Two Ways to Get Help
Families helping a parent downsize usually have two options. They can book hourly help, paying for sorters by the hour, or they can book a full downsizing package scoped and priced for the whole move. Both are offered through our senior downsizing services, and both have a place. The right choice depends on how much needs to happen, how fast, and how involved your family wants to be.
The Two Options at a Glance
| Hourly sort and pack | Full downsizing package | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $85 per sorter per hour, 3-hour minimum | Partial $2,500 to $4,500; standard $4,500 to $9,000; large $9,000 to $18,000 |
| Best for | Starting slowly, one or two rooms, smaller homes | Whole-home moves with a set date |
| Pace | Visits booked as needed | Scheduled phases from sorting to handoff |
| Includes | Trained sorters for the time booked | Sorting, family distribution, donation with receipts, auction, suite setup, clearing the former home |
| Records | Notes from each visit | Full documentation package |
| Cost certainty | Depends on hours used | Written, itemized quote |
How the Hourly Rate Works
Hourly senior sort and pack is billed at $85 per hour per sorter, with a 3-hour minimum visit. Some examples:
| Visit | Calculation | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 2 sorters, 3 hours | 2 x 3 x $85 | $510 |
| 1 sorter, 4 hours | 1 x 4 x $85 | $340 |
| 2 sorters, 5 hours | 2 x 5 x $85 | $850 |
| 3 visits of 2 sorters, 3 hours | 3 x $510 | $1,530 |
You can model your own visits with the sort and pack estimator.
When Hourly Makes Sense
Hourly help is the gentlest way to start. It works well when:
- Your parent is not ready to commit to a move, but would like help with a closet, a spare room or a basement.
- The home is small, such as a condo, and the family can handle the move itself.
- You want to test the waters and see how your parent responds to sorting with outside help.
- The family is doing most of the work and needs extra hands for a specific task, like packing a china cabinet.
When a Full Package Makes Sense
A package is better when the whole home is moving and there is a date to meet. It covers everything in one plan: sorting with your parent, floor plan planning for the new suite, family distribution and shipping, MaxSold auction for items of value, donation routing with receipts, move-day setup of the new suite, and clearing the former home to broom-clean.
Because the scope is written and priced in advance, there is no clock running. That matters for families who worry that a parent who needs to go slowly will run up a large hourly bill.
A useful rule of thumb
If you expect to need more than a handful of visits, or the former home needs clearing too, ask for a package quote. It is free, and you can compare it to an hourly estimate.
Combining Both
Many families do both. They start with two or three hourly visits to sort the most personal spaces with their parent, then book a package once the move date is set. The written quote reflects what has already been done, so nothing is paid for twice.
What Both Options Share
Whichever you choose, the approach is the same: trained, background-checked and bonded sorters, your parent's pace, nothing given away without their say, plain white unmarked vans and WSIB coverage with $2M liability insurance. The difference is only in how the work is scoped and billed.
Choosing for Your Family
Ask three questions: Is there a move date? Does the former home need clearing? How much does your family want to do itself? If the answers are no, no and a lot, start hourly. If they are yes, yes and not much, a package will be simpler and more predictable. Either way, a free consultation will help you compare the options with real numbers for your parent's home.