Houses are often filled with love - and a lot of stuff. In fact, the average home contains around 300,000 items. Think about all the singular items in the room you’re in right now.
Many of those items are tied to memories. Sorting and moving them is never easy, but it becomes even more complicated, exhausting and emotionally heavy when the transition is prompted by aging, illness, or the loss of a loved one.
That’s where Caring Transitions Cincinnati East steps in. Owner Gina Siegel and her husband launched the franchise after experiencing the loss of both sets of their parents. Today, they’re grateful to help neighboring families navigate similar situations by handling the "stuff" part so the family can focus on care.
While each of their parents’ situations came with its own challenges, it was the process of clearing out Gina's mother's Hyde Park home and estate that made her realize there had to be a better way.
“My mom was a collector who also had three packed storage units. She had Alzheimer’s. And, while I had a wonderful relationship with my parents, the end of my mom’s life was really, really difficult. For her and us,” Gina shares.
Already exhausted from caregiving and grieving, Gina then spent nearly a year—and thousands of dollars—sorting through her mother's belongings, selling some and donating the rest. All of this unfolded while her father’s health was declining and she was raising young children of her own.
Gina knows that having those experiences uniquely prepared her to help other families. She says, “I know what it’s like. There are so many decisions that have to be made and it’s very emotional.”
That’s why she says that emotional support is part of her job. She’s thankful to be able to make the process easier and more streamlined. Gina prides herself in coming up with creative ways to help families honor their loved ones without undue burden.
Gina gives the example of a beloved rocking chair. A family has fond memories of their loved one sitting in it and holding the kids on their lap. But it doesn’t fit in anyone else’s home. Caring Transitions suggests getting a family photo taken with everyone around the chair. The photo becomes the treasure instead of the well-worn chair that takes up a lot of space.
While Caring Transitions puts many items in online auctions with national reach, they also facilitate donations to local nonprofits—something they’re proud to do on behalf of their clients.
“There are so many people in our community that need these things and we’re happy to get those items to people who need them,” Gina says.
Each client family at Caring Transitions receives customized services, from sorting and organizing to estate sales, auctions, donation coordination, and final home clear-outs. They can handle pieces of the process or the entire process. It starts with a free in-home consultation, which can even include a virtual component for out-of-town family members.
“We do this every day. If you’re lucky, you only do it once or twice. We have a lot of expertise and local connections. Our goal is to meet the client’s objective - which can vary a lot,” Gina explains.
For some families, it might be a tight timeline, while for others it might be maximizing sales to cover medical or final expenses. Whatever the reason, Caring Transitions handles the logistics and helps families part with items and estates from a compassionate, third-party perspective.
“We have so much empathy for our clients,” Gina shares.
“Part of what we do is help them come up with solutions that make sense when emotions may be clouding things. Having that outside perspective really lessens the burden. The feedback we get from clients most often is ‘we couldn’t have done it without you’. It feels good to provide the support we wish we had.”
After seven years of helping families through Caring Transitions, Gina now gives presentations on steps everyone can take to get organized before it becomes urgent. The biggest advice? Have the conversations now.
“Ideally, you want to have the conversation at the kitchen table instead of the ICU.”
It’s never too early to call, according to Gina. The company helps clients design plans months and even years before their services are needed. That way, when the time comes, everyone knows what to expect and do.
Gina also encourages clients to give items away before they move out or pass on—and to make it fun. Then Caring Transitions will take care of the other 299,000+ items in the home.
"Having that outside perspective really lessens the burden... it feels good to provide the support we wish we had."
“Part of what we do is help them come up with solutions that make sense when emotions may be clouding things."