Assisted Living Packing Checklist PDF Style: What to Bring and What to Leave

Looking for an assisted living packing checklist pdf? There is no file to download here, but the list below is built to print straight from your browser. Tick it off with a pen, and hand a copy to anyone helping you with the move.

The rule I give every family is simple: pack for comfort and familiarity, label everything, and bring less than you think. I am Mike McClernon, a senior living advisor in Glen Cove, and I have helped many families through move day. After the checklist, I also answer two questions I hear often, whether assisted living helps with toileting, and how to approach Medicaid funded assisted living, including for families around Island Park in Nassau County.

What goes on an assisted living packing checklist?

Start with the things your parent uses every single day, then add the things that make a room feel like theirs. Print this section, check items off, and keep one copy for the community.

Category	Pack these
Clothing	7 to 10 outfits in washable fabrics, sweaters or cardigans, sleepwear, a robe, socks, underwear, a light coat
Shoes	Comfortable walking shoes with good grip, slippers with a closed back
Personal care	Toothbrush, denture supplies, brush, razor, lotions, any products your parent loves
Health	Glasses, hearing aids and batteries, walker or cane, medication list, doctor contacts
Papers	Photo ID, insurance cards, power of attorney and health care proxy copies, emergency contacts
Comfort	Favorite chair, bedspread, pillows, a throw blanket, a lamp
Memories	Framed photos, a small clock, a favorite book, music player and playlist
Technology	Phone and charger, tablet if used, television if the room allows

Label every piece of clothing with your parent’s name, either sewn in or written with a laundry marker. Laundry is shared, and unlabeled items vanish. Take a photo of the room once it is set up, so you can see where things belong on your next visit.

Ask the community for its own list too. Each one provides different basics, such as a bed, linens or a mini fridge. For a broader view of what the community supplies, see what assisted living provides.

What should you leave at home?

Leave valuables, large furniture and anything your parent could trip on. Rooms are smaller than a house, and clear floors keep people safe.

• Jewelry, cash and irreplaceable heirlooms
• Large rugs, low tables and cluttered shelves
• Space heaters, candles and electric blankets, which communities often ban for fire safety
• Full medicine cabinets. The community manages medication, so ask what it needs from you and what to bring.
• Too many clothes. Pack for the season and swap later.

If your parent is moving into memory care, the list changes a little. Choose familiar, simple items and avoid things that can confuse, such as many mirrors or busy patterns. Our guide to what a memory care facility is covers the setup in detail.

Plan to bring a second, smaller bag on the first week for anything you forgot. Almost every family does. More planning guides are collected in our assisted living articles.

How do you make move day easier?

Set up the room first, keep the day calm and leave your parent comfortable rather than rushed. Move day is emotional for everyone, and small steps help.

1. Visit the room a week early to measure and decide where the chair, bed and photos go.
2. Have a sibling or friend keep your parent company at home while you set up the room.
3. Make the bed, hang photos and put familiar items out before your parent arrives.
4. Arrive together at a good time of day, often late morning.
5. Stay for a meal, meet the staff, then keep the goodbye warm and brief.
6. Call the next day and visit in the first week.

Guilt is heavy at this point. It may help to hear that moving is often a relief for the person who has been struggling at home, and a safer place for everyone. You can read more in our post on coping with guilt when a parent moves.

My follow up does not end at move in. I check in with families afterward, because the first weeks are when questions come up.

Does assisted living help with toileting?

Yes. Help with toileting is part of the personal care that assisted living provides, along with bathing, dressing and grooming. Staff can remind a resident to go, walk them to the bathroom, help with clothing and hygiene, and assist with incontinence supplies.

How much help is available, and how it is billed, depends on the community and the care level. Some residents need only a reminder, some need a person standing by, and some need full help with transfers. Communities assess this before move in, and again when needs change. Ask directly what level of toileting help is included in the base fee and what costs extra, because supplies and extra assistance are often billed separately.

If your parent needs help of two people, or has frequent skilled medical needs, assisted living may not be enough, and a different setting may be needed. Our post on assisted living versus a nursing home explains where the line sits. For a frank look at the topic, read straight talk on incontinence in assisted living and memory care.

Pack extra underwear and a few spare outfits, because accidents happen to everyone and staff handle them with dignity.

How does Medicaid funded assisted living work near Island Park?

Island Park is a village in Nassau County, and families there ask the same question as everyone on Long Island: can Medicaid pay for assisted living? Medicaid in New York can help eligible residents with some costs in certain assisted living settings, but it does not cover everything, and spaces are limited. Medicare does not pay for assisted living.

Here is how I approach it for a family:

1. Find out whether your parent meets the income and asset rules, usually with an elder law attorney or the county office. Rules change, so confirm before you plan around it.
2. Ask each community whether it accepts Medicaid, whether it does so at move in, and how many beds it has.
3. Plan for a waitlist, and keep a backup option if funds run short.

I cannot promise a specific community in or near Island Park will have a Medicaid bed on a given day, but I can check current policies and tell you what I find. Start with our page on assisted living in Nassau County. For how the program works, read the Medicaid assisted living program explained, and for a comparison with a nursing home, see what a nursing home costs next to assisted living.

What if money is the real obstacle?

Then start with the numbers, not the tours. Know what your parent can pay each month, what assets may be used, and whether any benefits apply. A realistic budget saves you from falling in love with a place you cannot afford.

Most families use a mix: income, savings, the sale of a home, help from relatives, long term care insurance if there is a policy, and sometimes veterans benefits or Medicaid. Our posts on what assisted living costs on Long Island and how to pay for assisted living with little money go through each source.

General guidance only: rules change, so confirm anything specific with the county or an elder law attorney. I do not quote dollar figures, because the right number is the one on the community’s current price sheet.

The good news is that my help is free to families. I compare communities against your budget and tell you plainly when something is out of reach.

Who can help you plan the move?

Assisted Living Locators of Long Island can. I am at 42 Prospect Ave, Glen Cove, NY 11542, and I serve Nassau County, Suffolk County and Queens. We do a free needs assessment, tour together, compare offers and follow up after the move.

Reach me through the contact form and I will reply quickly. You can also browse more guides in the full assisted living guide library before you call. I have been through this with my own mother, and I promise a printed list is the easiest part.

Questions readers ask

Read next

• How Much Assisted Living Costs on Long Island, Line by Line
• Assisted Living vs Nursing Home on Long Island: Who Belongs Where
• How Can I Pay for Assisted Living With No Money? Medicaid, Family and Other Routes