and he thankfully pushed

6:48

me in the right direction and said,

6:48

do you have a business banker?

6:51

I said, no, I don't. He introduced me to a fantastic business

6:52

banker who introduced me to the small

6:57

business development center with lone star

6:57

college, who introduced me to networking

7:03

groups that really helped me get my

7:03

feet under because hanging up flyers at

7:06

Starbucks was just not the way to go.

7:09

And things really grew from there.

7:11

And when I went to talk to the business

7:11

coach for the 1st time ever, I said.

7:15

I'm going to organize for 40 hours

7:15

a week at 60 an hour, and I'm

7:19

going to make $100,000 a year. And I am so grateful that that

7:20

business coach metaphorically took

7:23

my hand and said, there, there. That's a terrible idea.

7:27

Let me not make a big mistake.

7:29

And I'm so glad he did because as

7:29

an operation of 1, I would have

7:33

never have gotten off the ground. I would have never have had the right

7:35

people in place to allow this business

7:40

to be the size and the way that it is.

7:42

And so that's a very long story,

7:42

but that's how I got started in

7:46

unintentionally owning a business. Yeah.

7:48

So now you can just look around and I

7:48

mean, it's the beginning of the year,

7:52

you know, when we're recording and you

7:52

just kind of pinch yourself and think

7:56

I can't believe I went from that this.

7:59

Right? And now you've got crews.- We're

7:59

in the Houston area- you have crews

8:03

literally all around the area, right?

8:07

Yeah, from a solopreneur to now

8:07

we're a team of about 30 with

8:11

an actual moving division, which

8:11

is it's very interesting to me.

8:15

I would have never known the

8:15

business started March of 2017.

8:20

so almost 7 years ago now and

8:20

never 7 years ago, would I imagine

8:24

that it would be where it is now. Well, yeah, and half

8:26

of that was a pandemic.

8:29

Like, that should have an impact on on

8:29

someone's growth in their business, too,

8:33

especially what you're doing with seniors. So how did you go for you're not

8:35

just organizing pantries and think

8:39

like a typical organizer might come

8:39

in and you think about organizing

8:43

closets and pantries and such. But you've really specialized

8:45

in the senior industry.

8:48

How did that evolve? Was that part of your plan too?

8:50

Or was that.. That's such a good question.

8:53

In the beginning, my goal was to

8:53

organize the entire state of Texas.

8:57

I wanted to of course, it was Beaumont

8:57

everywhere in between and just organize

9:03

every house and restore function. And again, in the beginning,

9:06

it was just me and the company.

9:08

Fun fact was actually called be

9:08

organized like a little Bumblebee.

9:12

The biggest setbacks in my life

9:12

often lead to the greatest change.

9:16

And so I was about 3 months into

9:16

business and Harvey hit and I lost

9:20

my entire book of business for what

9:20

we now call traditional organizing.

9:25

Like, you said, those closets, pantries,

9:25

garages, and it was devastating.

9:29

I went from having a lot to do to

9:29

finding a lot of volunteer work.

9:32

Thankfully, my dad sent me an article

9:32

from the Wall Street Journal about senior

9:37

move management, and I sent it to my

9:37

business, my, my future business partner.

9:42

And I said, hey, what do you think about

9:42

adding these senior specific services?

9:47

Because this has the sustainability,

9:47

that we seem to be lacking with

9:51

just the traditional organizing. And seniors just happened to be

9:54

our favorite, favorite clients

9:57

that we took on in our favorite

9:57

age demographic to work with.

10:01

And she said, yeah, let's

10:01

try a couple senior moves.

10:03

So we quietly just tried a couple

10:03

senior moves where we help someone

10:08

make that big transition from

10:08

their home into a senior community.

10:12

And we did everything for

10:12

them, we made the decisions on

10:16

what they were going to take. We packed the boxes.

10:19

We arranged the movers. We unpacked everything once

10:20

we got to the new space.

10:24

And it turns out that was

10:24

that was just it for us.

10:27

That is what we loved to do so much.

10:30

And from there we will still we love to

10:30

take on a traditional organizing project.

10:34

We love pantries, closets, garages.

10:37

But our heart, our passion, our love

10:37

and 95 percent of our business is that

10:41

senior move where we are helping the

10:41

senior and their family walk through

10:45

the entire downsizing process with

10:45

just so much efficiency and so much

10:51

empathy, because without those 2 things

10:51

together, it's not a successful move.

10:55

Correct. And we were talking earlier about a

10:56

situation where we're helping a family and

11:00

it just feels like they're being carried

11:00

because it's such a big emotional thing.

11:04

It's emotional for the person

11:04

who's needing to make the move.

11:07

They they're leaving a place where so many

11:07

memories have been made, you know, tears.

11:12

Angry words and restitution and, you

11:12

know, all of those things that take

11:18

place around a kitchen table and so

11:18

many memories and then to willingly

11:22

put yourself in that position as an

11:22

outsider, but also as a supporter.

11:27

It's just such a speak so much

11:27

about your heart, elizabeth.

11:30

I love how you really want to care for

11:30

those people and the elderly people,

11:36

but also their family members and

11:36

help them through this trying time.

11:39

Who is your typical client? Would you say?

11:42

A typical client is a senior couple or

11:42

a, a unfortunately, a widowed senior

11:48

that is needing or wanting to make that

11:48

move from their home into community.

11:53

A want based move is somebody that used

11:53

to have strong social connections, used

11:59

to have lots of people coming over,

11:59

but now the house is getting quiet

12:03

and many of their friends have moved

12:03

on no matter what that looks like.

12:07

And so it's really nice when we can

12:07

help them get plugged into a community

12:13

that has a great lifestyle that fits

12:13

what they're wanting out of their, you

12:18

know, what we call the golden years. And then there is the need based move

12:21

where sometimes it's been a stroke, a

12:25

fall, a heart attack, a cognitive issue,

12:25

and it's just not safe to remain in that

12:30

home anymore, no matter how much we love

12:30

it and how many memories we've had in it.

12:35

And so we help that person or that person

12:35

and their family make that move into

12:40

either assisted living or memory care.

12:43

And what are some of the challenges

12:43

that you notice families are facing?

12:48

For sure. Sometimes it's the biggest one is people

12:48

just feel overwhelmed when you don't do

12:54

this type of work day in and day out.

12:56

You don't know how many towels, how

12:56

many sheets, how many pots and pans, if

13:01

any, how many dishes do I need to take?

13:04

You have more questions than answers.

13:06

You oftentimes also have more

13:06

questions than resources.

13:09

So like, Oh my gosh, today I need

13:09

to go out and get bubble wrap boxes.

13:13

I haven't booked the mover. I haven't gone in and and

13:16

pre cleaned mom's new place.

13:19

There's just so many things

13:19

that you are trying to juggle

13:23

where this is every day for us. This is assembly line.

13:25

We're checking groceries down the

13:25

register and we're putting in the P.

13:29

L. U. we know exactly what we need to do.

13:32

How much you need to take. We're creating that floor plan.

13:36

So so many times, the number 1 thing

13:36

that hinders hurts or stops people

13:41

is just that overwhelmed feeling. Really big challenge that I feel like

13:43

people face when it is time to do a

13:49

move like this is they are valuing

13:49

their things or their living quarter

13:54

their home over necessary care and

13:54

life prolonging living situations.

14:02

And so I totally get how important

14:02

our things are and our space is, but

14:07

not 1 thing in this world and not

14:07

1 house should Trump a safe living

14:14

environment, and that's sometimes

14:14

where it gets really, really hard.

14:17

Well, I'm not going to move without

14:17

my 35 piece pot and pan set, but

14:23

also I haven't cooked in 25 years.

14:25

That's when we step in. And I think the benefit, another

14:27

challenge is when people work

14:31

with their family, there are

14:31

sometimes there's a lot of friction.

14:34

1 time we were packing up this

14:34

really sweet lady and she had,

14:38

like, about 13 boxes of really dusty

14:38

old jelly jars and I simply said.

14:44

Hey, Mrs. Smith, are we moving these

14:45

13 boxes of dusty jelly jars?

14:49

And she said, oh, no, honey, you

14:49

just throw those in the trash.

14:51

And the daughter in law is over in

14:51

the corner, glaring just daggers

14:55

at me and I pulled her aside later. I said, I am so sorry.

14:58

Were you interested in those boxes

14:58

of dusty jelly jars, and she said,

15:03

no, I have been trying to get my mom

15:03

to get rid of those for the last 7

15:07

moves, and simple question, but we

15:07

fought over it every single time.

15:14

And so just being that neutral

15:14

3rd party, like you said.

15:18

Working with a heart of just

15:18

love and joy and willingness.

15:22

My words aren't loaded, my

15:22

words don't have friction.

15:24

There's no history there. There's no history.

15:27

I'm just wondering, are we going to

15:27

put in 2 boxes of precious Christmas

15:32

ornaments and Christmas decorations? Are we moving 13 old

15:34

boxes of canning jars?

15:37

And again, you haven't canned in 25 years.

15:40

So sometimes 2 family has

15:40

the very best of intentions.

15:44

It family has the very best in their

15:44

heart, but those words are loaded.

15:49

They don't have the resources. They don't have the skills.

15:52

Sometimes family can cause a slowdown

15:52

where, you know, I tease that that

15:57

you can do your own senior move in the

15:57

same way that you can perform your own

16:01

appendectomy, but letting a professional

16:01

handle it is going to be a lot less

16:05

painful from doing your own appendectomy.

16:09

Although I don't recommend it.

16:11

No, that's quite the visual there. Sorry for the 2 am listeners.

16:16

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's that's that's you know, what.

16:19

When you're it's the

16:19

wake up call, isn't it?

16:21

Like, even though I can look at

16:21

those 13 jars that I've moved 7

16:26

times and think, well, of course,

16:26

I'm going to take them with me.

16:28

I've invested in this far. You know, of course, I'm going

16:29

to see it through, but to have

16:32

somebody that is outside that it's

16:32

almost like cold water in the face.

16:37

And you can see it with humor that they're

16:37

not going to mistake as some underhanded

16:42

sarcasm or something like that. You know, like, how much

16:44

do you really need those?

16:47

And it's like, oh, yeah, I can be honest

16:47

with you because you've just disarmed me.

16:51

You just named the

16:51

elephant in the room here.

16:53

And so you give them permission

16:53

to let go of that that thing.

16:56

I love that and only outsiders

16:56

can do something like that.

17:00

You know. Well, and we really try to

17:01

approach every senior move in

17:04

every senior downsize truly.

17:06

And this isn't just an approach. This isn't a tactic.

17:09

We are truly on your team on your side.

17:11

You either need to make this move,

17:11

or you want to make this move.

17:15

We want to make this happen for you. We want to do this where you can

17:17

live comfortably in this space.

17:20

So we're on the same team. We're not saying, oh,

17:22

just get rid of that. We'll take a moment and acknowledge why.

17:26

It's hard to let go of. Yes.

17:28

I love that and it is yeah, you

17:28

don't rush your people and you

17:32

although you do want to be efficient. And so you've told me some stories

17:34

where they're kind of dragging

17:37

their feet and you've needed to

17:37

come in and help them move along.

17:40

But, but that's done in love too.

17:42

And even though you're encouraging

17:42

that forward movement, that's

17:46

also what they want and you're

17:46

just making it more real for them,

17:50

giving them an opportunity for that. Let's talk about how to plan

17:53

financially for what your services

17:57

are and the actual downsizing. And I think maybe before

17:59

we get into that topic.

18:01

You mentioned floor plans a

18:01

while ago in 1 of your answers.

18:05

Describe what your services are.

18:08

It's not just coming in and

18:08

packing things up, but you've

18:11

mentioned several things here. Let's just encapsulate that into 1.

18:14

A little blurb here and talk about that.

18:17

Absolutely. So we're a full service

18:18

turnkey downsizing company.

18:22

So what that looks like

18:22

is we're going to come in.

18:25

We're going to measure every piece of

18:25

furniture and then we're going to go

18:28

into your new space and measure every

18:28

wall window note, outlets, lights,

18:32

which is cable outlets and we're going

18:32

to set up a custom floor plan so that

18:36

you have a visual aid and you can see

18:36

where your furniture is going to fit.

18:41

But we're also going to note spaces,

18:41

like, in between a couch and a coffee

18:45

table so that, you know, that there's

18:45

not only room for those items that

18:48

there's room for you because so many

18:48

people can move in all of their items.

18:52

But then they forget that there's not space for them. So we'll do a custom floor plan.

18:57

Then we come in and we

18:57

do a high level pack up.

18:59

Oh, I do want to take one back step. I apologize.

19:02

When we're measuring the furniture, that's

19:02

when we're also doing your consultations.

19:05

And that's twofold. We need to put eyes on the project

19:07

to see how full are the cupboards?

19:10

How full is the attic? How full is the garage?

19:13

What are we really looking at? What are we moving?

19:15

But also it gives us a chance to give

19:15

you a fair estimate of price because

19:19

every project is extremely different.

19:22

And a good example is in one week, I've

19:22

gone from clearing out a hoarding 1

19:26

bedroom, 1 bathroom off the 3rd floor

19:26

in Katy to unpacking a CEO's closet of

19:32

a tech company here in the woodlands. And so every project is different.

19:36

So every project has a different price.

19:38

Once we send over that quote, you get to

19:38

take a look, you get to kick the tires.

19:42

We offer a high level pack up,

19:42

and that's where we're packing the

19:45

right things, not all of the things. So that's where we're having

19:47

those high level conversations and

19:50

we're not just packing the items. We're making decisions on

19:51

what are we going to do with

19:53

the items that aren't moving? Is it going to family,

19:55

consignment, donation?

19:58

Unfortunately, again, in some

19:58

hoarding situations, are we backing

20:01

up a 40 cubic yard dumpster? Once we have all of the items packed,

20:03

we're going to be able to move you

20:06

into your new space with our movers. And then we will do what we call a

20:09

complete new home setup, where we're

20:12

hanging up art, putting sheets on the bed,

20:12

toilet paper in the bathroom, plugging

20:15

in your coffee maker, making sure your

20:15

favorite coffee cup is right up front.

20:19

So it's the first one you grab

20:19

your next morning at home.

20:21

And then once we have you all situated

20:21

in your new space, if we need to, we'll

20:26

go and do a house clear at the end. So that means we can either get the house

20:27

staged in accordance with your realtor,

20:32

or we can get the whole house cleared

20:32

out if it's sold, or if the realtor

20:35

advises that we need to do a house clear. And then we just hand you the

20:37

keys and you're good to go.

20:40

We really like to think

20:40

of it as a 1 stop shop.

20:43

Yeah. So how can a family kind of figure out

20:43

how to budget for this ahead of time?

20:50

For sure. That's that's such a good question.

20:53

And again, every move is

20:53

different, but average senior move.

20:58

I really hate to throw out a price,

20:58

but it's about 6, 000 dollars.

21:03

And how you budget for that is up to

21:03

you, but typically, if there is equity

21:07

left in the home, that's usually

21:07

enough to reimburse the person that has

21:12

paid for the move or to pay yourself

21:12

back after you've paid for the move.

21:16

Right, sure. What are some things that families

21:17

might want to consider, like, do

21:20

they need to clean out the hoarder

21:20

house before you guys come in?

21:23

Like, give us an idea of what some

21:23

things they might need to think about.

21:27

Some really good considerations

21:27

for, you know, when you're

21:30

thinking about a downsize is

21:30

number one, your parents safety.

21:34

Are they safe in this home? Are they starting to have

21:36

lots of trips and falls?

21:38

Is that something that can be eliminated

21:38

by removing carpets and rugs or no matter

21:43

how many carpets and rugs you remove,

21:43

it's not going to be a safe situation.

21:47

Right. Is this something where they could

21:48

stay in their home a little bit longer

21:51

if you had companion care come in?

21:53

Are you aware of what companion care is?

21:56

They're a non medical service and team

21:56

that can come in and cook meals, take

22:00

your parents to doctor's appointments. But again, even with that service,

22:02

is that a safe environment

22:05

for your parents to be in? If you're overwhelmed at where

22:07

to start looking for places to

22:10

take mom and dad, a great service

22:10

to look for is a senior locator.

22:14

They're going to sit down with

22:14

you and address what level

22:18

of care do your parents need? Look at your budget.

22:20

How much do they have to live in

22:20

a place like this for how long?

22:24

What are some other options? Can they get you some

22:26

VA or other benefits?

22:28

There's a lot to consider when you are

22:28

looking at staying in a home versus

22:34

moving into a community, but also

22:34

what I would really encourage people

22:38

to do is just go to a community. They have come so far from even

22:40

when I was a young child and I had

22:43

a grandfather in a nursing home. There are still some skilled

22:46

nursing, which is more of a respite

22:49

rehab place where you're, you're

22:49

too well for the hospital, but

22:52

you're too unwell to go home. Those do have a little bit of a

22:54

nursing home feel, but they're

22:57

very short stay, but go and look

22:57

at some communities right now.

23:01

Go and look at an independent

23:01

living community and assisted living

23:04

community, a memory care community. Because essentially nowadays they

23:07

are like cruise ships on land.

23:10

They are amazing. They have so many age

23:12

appropriate engaging activities.

23:17

Usually the seniors there are so

23:17

warm and welcoming to new residents.

23:21

But just don't let the unknown hold

23:21

you back You know, the phrase goes like

23:28

the, the hell you know is sometimes more

23:28

comfortable than the heaven that could be.

23:33

I'm absolutely butchering that phrase,

23:33

but don't let the unknown or what, you

23:38

know, of senior care from 30-40 years ago

23:38

to stop you in your tracks from helping

23:44

someone to live in a more appropriate, a

23:44

more nutritious, a more careful situation.

23:51

Yeah, yeah. Love that boy.

23:54

That was loaded right there. That was. So much good stuff.

23:57

Well, thank you. I'm just, I'm so passionate

23:58

about seniors being in a

24:02

community when it is a good fit. Because when they're in a community,

24:04

they're plugged into other people.

24:08

They have those strong social bonds

24:08

and those strong social connections.

24:11

And that really is the key to

24:11

happiness and healthier, longer life.

24:16

And again, I know how

24:16

wonderful your home is.

24:19

My home right now is so special because

24:19

this is where I brought my baby home.

24:23

I sometimes feel sad when I

24:23

think about, like, we're not

24:25

going to live here forever. But also, isn't that the beauty that

24:27

we get to experience something new and

24:32

experience a change and experience the

24:32

good things that come with that change to.

24:36

And so my passion really is just in

24:36

helping seniors have a fulfilled life.

24:41

Yeah, and just imagine to what the

24:41

adult daughter or the adult son who

24:47

is just in agony over this decision.

24:50

And is mom going to be happy? Is dad going to agree to this?

24:53

You know, when they get in there,

24:53

imagine the relief that that person

24:57

feels knowing that they're cared for

24:57

and if they fall, you know, they're

25:01

going to be tended to quickly and, yeah.

25:05

Yeah, in the communities, people

25:05

have life alerts, they have

25:10

AIDS coming in to check on them. You're just.

25:13

You're absolutely right. It's not just a benefit to the senior.

25:16

It's absolutely a benefit

25:16

to their adult children.

25:19

They're not having to run home on their

25:19

lunch break to make mom and dad lunch and

25:23

make sure that they're not sitting in a

25:23

mess and that they haven't wandered off.

25:27

And you're not saying, like,

25:27

hey, neighbor, I just have to

25:29

run to the store really quick. Could you make sure that my mom

25:30

doesn't walk out the front door?

25:33

Yes. The relief that comes to

25:33

everyone when people are.

25:37

Yeah, yeah, because they're always

25:37

on high alert and, you know,

25:42

even if they're at the soccer

25:42

game practice or at the Christmas

25:45

party or whatever it is, they're,

25:45

they're in the back of their mind.

25:49

how is that? How is that?

25:51

And yeah. You know, when, when we visited before

25:52

several times, you made the comment

25:57

something around work worth doing.

26:01

Yeah, work hard at what's worth doing. Okay, talk about because I've heard

26:03

you say that I bet 3 or 4 times.

26:07

Can you talk about that a little bit

26:07

and why that's so important to you?

26:11

I can. Yeah. When I was in the corporate world, I paid

26:12

a lot of invoices for things like dimethyl

26:18

disulfide and poly alpha all offense

26:18

and normal alpha all offense and every

26:21

day I felt like I checked myself into a

26:21

gray prison cubicle for 9 hours a day.

26:26

And feeling the sunlight on my face

26:26

when I walked out of that job, I

26:30

just, I was like, I don't know how

26:30

many more years I have of this in me.

26:34

It just. It was a job and I knew that when

26:35

I was ready to leave, I needed

26:39

to do something that was really

26:39

going to help other people.

26:42

Now, I'm sure paying the, the K resin

26:42

invoices was very helpful to someone.

26:47

But it just, it felt so singular, and

26:47

I felt like I was helping a corporation

26:52

make millions and millions of dollars.

26:55

And I felt like women were really

26:55

underrepresented in the corporate world.

26:59

And again, I had no intention of

26:59

stepping into a leadership position.

27:02

I really had intention

27:02

of helping other people.

27:05

And this work of helping someone get

27:05

plugged into a community or, like

27:10

you said, seeing the relief on a

27:10

daughter's face when we get mom out

27:14

of a very large home into a manageable

27:14

apartment where she's going to have

27:20

someone that's going to check on her

27:20

and meals are being made and medication

27:24

is being monitored that is hard work.

27:27

It's, you know, I'm lifting 30

27:27

to 40 pound boxes this summer.

27:31

I helped on a barn clear out

27:31

when it was 115 degrees outside.

27:35

I did not look like how I

27:35

look and it's hard work.

27:38

And I was crawling in and out

27:38

of that 40 cubic yard dumpster.

27:42

I was working hard at

27:42

the work worth doing.

27:45

We were helping this family

27:45

move on, clear out this house.

27:49

We were helping the seniors get

27:49

into the right care environment.

27:53

My, my work hard at work worth doing

27:53

for my team means I can pay my team

27:58

members a livable wage and they can go

27:58

home to their families and do things.

28:03

And that's the hard

28:03

work that's worth doing.

28:06

Yeah. So Good. Well, thank you.

28:10

How do family dynamics play into this when

28:10

you there's it's such an emotional time

28:17

and some people don't want mom and dad. They don't want to give up the house.

28:20

They don't want to sell the house

28:20

to pay for care or whatever.

28:22

I mean, maybe they do, but they

28:22

don't, you know, it's just.

28:26

Emotions are freaky and they're

28:26

convoluted and messy and they

28:30

don't bring out the best in us. And so you put yourself in

28:33

the middle and I do too.

28:36

We meet people at the worst of

28:36

times to help them get to a better

28:40

place and we really shine at that.

28:43

And so talk about some of the things

28:43

that you see, and maybe some suggestions

28:48

that if there are some strains in some

28:48

relationships, some of the things that

28:53

you might have noticed and how people

28:53

have been able to get through that, or how

28:57

maybe you've helped them get through that. For sure.

29:00

Well, personally, in number one, I

29:00

would remind everybody right here,

29:03

right now, it's not about you. And I know that sometimes that's really

29:05

hard to hear, but if you don't like

29:10

that couch and they want to move that

29:10

couch into their new place, that's okay.

29:14

Cause that couch isn't about you. That couch is where it's

29:16

comfortable for them to sit.

29:19

That couch is where they sat

29:19

and chatted with their spouse,

29:22

but it's, it's not about you. Same thing with whether you

29:23

want them to live in the home or

29:26

not, is that really about you? Or is it the safe choice for them?

29:30

Well, I don't want to sell the house. Well, if you love that house so much,

29:32

I would suggest maybe you make an offer

29:36

on it when it goes on the market or

29:36

don't put it on the market and give

29:39

that person a fair offer for it and

29:39

you move in if you love the house so

29:43

much, but you can't live in 2 homes.

29:45

You can't have I mean, I guess you can.

29:48

I was going to say you can't

29:48

have 2 dining room sets, but

29:50

I know that's also not true. You absolutely can.

29:53

But keep in mind that this

29:53

journey really isn't about you.

29:57

This journey is about your loved 1. It's about them.

30:00

Moving with things that make them

30:00

feel comfortable into a space

30:04

that feels comfortable to them. My other piece of advice is, you know, as

30:06

much as you can, because again, words can

30:12

be so loaded with family, but, but try and

30:12

check yourself and your ego at the door.

30:19

You're going to have to make compromises

30:19

at the end of the day, as long as that

30:23

senior is safe and living somewhere safe.

30:26

And getting the medical attention

30:26

that is appropriate for them, you've

30:29

done something good, whether you

30:29

like that, they're doing it in their

30:32

gray sweatpants or their super fancy

30:32

church suit with a hat it's your job

30:37

to help them live a comfortable life.

30:40

For sure, yeah, and I would add to that

30:40

the idea of, you know, siblings that

30:45

might have disagreements about the way

30:45

things are happening also to get on the

30:49

same team, find a way to get on the same

30:49

team or the same goal of helping mom

30:54

or dad or both get to where they need

30:54

to go to get the care that they need.

30:59

So as a senior transition specialist,

30:59

I help people unlock the equity in the

31:03

house to pay for services like yours

31:03

and to be able to fund care in memory

31:08

facilities or assisted living communities.

31:10

And they've worked hard for that

31:10

property , you know, maybe they

31:13

wanted to give that to you at

31:13

some point, but now they need it.

31:17

I just am so excited that families have.

31:20

That opportunity, and then the siblings

31:20

aren't having to figure out how to come

31:23

up to fund the care, it's sitting right

31:23

there and and, yes, you would like to

31:28

keep the house for whatever reason, but.

31:31

Also, here's mom and dad, so

31:34

..

31:34

And that that is a big thing and we've

31:38

where it's 2 siblings and a parent and

31:38

and all 3 are trying to be the boss or

31:43

it's 2 siblings and a parent and the

31:43

1 sibling and the parent have kind of

31:47

teamed up over here and the other sibling

31:47

is trying to undermine everything.

31:51

We got to a situation where we had

31:51

to tell an adult sibling, you know,

31:56

You have now left your mom without

31:56

a bed, so we're going to go ahead

32:00

and move a bed back in here for mom. I'm sorry if it's not a bed that

32:02

you would have chosen, but we cannot

32:05

leave this person without a bed today. Sometimes we just have to check what we

32:07

want to make sure that that person is,

32:11

is receiving the care that they need. And in this situation, I

32:13

oftentimes remind people.

32:17

What is the want versus a need? We need to get mom into this community.

32:22

We need to get mom a bed. You want it to look a certain way.

32:26

Which 1 is which 1 is

32:26

going to have it today.

32:29

Right? And what I'm hearing you say that I've

32:30

never actually heard you say, but when

32:33

I'm hearing is that you're an advocate

32:33

for the 1 who's making the move.

32:39

Like you're paying attention to what is

32:39

safe and what is care, what is important.

32:44

Maybe it's not the

32:44

aesthetics of the house.

32:47

Maybe it's not the, the current trend,

32:47

but it's, it's the size of their rear end.

32:52

You know, they're, they've got a nice

32:52

little dent in that couch and who

32:55

cares if it's olive green or whatever. Yeah, so just saying what is so

32:57

and reminding people of what's

33:02

the most important thing being

33:02

an advocate for the mover.

33:05

For families that are sensing the need to

33:05

make that move, having some apprehension,

33:12

don't even know where to start. Do you have some suggestions for them?

33:16

Number 1, either start looking

33:16

at some communities and if

33:20

that feels too overwhelming,

33:20

talk with the senior locator.

33:25

Not knowing is going to be the

33:25

thing that holds you back and

33:28

makes this take the longest. So start.

33:31

Looking at some communities,

33:31

start talking to a senior locator.

33:35

Know what your financial

33:35

power is in this and know.

33:39

You don't have to have, you don't have to

33:39

have a plan B and a plan C, but plan A is

33:45

just start looking at some communities. Now, it doesn't mean while I'm, you know,

33:47

got to go look at some communities to

33:50

throw mom and dad in a home next weekend,

33:50

but start looking at some communities

33:56

and then start having the conversations

33:56

like, Hey, mom and dad, most senior

34:00

communities do not have a formal dining

34:00

room and a formal sitting room, knowing

34:06

that And thinking about these pieces

34:06

that you have, like, this 3 piece city

34:11

and this 8 seater dining room table

34:11

with a matching Hutch and credenza..

34:16

Is there someone in mind that you would

34:16

like this furniture to go to specifically?

34:21

Are you interested in

34:21

consigning some of these pieces?

34:24

Is this something that you would

34:24

like to leave with the home

34:28

for the new owners to enjoy? That's how I got my dining room table.

34:32

We bought a house from a senior couple

34:32

that was doing a downsize and they knew

34:35

it wasn't going to fit in their new

34:35

space and they offered us the dining

34:38

room table and I happily accepted

34:38

and they didn't have to worry about

34:41

getting it to adult nieces and nephews.

34:44

Or putting it in a storage

34:44

to never be seen again.

34:47

Another great thing to do is maybe just

34:47

to start the conversation, hey, you guys

34:52

may be moving to a senior community in

34:52

6 months to a year, are there any areas

34:59

of the home that have felt overwhelming

34:59

that you would like me to help start

35:03

going through with you a crafting room?

35:06

The garage, and attic definitely

35:06

don't work in your attic in August.

35:09

That would be my biggest piece

35:09

of advice, especially if you're

35:12

in the greater Houston area. I don't know about Manitoba.

35:15

And just start having the

35:15

conversations early and often

35:18

they, they can be really awkward. I tease that the only person

35:20

that people want to talk to less

35:23

than me is a funeral director. No 1 really ever wants to talk about

35:25

getting rid of 2 3rds of their..

35:29

Nobody wants to talk about probate either. So I'm in there somewhere with you.

35:34

We're, we're, we're, we're,

35:34

we type for 2nd often.

35:37

I think just depends on

35:37

who's coming at them, but.

35:40

Be gentle in your conversations. These are pieces that they have

35:42

had their whole life, that they've

35:45

spent time, money, and effort

35:45

into keeping and maintaining.

35:49

The worst thing you could tell

35:49

somebody is, Oh, just throw that away.

35:52

It's rusted. Oh, you don't need that. It's just junk.

35:55

How would you want to be

35:55

spoken to during this time?

35:58

What's a kind way to speak

35:58

to somebody, but have the

36:01

conversations early and often.

36:04

And if they shut down in the first

36:04

couple of conversations, ask.

36:08

I can see that you're not ready

36:08

to have this conversation now.

36:11

When might be a good time for

36:11

us to have this conversation?

36:14

Would you be more

36:14

comfortable working with me?

36:17

Or would you be more comfortable

36:17

working with a professional company?

36:20

I know even for my own parents, I would

36:20

abstain from being on their job just

36:26

because there are a lot of big feelings

36:26

about a lot of, a lot of things.

36:30

you know, I was my parents and aunts

36:30

and uncles were, we were all really

36:33

close and they live through the,

36:33

through the Great Depression and

36:37

through World War 2 and all that stuff. And they went from trying to pedal

36:39

tomatoes when everybody had a garden,

36:44

you know, nobody needed to buy tomatoes.

36:46

To being able to have a dining room

36:46

suit and to be able to have, you

36:50

know, a turntable and big speakers

36:50

and the avocado green stuff.

36:57

It was. It was amazing because they had

36:58

nothing and to come that far.

37:02

And so those things are just

37:02

things, but they're not just things

37:06

and our emotions we can't really

37:06

articulate what we're thinking.

37:10

Sometimes we don't even

37:10

understand it ourselves.

37:13

We just are moved and all of

37:13

that stuff comes up when we're

37:16

asking them to get rid of stuff. Yes.

37:20

What would make it easier for them?

37:23

Do they do they need a list? Just start to start.

37:26

So they found a place. They found 2 or 3 places

37:28

of placement agent.

37:30

I strongly recommend working with them.

37:33

Then you've got a place in mind, then what

37:33

then have a consultation with you guys?

37:40

I would definitely start with

37:40

setting a timeline for yourself.

37:43

How can I want to make this move? Am I looking at six weeks?

37:47

Am I looking at six months? Am I six years? Where do I want to do this?

37:51

And even if your plan is six years,

37:51

that's when you really need to start

37:55

to think about your plan B because

37:55

right now I'm fit as a fiddle.

37:59

I may have a brain aneurysm tomorrow. I may have a stroke tomorrow.

38:03

I may fall and break my hip tomorrow.

38:06

So your plan a is to live 6 more years

38:06

in your home, but what's your plan b?

38:10

Where are you going to go? If 6 years is 6 months work on your

38:11

plan B, but then set a timeline.

38:17

Am I 6 weeks out in my 6 months out

38:17

and then definitely call us and do

38:21

a consultation because if we're not

38:21

in a rush to do this, we can offer

38:25

a great service called a prepack

38:25

declutter where we're not opening up

38:28

a single box to put a single item in. We are not making a floor plan, we're

38:30

just lifting a lot of items that

38:36

haven't been used in a long time. That wouldn't make the move anyway.

38:41

And those immediately again to family

38:41

consignment donation and having that

38:46

timeline in mind is going to take

38:46

a lot of pressure off of this move.

38:50

Definitely give us a

38:50

call get a consultation.

38:54

Get an estimate for the job .Sometimes

38:54

communities, especially the independent

38:58

living ones are on wait lists. So make sure that you're on a wait list

39:00

for the apartment or, you know, get

39:04

in and then plan a secondary move when

39:04

the apartment that you want comes up.

39:08

But you know, be proactive and

39:08

now is a great time to repeat my

39:13

1 of my favorite phrases ever,

39:13

which is it's good to let go.

39:17

If somebody starts to compliment

39:17

your placemats, hey, do you

39:20

want these for your house? Now is a great time to throw yourself a

39:22

downsizing party where you invite over

39:26

your friends, your family, your neighbors,

39:26

and you've tagged all of the things that

39:30

you're for sure going to take and you

39:30

throw them a curveball and at the end

39:34

of dinner, you say, hey, great news.

39:36

This is my downsizing party and everybody

39:36

gets to leave with a minimum of 2 items.

39:41

It's going to really help you clear

39:41

out the space with love and good

39:44

intention, and it's going to make it

39:44

really fun instead of very it can be

39:48

sometimes and then you know, start

39:48

conversations early and often if you are

39:53

the senior downsizing about the items

39:53

that you would like to gift to people.

39:57

If it's a giant dining room table, and

39:57

you're just dead set that this is going

40:01

to go to your niece in New York, who's

40:01

living in a 200 square foot apartment.

40:05

Where is it going to be stored? Who's going to pay for storage?

40:08

Is she really, really interested in

40:08

that table or would she be happy with

40:12

your grandmother's cake plate instead? And really just.

40:16

People have the hardest time with

40:16

their emotional or their sentimental

40:20

objects and items and what I would

40:20

like you to do with those things.

40:24

If you know that there's for sure,

40:24

not going to be room, or it's just

40:27

not an appropriate thing for you

40:27

to take is photograph that item.

40:30

Take a picture of it from every

40:30

single angle because pictures

40:33

are basically free these days. And then write a really beautiful

40:35

note about why that object or that

40:39

item meant so much to you, the

40:39

history that you have with it.

40:43

But then also in that note,

40:43

write the intention that you want

40:47

for the new person to have it. So I lost my 13 year old Dalmatian.

40:52

And for the longest time, I could not

40:52

get rid of his leash or his dog dish.

40:56

But every time I would go into my

40:56

closet and the stairs where I had

40:59

shoved those items deeply I would

40:59

get tangled up in the leash or I

41:02

would kick the bull across the floor. And I thought, you know what?

41:05

This just isn't the right way to

41:05

honor this beloved pet of mine.

41:08

And I'd gotten a new dog and he

41:08

couldn't dare walk on that leash and

41:12

he couldn't dare eat out of that bowl. And so my dog was actually

41:14

born on St Patrick's day.

41:16

And so on St Patrick's day, I took

41:16

his bowl to my local vet clinic.

41:21

And I took his leash to the animal

41:21

shelter where I'd gotten my new dog, and

41:24

I had written how much I love that dog,

41:24

what these objects meant to me, how I

41:28

love to hear the kibble tingle into the

41:28

bowl, how I felt so proud to walk this

41:33

beautiful Dalmatian on this very handsome

41:33

leash and, I wish the new owners those

41:39

same love and that same memory and that

41:39

same relationship with their new pet.

41:43

And I hope that these items

41:43

would serve them the way that

41:47

they had served me with my dog. Now is his collar still

41:48

hanging right behind me?

41:51

Absolutely. I will be cremated with me, but it

41:52

made those items and that letting

41:57

go so much easier and so much.

42:00

With so much love. So if you're struggling with the

42:01

emotional pieces, take lots of pictures,

42:05

photograph the note, photograph the

42:05

items, and then let them go with love.

42:10

Yeah. I love that so much. Is there something that if, if

42:12

someone is on the fence, this

42:16

is 1 of my favorite questions. Someone's on the fence and

42:18

they just don't know there, you

42:21

know, we've talked around it. What is something just from your heart

42:22

to them to help the daughter at 2?

42:28

A. M. you know, just speak

42:29

from your heart to hers.

42:31

And what would you say to her? I would say I can see that you're

42:33

stressed out and overwhelmed because

42:36

of how much you love this person. Even if right now, you would

42:38

be willing to trade them for a

42:41

sack of flour and a baby goat. I can see that you're stressed and you're

42:43

concerned because of the deep love that

42:46

you have for this person and ultimately.

42:50

You're making decisions for them out of

42:50

love, but this can be really, really hard.

42:54

So number one, I see you. This is hard. This is difficult, and you're,

42:56

you're doing something really kind

42:59

for someone else, even if they're

42:59

fighting you tooth and nail.

43:02

And number two, continue to engage

43:02

with them in love again, even if you

43:07

would trade them for a sack of flour. And know that they're just not

43:09

seeing this in the same scope that

43:13

you are, and they may not be in the

43:13

same cognitive space that you are.

43:17

And that can be really hard. But there are people out there,

43:18

like, you, like, senior locators,

43:22

like, senior communities. That just want to love you into

43:24

being and into this new relationship.

43:28

And I would also highly recommend a lot

43:28

of communities offer what they call like

43:33

a respite stay where you can try it out.

43:37

So you can tell mom, like, Hey, I

43:37

am not moving you into a community.

43:42

But for one week, let's try in this temp

43:42

stay room and you tell me what you like

43:48

and what you don't like about this and

43:48

just continue to listen and love them no

43:52

matter where they are and, and engage and

43:52

involve as many professionals as you can.

43:59

There are resources and there are people

43:59

out there just to help you at this time.

44:03

Right? Yeah. So it's so fun for me to connect

44:05

with people like you and others

44:09

with that mindset and that heart and

44:09

and to know that we're making such

44:13

a difference in our community with

44:13

people when they're feeling fragile and

44:16

vulnerable and not knowing what to do. That's when they need to find and

44:18

those resources are out there.

44:21

So that's what Elizabeth and I want you to hear. The only thing I was going to just

44:24

add on to the end of that, because

44:27

that was so beautifully said is

44:27

sometimes you just don't know what

44:30

resource you need to be looking for.

44:33

And ask the resource that you

44:33

do know, what other resources

44:37

should I be considering? What don't I know?

44:39

My favorite question to ask people is what

44:39

should I have asked you that I didn't or

44:44

what do you know that I don't so if you're

44:44

that's and that's why I network and that's

44:49

why I love that you're doing this podcast

44:49

because I may not be the right solution.

44:53

I'm not a senior locator. I'm never going to tell you where to live.

44:56

I am not in any way, going to do

44:56

anything with probate, you could

45:00

not pay me enough money to do that. But ask the resources.

45:03

What don't I know? What do I need to know?

45:06

Hey, I'm struggling with this. What's a resource there, but because

45:08

until you step into this senior living

45:13

and this senior assistance arena,

45:13

you don't know all of the resources.

45:18

Yeah, and of course you don't. Why would you?

45:21

You've never been here before. You've had all of the other things in

45:22

life that you've had to figure out and

45:26

you've done beautifully at those things. So this is just a new door that's open

45:27

to you and you're stepping into this.

45:32

I don't know what to do with all this stuff. And that's why Elizabeth and I and others

45:34

are here to give you a little tour and

45:38

help help you get to the other side of it.

45:40

Elizabeth. Is there anything that you feel like

45:41

is in your heart that we have not

45:45

talked about, but you don't want to

45:45

leave this opportunity to speak on

45:50

this platform without saying it, is

45:50

there something that comes to mind?

45:54

Yes, this is how I conclude all of my

45:54

talks to is that we come into this world

45:59

with nothing, we leave with nothing. The last people that got buried with

46:01

their really cool stuff for the Egyptians.

46:05

And we're digging all of that up now. Even in the afterlife,

46:07

you don't get to keep it.

46:10

Our things are just things

46:10

they don't make us who we are.

46:13

We don't get to take any of it with us

46:13

when we go and this gift of either not

46:18

fighting a downsize or managing as much

46:18

as your own downsize as you can is the

46:24

greatest gift that you can leave to the

46:24

generations and the people behind you.

46:28

And it's okay. If you're struggling with hoarding and

46:29

you've passed and you've left a house

46:34

full of things, but there are resources.

46:37

You don't have to do this alone. You don't get to take any of it with you.

46:41

I do think about your family that lived

46:41

through the Great Depression where.

46:45

They literally had nothing and they worked

46:45

their whole life to get those things.

46:49

But even as they exited from this earth,

46:49

they really didn't get to take it with us.

46:53

The only thing that we really,

46:53

really, really get to leave in this

46:57

world is that inheritance money.

46:59

It's not a fancy set of China. It's not beautiful jewelry.

47:03

It's how you treat people. That is the only thing that you really

47:05

get to leave with the people that leave

47:09

before us and the people that will leave

47:09

after us is how did you make them feel?

47:13

How did you treat them? How were you as a person?

47:16

Thank you for that. Yes, how can people get in touch with you?

47:21

The very best way to get in touch with

47:21

us is all of the ways you can or text

47:27

because we know sometimes you are very

47:27

busy doing other things call or Texas.

47:31

The number is 2814606534. We have a great website.

47:35

I say that because I made it myself

47:35

for too many spelling errors, but

47:39

it's www.AllOrganizedPro.com like

47:39

a professional P R O dot com.

47:51

There's a great way to contact

47:51

us on the website or allow us

47:54

to contact you if you so desire.

47:57

And I believe our email is listed

47:57

on there, but that is info I N F

48:01

O at all organized pro dot com.

48:06

And we would just... It would be our greatest life joy and

48:08

honor to be able to take some of the

48:12

overwhelm out of downsizing for you. I love that.

48:16

Those will also be in the show

48:16

notes for people that are driving

48:19

or on the trail somewhere. You can swing back and and get

48:21

those that contact phone number

48:25

and email off of the show notes.

48:27

Elizabeth and I really want our listeners

48:27

to know today that you matter, that We

48:33

think about you, obviously, we don't

48:33

see you in person, but we can imagine

48:37

you and we can put our skill set to

48:37

work on things even before we meet you.

48:43

So that in our conversation your process

48:43

is smooth and as easy and as efficient

48:48

as we can possibly imagine it to be.

48:51

We are creating things for you now, so

48:51

that when you meet us, it will be easier

48:55

for you and your family down the road. There are resources that

48:57

Elizabeth and I have talked about.

49:00

Like us, we can connect you to others.

49:02

So please don't sit on your couch

49:02

at 2 in the morning and feel like

49:06

you have to do it all by yourself. Reach out to 1 of us and we will

49:08

happily help you connect you.

49:12

If you don't use us personally

49:12

to someone who might be the

49:14

next perfect step for you.

49:17

With that, we're going to

49:17

end this episode today.

49:19

Thank you so much. Elizabeth for joining me.

49:21

Thank you. Listeners for joining me and

49:22

we look forward to next time

49:25

when we can be together. Take care.