A move is a perfect time to sort through your belongings and let go of what you no longer need, use or love. In essence, its the right time to rightsize. If youre like many seniors who are choosing to simplify your life and move to a smaller space, you may be needing to let go of half or more of your things. That can sound a bit overwhelming, but with the right guidance, you can keep your favorite half and surround yourself with the things that truly bring you joy.To get you off to a good start, we turned to subject matter expert Jeannine Bryant. Shes the owner of Changing Spaces SRS and the author of Ready to Rightsize? A Step-by-step Guide to Your Rightsizing Journey: For Older Adults and Their Loved Ones. She literally wrote the book on the topic, and along with her team of certified senior move managers, Jeannine has helped hundreds of seniors and their families through the downsizing and moving process including some of our residents at Resort Lifestyle Communities. We had the privilege of connecting with Jeannine personally, and she shared some of her best advice on rightsizing. Q: Whats the difference between downsizing and rightsizing?A: Rightsizing is about more than just downsizing. Its finding that perfect place between too much and too little. Its striking a balance and having the right amount of house, and stuff, for your needs and your lifestyle.Q: How should someone begin the process of decluttering? A: Start small! This process will take time. If youre planning a move, we always recommend starting with a floorplan of your new space and measuring your current furniture to help you determine what will fit and what will not. Once you have decided on furniture, you can start sorting out the little stuff.Begin with clothing and kitchen items. Remember to respect the limits of your new space. Bring only the amount of kitchen items that will fit in your new kitchen, and only as many clothes as will fit in your new closet. This is where the power of counting can come in handy. Counting the number of coffee cups, sweaters, and pairs of shoes that you plan to keep can help you keep a healthy perspective. Rather than despairing about the number of items you need to let go of, you focus on how many items you have room to keep. Q: What tends to be the most difficult item to let go of, and whats your best advice? A: Sentimental items can be some of the most difficult to let go of. Glassware and china thats passed down from a parent or grandparent can be a challenge. Oftentimes its not being used, so keeping it is not always practical. If younger family members dont want the items (which is often the case), its okay to release them. You can either sell or donate the items. The best advice when tackling sentimental items is to reframe the way you look at them. Remember that memories and love and stuff are not the same things. Simply letting go of an item that belonged to a loved one will not erase memories of them. Your love for family members cannot be contained in a mere crystal bowl or china teacup. Q: Whats your favorite tip for someone moving into a retirement community like RLC? A: Respect the limits of your space. When downsizing, it can be easy to bemoan the lack of storage space (as it compares to your current living situation), but a much more effective tactic is to reframe the transition. This is an opportunity to let go of anything and everything you dont truly need or use or love. How freeing!   And, when you release those items (either by selling or donating), you are blessing others in your community who can utilize those things that were sitting unused in your former home. Its a win-win!Q: How do you know if youve truly rightsized before a move? A: Youll know youve rightsized when youve released the items that you no longer use and no longer love. When you can look around and realize you have everything you need, plus a few things you truly love and want to display, that is what a rightsized life looks like!   ***Special thanks to Jeannine for sharing her professional advice. If youre interested in her book, Ready to Rightsize? A Step-by-step Guide to Your Rightsizing Journey: For Older Adults and Their Loved Ones, you can order it here.   Were also offering a free download of her Power of Counting worksheet below. This simple tool can be extremely eye-opening as you discover just how much stuff you really have.If youd like to see what a rightsized, resort-style life looks like, let us give you a personal tour of an RLC community near you.

For more information on Aston Gardens at Pelican Marsh, Click Here.Zumba has become one of the most common exercise programs that is available to the masses. More importantly, it has begun to catch the interest of older adults as well. If you are considering signing up for a Zumba program, here is some information that might help you before your session.What Is Zumba?Surprisingly, Zumba is actually not a recent invention. Having been around since the 1990s, it is a dance-based workout program that is heavily based on Latin American dance music and techniques. Its appeal is largely based on the idea that it allows participants to stay active without having to go through the conventional movements associated with workouts and exercise. In other words, it engages the community by creating interest and fun movements.Despite not seeming like a workout routine, it actually works with interval training and resistance training techniques that do help people get fit and stay fit.Benefits of ZumbaThere are many different benefits of Zumba. The most obvious benefit is that it is, at the end of the day, a type of exercise. This helps older adults stay active and get in some physical exercise regularly. More importantly, it can be easily catered towards different physical abilities by matching the moves and effort level to the individuals competence.On top of the workout, Zumba also helps with increasing flexibility and improving cognitive abilities. Maintaining coordination is important to getting better at Zumba and this will help participants maintain optimal levels of brain activity.On top of this, as a dance-based program, music is an essential part of the experience. Moving and interacting with music that appeals to individuals can improve moods and decrease anxiety in the same way that music therapy helps.Zumba is also a social exercise where participants will have to interact with each other. This helps the exercise program to avoid becoming stagnant and will also allow participants to form meaningful friendships with one another. A large number of older adults that live alone will experience social isolation that can affect their mental health. Having accessible Zumba sessions regularly can help to alleviate these concerns and allow people to be part of a community.Some Considerations Before You StartBefore you settle on an instructor, it is important to get a licensed Zumba instructor. This is because regular Zumba can be intense and confusing for first-timers, and it is important to have an instructor that can guide you and modify movements if necessary.Enjoy Senior-Centric Fitness Options at Aston Gardens At Pelican MarshAs we grow older, there is a myth that it is necessary to slow down and become more sedentary. However, just because it is harder to keep up with what we did in our younger days does'nt mean that older adults have to give up on living an active and fulfilling life. This is why it is important to have accessible senior-centric activities and programs to engage older adults.Our team at Aston Gardens At Pelican Marsh achieves this by offering various exclusive senior living programs to meet the unique needs of our residents. Whether it is enjoying community activities or special activities, there are many opportunities to look forward to and live each day with purpose.For more information on our senior living options and the programs offered to our residents, contact us today!

For more information on Home Instead Venice, CLICK HERE.While arthritis is common among older adults, it is not a normal part of aging. Arthritis impacts 54 million adults today, and that number is expected to grow to 78 million by 2040.Over 100 different types of arthritis might affect an aging adult, with osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) being the two most common ones. Any type of arthritis can affect a persons quality of life and ability to live independently, so it pays to talk to your loved ones healthcare provider about possible treatments to improve your relatives health and wellbeing.Common Types of ArthritisOsteoarthritis is very common and results from wear-and-tear on the joints. OA can occur in any joint, but it most often affects the hands and weight-bearing joints such as the knee, hip and spinal joints. OA symptoms often develop slowly and worsen over time.Rheumatoid Arthritis is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks tissue in the joints, causing inflammation.Any type of arthritis causes pain, stiffness and inflammation of the joints. These effects can make it difficult to move around or perform activities of daily living, such as showering and dressing. Severe arthritis even can contribute to falling.Arthritis of any kind benefits from early diagnosis and treatment. Your loved ones healthcare provider may manage this care themselves or may refer you to a specialist.As a caregiver, you also can take steps to help your loved one live with arthritis.Tips for Family caregivers to help manage an older adults arthritis:Listen and be empathetic.Take their concerns seriously and communicate with them to their healthcare provider, especially if there hasnt been a diagnosis and symptoms are present.Keep a journal of symptoms.Family caregivers can help track when and where pain occurs. They can also help to track medications taken, foods eaten and activity or movement. This information can help identify patterns and provide valuable information to healthcare professionals. The Arthritis Foundation has an app that helps track symptoms and patterns.Communicate with healthcare providers.Often multiple healthcare providers care for older adults. The family caregiver can help keep communication consistent among all of them, which helps ensure everyone is on the same page and the person with arthritis is getting the medical care needed.Encourage movement and regular exercise.Seek out exercise or movement classes. The Arthritis Foundation has several great tools to help with this including the Walk with Ease Program and Your Exercise Solution. Even small amounts of movement throughout the day can add up and significantly improve a persons symptoms. Some ideas include laps around the house (indoors and outdoors), chair exercises and stretching. Be sure to consult the older adults healthcare provider before introducing exercise into the routine.Assist with medication and treatment management.Arthritis is often treatable with medication and other remedies. Family caregivers can help ensure the treatment plans are being followed. Below are additional tips for medication management:Ask the pharmacist for an upside-down cap.Use a pill popper device for over-the-counter medications that come in foil packaging.Look into a prepackaged medication management system that has easy to open packaging such as Simple Meds.Assist with a well-balanced diet.For some people, the food they eat can impact their arthritis. Caregivers can prepare arthritis-friendly foods for their aging loved one and encourage them to eat a well-balanced diet. Learn more about arthritis diets.Encourage weight loss if needed.Family caregivers can assist their loved one in managing their weight. Excess weight can cause additional strain on weight-bearing joints such as hips and knees. Reduce body weight if needed and consult with a doctor about weight loss. Even a ten percent reduction can be helpful.Hire professional help.It is important for family caregivers to help their loved one maintain as much independence as possible. For some, it can be helpful to enlist the assistance of a professional. An Occupational Therapist can offer ideas to remain independent and keep as much functionality as possible. Professional home care can assist with tasks that are more challenging due to arthritis such as meal preparation, light housekeeping and medication management.Remain positive.Arthritis symptoms can sometimes cause an older adult to be discouraged by what they can no longer do. Family caregivers should remain positive and keep the focus on what their loved one can still do.Find creative solutions. There are many arthritis-friendly products that can make life easier. Below are some examples of creative solutions for various parts of the daily routine:CookingFoam handles and arthritis-friendly utensils.Sit while chopping and preparing foods to reduce fatigue.Use adaptive cutting boards to stabilize foods.Utilize a crockpot for easy one pot meals.Hire a home care company to assist with advanced meal preparation.For boiling foods, utilize portion control strainers that can be left in the pot while cooking and that drain the water when the strainer is lifted out. This eliminates the need to carry a boiling pot of water to the sink.Dressing and groomingInstall grab bars in shower, bathtub and around the toilet.Toilet seat risers can help reduce the effort needed to sit down and stand up.Automatic dispensers or pumps for grooming products help reduce the need to squeeze bottles.Seek out adaptive grooming products with special grips and handles.Button hooks can help with small buttons or velcro can be used to replace buttons all together.Sock aids and long-handled shoehorns can help with footwear.RecreationCard and game holders can help reduce fatigue while playing.Gripping tools on small items (ex: tennis ball on paint brush) can help maintain independence.Adaptive gardening tools can help make gardening more accessible.Family caregivers play a vital role in helping their aging loved ones cope with the effects of arthritis and maintain their independence at home. Coordinating the older adults medical care, encouraging physical activity and helping with household tasks can help your relative stay safe and well at home despite the challenges of arthritis.

Bringing a one-of-a-kind adventure attraction to Naples this month, Cruise Naples is adding a unique Jet Boat vessel to their line of fleets. Known as ODIN, this jet boat will offer thrill rides that travel up to 50 miles per hour and propels into 360-degree adrenaline turns. More than just speed rides, you can book an eco cruise on ODIN and travel in this smooth and quiet ride along the inner Coastal waterway and Northern 10,000 Islands. Whether you want to ride solo or with a group of up to 23 passengers, ODIN will offer various rides and departure times for a day on the water.Known in the community for their cruises, fishing charters, jet ski & boat rentals, Cruise Naples and their sister company Adventure Naples, has various services that connects visitors to all their outdoor needs! With Cruise Naples, you can enjoy a spectacular sunset, watch dolphins at play and see luxurious waterfront mansions with a sightseeing cruise. Also choose a Wine & Dine Cruise or explore with their weekly Kids Cruise. At Adventure Naples, they book deep sea, calm bay and sunset family fishing trips, party boat charters, wetlands and wildlife watching, boat rentals, Jet Ski rentals and now, jet boat rides.Editors Note: This article was submitted by CRUISE NAPLES, which was founded in 2009 by Captains Lance and Harry Julian, a father and son team. Cruise Naples summarizes five generations of maritime connections. They are located at the corner of 12th Street S. and 6th Avenue S. at Tin City.