ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Moving can be super stressful and overwhelming for anyone, but especially for seniors or families, who’ve unexpectedly lost a parent. A Rochester company is in business to help seniors and their families downsize, clear the clutter and make a few dollars.

Karen Menachof is what you’d call a relocation, downsize, declutter and online auction expert. She showed us around her warehouse located in East Rochester.

What You Need To Know

  • Caring Transitions of Rochester provides relocation services including downsizing, decluttering and estate sales for people living in Monroe, Ontario and Wayne counties

  • The company offers a streamlined support system to help facilitate a less stressful transition and takes care of the details

  • The team works with estate planners and coordinates with movers and real estate agents to design a functional and comfortable floor plan

“I like vintage Christmas items," said Karen Menachof, owner of Caring Transitions of Rochester. "They’re really interesting to people."

Her job is to help seniors feel at home in their new home and help them make some money on items they no longer need.

“What we are doing is really focused on helping seniors make downsizing moves that are as stress-free as possible. Part of what we do is work closely with people, so that we are valuing and honoring the memory of a lot of these things while they are processing it. Yes, there is an endgame, which is these things have to be dealt with one way or another but we want to do so in a very respectful manner. I think we do that. I have a team of 17 people and I think they are really, really good at working with seniors. That is all we do,” said Menachof.

Her online auction site, ctbids.com, has 5,000 dedicated bidders.

“I can photograph items with my phone and the app that I have" said Menachof. "At the end of every auction we know how much we sold and how much it sold for."

Barbara Beaman's mom June passed away and left a four-bedroom condominium full of furniture and antiques. She knew it was way too much to handle on her own so she hired Caring Transitions.

“It was a godsend,” Beaman said. “They will sort things out with you. They will pick things up that you want. They will take things to auction and dispose of things that you don’t want. I never could’ve sold these items on my own. They took care of it for me and now the condominium is empty and I am so happy that it is all over with.”

Caring Transitions of Rochester has assisted 800 families the past nine years in business. Caring Transitions of Rochester works with each family one to two months or more. Fees are based on how many items you have, how large the home is and how far of a move. For more information call (585) 978-3025.

Caring Transitions is a franchise with locations all over the United States.