Ruth Townsend is a self-proclaimed pack rat.

Well, a saver, she clarified.

The house she has lived in since 1983 has what any house has, she said.

She’s not a big collector, unless of course you count SAS shoes and like many women, those I-will-fit-into-again-someday kind of clothes.

When she turned 85 she gave some thought to moving. When she turned 86 the notion pulled at her even stronger.

“I just want to get out from under it,” she said.

The problem? She had no idea what to do with everything she couldn’t take with her.  She even considered just leaving it behind.

She has a different plan now after spotting an ad for Changing Spaces Senior Relocation Services and lining up the aid of its owners Kelley Ballue and Linda Cotter.

Based in Lincoln and serving southeastern Nebraska, Changing Spaces helps seniors make the transition to a smaller home or assisted living site. 

Their services are varied, including tasks such as packing, arranging charity donation pick-ups, lining up a mover, supervising moving day and designing a floor plan for the new residence. They’ve done everything from that to taking items to the dry cleaner and even making a birthday cake, Cotter said.

Some of their clients are moving from multi-level houses they’ve lived in for 30 years or more and relocating to a smaller home or an assisted living complex. For many, sorting through the furniture, collectibles and other items, can appear completely overwhelming, Ballue said.

The sisters first moved their own parents in 1993, though not by choice. The flood came that year, bringing two feet of Missouri River water into the family homestead just north of Peru.

Auburn eventually became their parents’ home, but declining health prompted a move to a single-story Lincoln house a few years ago. Their mother lived there until her death in February 2007. Their father stayed until October before transitioning into senior care.

It helped that Ballue, who was a teacher, had summers off. Cotter, an artist who once owned her own store, worked part time. But with families of their own to care for, it was still tough, the sisters said.

“We wondered what in the world do people do who don’t have kids to devote time to them,” Ballue said.

They talked about hiring someone to do it, but wondered who could do the job knowing not to let their mother’s writings, photographs and their grandmother’s doll collection mistakenly land in the trash heap or donation pile.

That wondering was the sparked of the idea for the business.

By December they had organized as a limited liability corporation with the state. In January they joined the National Association of Senior Move Managers. Last month they attended the association’s national conference.

The factors surrounding the launch of Ballue and Cotter’s business are quite common, said Mary Kay Buysse, executive director of the national association.

In most cases, a couple of people and a personal experience are enough to spur a new senior relocation services business, she said.

Some come from careers in gerontology, health care or related fields, while others leave behind jobs as accountants, technology managers — you name it, she said.

But all find themselves in a new role, one that is part attorney, part psychologist, part social worker, she said.

“They move people not just boxes,” she said.

The association, founded in 2002, today has 430 members. In July 2006, when it transitioned into having a full-time management staff rather than volunteers, it had just 70 members.

Buysse sees the growth of the industry taking an even sharper climb in coming years. In 2011 the oldest of the 76 million baby boomers nationwide turn 65, she said.

The biggest challenge facing the companies today is the slowdown in the real estate market, which has forced many seniors to postpone their move until they can get the money they want for their homes, she said.

Despite that, many senior relocation companies have kept busy with the sorting and organizing so seniors are ready to move when the right time comes.

The association contains a mix of single or dual-owner setups and larger companies that employ upwards of 25 people, Buysse said. She expects through its growth the industry will maintain a mix.

For now, Ballue expects her employee count to remain at two, just her and her sister.

But she is optimistic about her chances of seeing steady business, very optimistic, in fact.

“We have seen the need and it just becomes more apparent to us all the time,” she said.

Reach Jean Ortiz at 473-7107 or jortiz@journalstar.com.