Colleen Trotter is the most amazing woman, and I can't thank her enough for all she did to help my mom! My parents decided to move to Arizona, close to where I live, in January of this year. I was filled with anxiety, trying to figure out how my 90 year old dad & my 88 year old mom, would be able to pack and move the belongings they wanted to keep, sell, or donate the items they were not taking with them, and get their house ready to sell. Needless to say, after meeting with Colleen and her husband, Steve, my worry melted away, knowing that Colleen & Steve would take care of everything they would need! Thankfully my parents hired them which turned out to be the best decision, because less than two weeks later my dad passed away. Not only did Colleen and Steve guide my mom with their expert and efficient plans, they took care of my mom as if she was their own mother! Colleen cooked amazing meals for my mom and the visiting family members, and she embraced my mom and the entire family with love and compassion unmatched by anyone I have ever known!

Colleen sold or donated all of the items that my mom would not be taking with her, and turned over 100% of the money raised from the sale! She hired a handyman to get the house ready for sale, and she made sure the work was done to her satisfaction. She secured all the packing materials needed, and she went room by room with my mom, packing what she was taking, and removing items to be sold or donated as she went. She helped my mom determine what would fit in her new apartment, and created a floor plan to make sure everything would fit and help assist the movers. She recorded an accurate inventory list, and emailed that to me, so when the movers arrived in Arizona, I was able to confirm that everything was received. Colleen knew which movers to hire and she supervised the loading process. Once all my mom's belongings were in the moving truck, Colleen and Steve hired people to deep clean my mom's house and get it ready for sale. No detail was left out. She transferred all the utilities, changed addresses and even returned the cable boxes for my mom! My mom literally didn't need to lift a finger, Colleen and Steve took care of everything!

I am eternally grateful for Colleen and Steve Trotter! I can't recommend them highly enough!  If you and your loved one is ready to move, please give Colleen and Steve a chance because I guarantee, you won't regret it!

Sincerely,

Jan U. (Daughter of Marie W. )

"I can't thank you enough for the amazing and fantastic service and dedication you have done to complete the whole process of selling my home in record time. You have my heartfelt gratitude and enduring appreciation, not only for the additional income, but also for your very effective approach to preparing, staging and marketing. Not to mention helping me move completely and set up my new apartment, figuring out where everything fits, getting rid of trash, donating items, etc., etc. Your team is a remarkable expression of timing, technique, troubleshooting, and tremendous success." 

Bob K

"Colleen is very helpful and strong and knowledgeable.

She did everything because I didn't know 

where to start. Colleen was wonderful to me." Yuki S. 

                                                                       " Sunshine, thank you so much for all the help you gave me and                                                                                for getting to know you. You are a special person who I will                                                                                carry in my heart. Thank you so much for your services                                                                                      above and beyond.

                                                                            You were fun to be with and made the move more enjoyable."

                                                                                            Pat C.  

"I was recently asked to write a testimonial with regard to the services Steve and Colleen Trotter have provided me. Steve did a super job of providing me with the best possible price we could sell our home for which made the decision to move a lot easier. Colleen took me out and about to look for possible retirement homes to move to and very shortly after finding just the right one we put our deposit in. Colleen came and helped me sort items that were going to be donated, and those that were going to the new place she packed up. Colleen handled taking all the garbage away through a company she works with. She had one day where all the furniture I didn't want was sold and she handed me the cash at the end of the day! Steve and Colleen worked with the movers and then set us up in our apartment. She measured the windows, outlets, and heaters to make sure everything would fit, even a couch that I thought wouldn't. She had a floor plan she made and it worked perfectly! Colleen even unpacked everything, hung pictures and plugged everything in, making it feel like home. My apartment is now the model apartment when they show off the place. It is very nice and I just love it. So many people that visit ask me for her card. I give it out all the time!

Joan G.

During our lives, we all go through various “seasons” which bring about their own opportunities, challenges, and/or blessings.  One particular season might be when the time comes to move an elderly parent from their home into a senior care facility.  For me, this task seemed daunting due to all that is involved physically, emotionally, and logistically with such a move...especially the thought of having to do it alone.
Yet, my prayers were answered when an employee of Atria in Grass Valley highly recommended that I seek the services of Colleen Trotter, the owner of Sunnyside Senior Transition Services, to help me with this undertaking.  But that’s not all.  Not only does Sunnyside assist with the physical move, Colleen and her husband Steve are also realtors.  What a team!!!
I met with Colleen and Steve in late January.  They clearly laid out a plan that would include the following:  packing and moving my mother to her new home, arranging for an estate sale, clearing out all remaining items (from a quite cluttered home), arranging for cleaning and prepping for the sale of the home, marketing the upcoming sale of the home, and finally...receiving an offer on the home on day one, and closing escrow ten days later.  All of this took place in less than two months.
I can attest that Colleen and Steve are passionate about what they do, and operate with the utmost integrity.  Steve’s professionalism and knowledge as a realtor was incredible, always keeping my best interest at the forefront.  Colleen has a compassionate and caring heart for her clients during and after that actual move.  She continues a relationship with her elderly clients by visiting and following up with them even after the move.  Who else does that? 
What initially seemed like an ominous endeavor, turned out to be a smooth and painless blessing.  I would highly recommend that anyone who is going through, or about to go through this particular “season” in life, that you utilize the wonderful services of Colleen Trotter (Sunnyside Senior Transition Services) and Steve Trotter (Trotter Properties).  You won’t be disappointed.
M. Carter

"Colleen is responsive and thorough. We loved working with her because she put our mom (and US) at ease at every step of the project. We would highly recommend Colleen to anyone. She knows how to assess her client's needs, and leaves no detail unattended to. She is personable and professional. She has a great way of taking an overwhelming situation and making it manageable. We would not have wanted anything done differently. Colleen takes care of everything. Whether it be estimating the number of boxes, hiring a mover, arranging for the sale of unwanted furniture to creating a new floor plan, Colleen thinks of everything and gets it done. Hiring Colleen was the best part of our Mom's move. Her efficiency and positive personality were amazing. My Mom enjoyed working with her so much that she nicknamed her "Sunshine!" Please know that I would be happy to speak on your behalf if you should need a reference anytime. I am sure my brothers would too. I really can't thank you enough for all that you did for us. I can't imagine pulling off this move without you!!"

K Goumas

"I am very fortunate to have found Sunnyside Senior Transition Services

and Colleen Trotter. Without her help I would not have been able to sort

through my things, pack what I wanted to keep and donate items I didn't

in such a timely manner. It would have cost me my place on the list for

my new apartment if I couldn't move in time. Colleen was fun to be around

and we laughed so much while she packed. She listened to my stories

and we found we had a lot in common being former elementary school

teachers. She has a good eye for what would fit in my new place and

the floor plan worked perfectly. On move in day I ate in the dining room

and relaxed while she unpacked, put everything in its place and even

hung pictures. People visiting my new place asked who my designer was! She made the appointments and supervised the junk removal company, house cleaner, carpet cleaner and landscaper so that I could get the house ready to sell. Steve Trotter is Colleen's husband and they are both realtors. Steve was very good at explaining everything so that I understood what I had to do to sell my home and helped me get through all of the paperwork. The house sold quickly and I am very happy I made an appointment to meet Steve and Colleen. They make a great team and truly made a difference in my life."

Mary S.

"Colleen was always pleasant, got there on time, completely trustworthy

and very comfortable to be around. I would very definitely recommend her

services. She is efficient, honest, capable and has the ability to handle any

situation as it comes up. I would not have been able to make this

overwhelming move without Colleen!

Joan F. 

"Wow, where do I start! I guess for me it was your positive "can do" attitude. I was totally overwhelmed before you came on the scene. You were efficient, supportive, easy to reach with questions, always on time and fun!

You made a difficult process so much easier! You were a huge help in decision making, encouraging me to make my own decisions, but offering gentle suggestions when I got bogged down. It was wonderful having you arrange the move and then being there when it happened! This is a job you really care passionately about and you give it your all! You make your clients feel special. I am amazed at your knowledge of all the community resources available. It was so nice not to have to worry about all the "leftovers" and to walk away knowing my home would truly be ready for the new owners. Steve and Colleen are an amazing team!"

                                                                                                   Marilyn C.

Recently I moved from my home in Lake Wildwood, California to an apartment in Azle, Texas. A friend of mine suggested I contact Colleen Trotter to assist in making a successful move. After a discussion with Colleen I decided her assistance would be invaluable to me. Initially she provided me with a comprehensive checklist identifying all the many tasks required for a successful move and who was responsible for each item. Colleen then proceeded to locate, appropriately wrap, and pack each item with the contents of the box properly identified. I rented a POD and I wish to add that all the contents of the move arrived without any damage and safely in Texas. Another task was to contact the many services associated with the move and properly notify them of the change of address. In closing I add that Colleen was knowledgeable, easy to work with, helpful in so many ways and without her assistance I don't believe I would have had the successful move. Sincerely, Don H.

Colleen Trotter is a wonder of nature. She is high energy, focused, wise, kind, brilliant, and has a great sense of humor. She is great with both the big picture and all the details. A rare combination. She's a terrific communicator- with clients, movers, and people who respond to post of things for sale.
One of Colleen's many superpowers is that she asks all the important questions:
Why are you keeping that?
Where will it go in the new house?
Can I take that to thrift?
Can I post that to sell?
We are a couple who have been together for more than 15 years but living in different houses. Colleen helped us with clearing stuff out of both households for our "purge and merge". She did a diagram of the house we were merging into so we could decide what furniture to keep, what to get rid of, and where things would go.
She scheduled the movers, did the packing, handled all the moving logistics and was with us on moving day. She started unpacking things at the destination house, and made sure our bed was set up and ready to fall into at the end of moving day.
After the time of our contract she continued to take things to thrift and post things to sell as we did a second phase of purging after the move.
Colleen is like an orchestra conductor. She is a master and a genius at coordinating lots of moving parts and players. If we ever think about moving again, our first call will be to Colleen. And if she has retired by then, we'll probably decide to stay put.
Susan and Charlie

When the opportunity presented itself to downsize and make a move from our 4 bedroom, two story house of 40 plus years, and being in our eighties, we were fortunate to have Colleen Trotter, a professional Senior Move Manager, enter our lives. Her energy, smile, gentle nudges, and wonderful work ethic accomplished our move quickly. Colleen kept us focused on our new place and just how much we could bring with us! Furniture placed, pictures hung, and a friendship made, we feel at home!

Al and Marilyn A.

Working with Colleen was a real pleasure. She is kind, efficient and caring. She made a difficult job easy and fun! Thank you Colleen.

Bud and Mary

​​​​

"Bed, Bath & Beyond is what describes Colleen in helping us during this difficult transition. She offered tender care and kind consideration in every aspect of the move. She is so understanding

and patient and went far beyond what she signed up for. She is not selfish

as she extended borders to help in an efficient way!

She works from the heart helping others and comforting them while at the

same time getting the job done."

Norman and Bonnie L.

I had to downsize from 36 years of collecting things from my parent's, my husband's parents, my collections, and things from my husband's former house. And it didn't stop there. We started our own gathering of items. Then after 35 years of marriage my husband died and I needed to move to a smaller place. Because of my age this was going to be my last move until I needed to go into assisted living. I found a cute little Villa on the grounds of a senior living place where I could live independently but still not cook or do yard work unless I wanted to. But help! What do I do with all my stuff? To the rescue comes Colleen Trotter from Sunnyside Senior Transitions. She was able to organize everything. Colleen figured out what furniture would fit into my new place, helped set up my office and hung pictures- a lot of them. Her husband, Steve, hooked up my electronics and organized all the books that I had. The bed was made up for me so all that I had to do that night was settle into my freshly made bed. They did this all with a couple of weeks instead of the two years that I thought that I needed to do it. Thank you Colleen and Steve,

Marge M. 

Colleen saved my life! She packed, unpacked and put everything away. She hung up all the pictures, and even made the bed for the first night in our new residence. There is no one more efficient, capable, and full of vim and vigor than Colleen. She did everything that was needed. I recommend her to everyone who is even thinking of a move. She is wonderful.  

Bea and Jerry P.- two happy and contented movers.

.

 

When my elderly parents had to move from

their house recently to a retirement community, it was both expected and

unexpected. They were getting up there in age and things were getting difficult.

We knew the move was inevitable. I did a lot of research about "downsizing

the family home" and the kinds of services we might need. This was all useful, but somehow sort of theoretical and then, my mother had a serious acute health issue and we had to make the move decision quickly. At a time like that there are so many issues, concerns, and things to do! The list is seemingly endless. It was made more complicated for us since my sister and I both live hours away from our parents and we were the ones who would be doing much of the work. It became clear that we needed someone who lived and worked

near our parents to handle the nitty gritty of the actual move. We were very fortunate that our real estate agent recommended Sunnyside Senior Transition Services. Colleen Trotter outlined her very comprehensive package of services, which ranged from helping to decide what to take from the house to the apartment, packing (and later unpacking), arranging for movers, making a layout for the placement of furniture in the apartment, helping with change-of-address notifications and arranging for selling, donating, and hauling away the items left in the house after the move. That is just an overview of what she did for my parents.  While all of these things were important, she went above and beyond to help them in ways not originally anticipated, such as assembling some new furniture we had purchased. Colleen always went the extra mile and she did this while keeping costs down.
Just as important as the actual tasks that Colleen did was the way that she did them. She was exceptionally kind, patient, respectful ,and considerate towards my parents, especially my mother. She commented several times that she tries to treat her women clients like her own mother. My mother very much appreciated that as did I, my Dad, and my sister. That human connection is vital, especially in someone who provides services that require great sensitivity to what giving up the family home means. When an elderly person must leave their home and go to a retirement facility, they face the loss of many of their possessions, the familiarity of their surroundings, and for many, their independence. People who help with the transition need to understand the emotions and the needs that go with them in these situations. Colleen does! I am even tempted to say that she should be awarded an honorary doctorate in Psychology for her accomplishments in this area!
I highly recommend Sunnyside Senior Transition Services!

Suzanne S.

It is with great enthusiasm that I recommend to any senior who is 

considering a major move in their life, to work with  Sunnyside Senior

Transition Services and Colleen Trotter. My husband and I are at a point

in our lives in which we both have health issues and no family to help us

decide how to go about downsizing and moving. Lucky for us we were

able to find Colleen; she was a life saver! Colleen helped us sort, discard,

sell and donate items. This took a tremendous amount of stress off of us.

     It was a pleasure working with Colleen because she is a very positive person, kind, caring, concerned and committed to following

through. She was never pushy or critical about our choices and always did her best to make us feel comfortable about our move. Colleen engineered the move, planned the placement of the furniture and carefully packed, marking each box as to what room it would go to.

     Moving day was a breeze and done in one day. Colleen unpacked and organized the entire household, plus removed all boxes and packing materials. She made sure all useless items were removed from our former home. We didn't have to worry about anything except taking care of ourselves!

     Colleen Trotter is focused on her work and has an exceptional work ethic and wants her seniors to feel safe and secure. Colleen comes highly recommended and we encourage any senior to use her services. Our health problems are still an issue but, now we aren't nervous about our lives since Colleen helped us transition to a positive and secure environment.

Robert and Rosemarie H.

                                                                Sometimes one is lucky enough to meet a person who has a profound, positive impact on one's                                                                  life. That happened to my husband and me when we met Colleen. I had clipped and saved an                                                                    article about Colleen and Steve, and their company, Sunnyside Senior Transition Services,                                                                          months before. Thank goodness I called her. She came through our front door with a big smile                                                                    the next day, and every day after that she was there, or here, at our new home in Eskaton                                                                          Village, until the last picture was hung. What they do for their clients is described in their                                                                              literature. But it is so much more. It is the relief of the stress that comes with having to move at an advanced age. It's knowing that you are in good hands with someone who is totally organized, competent and truly cares! Someone who goes above and beyond to make the experience as easy and complete as it could possibly be. Someone who works so hard, but is always smiling and positive!
How fortunate we are to have this amazing resource available here. As I loved telling everyone, Colleen was "my angel". We could not have accomplished this move without her and Steve …. our new friends!
Nancy and Ken S.

"You did me a great favor!

You are a marvelous person

helping those who really need help!

You're amazing"  Shizuo  S.
 

I recently moved from my home to an assisted living apartment in another city. In my

former home I had 60 years of accumulated belongings. As I attempted to decide how

to clear my old home of these belongings I realized the task was far too daunting for

a person of my advanced age. When I asked how to handle the move Sunnyside

Senior Transition Services was recommended.

I contacted Ms. Colleen Trotter who set up a consultation appointment at my

premises. She told me she would take care of the entire move including not only

the belongings but the address changes of all my accounts, and shut down and closing of the utilities. We agreed on a reasonable price.

She not only arranged for a moving company to move my belongings to the new apartment but set up the place even to the making up of the bed and hanging my pictures. She connected up my TV and computer and hung up my clothes. When there were billing questions she managed to resolve them usually in my favor. She arranged to sell all the things that would not fit into my new smaller quarters, donate those that didn't sell and even bagged all the throwaways for refuse pickup.

In thinking about the move I cannot imagine how I could possibly have done it without her skilled help. She was not only respectful of my wishes but went out of her way to make certain that everything was properly handled.

I highly and enthusiastically recommend that any older person moving into assisted living, a nursing home, or any smaller quarters consider Sunnyside Senior Transition Services for experienced help in making the move. Ms. Colleen Trotter is worth far more than she charges and she makes moving a much easier task.

Nedom P.

                                                            "Dear Colleen, Thank you, Thank you for making our move so easy and stress free! I don't know                                                                 how we would have managed without you. At 88 & 85 with our physical disabilities and no family                                                                 available to help we would have had a terrible time. There was no problem you didn't have the                                                                   solution to (including re-homing the cat). You packed and unpacked and we have been very                                                                       comfortable in a very short time. We have settled into our new "Senior Living" very well and feel 

                                                             we are in the right plave for this stage of our life. Thank you again!

                                                             Sam & Barbara E.

Hi Colleen
Thank you for all the help you gave us in cleaning our Mothers house after she died.  Without your knowledge of who in the Lake Wildwood and Grass Valley area was available to empty and clean the house to prepare it for sale we would still be trying to figure it out.  Your commitment to getting things that could be sold, sold.  Things that couldn’t be sold, donated.  And what was left after that, removed, this journey would have been much more difficult and more time consuming. 
Again, thanks for all of your personal and professional help in this less than pleasant circumstance.  
Thank you
The Fossan Family.
Ken, Nancy and Gayle

 

You are superwoman. It's all done for me- you're unreal! My son walked in expecting to hang pictures and saw that everything was all done and in place. I love living here at Cascades. I feel like I'm back in college!

Lorraine N.

Downsizing, simplifying are concepts seniors hold as "shoulds" for aging. And yes, they are actions worth considering. I called Colleen when a good friend insisted because at 73, I wasn't a typical senior, not me. I could handle it. The reality was something else! Colleen showed up with ideas and resources, strategies and energy. As I was sinking into overwhelm, she came in and infused the experience with positive problem solving, acute listening skills and kind attention.

Alan, Sue and Jackson

Are you thinking about moving? We've just completed a move to a senior community. With much needed assistance from Colleen Trotter, founder of Sunnyside Senior Transition Services, we arrived in our new home in the middle of September. After 20 years in our 3 bedroom 3 car garage home, you can imagine the downsizing and energy required to complete the move.
Colleen's energy, drive, good humor, knowledge, and facilitating on our behalf were invaluable. Her warmhearted encouragement urged us on when we thought, "I can't possibly do all this again!".
When she arrived she'd pick up our hazardous waste, shredding that needed doing, donations, and e waste disposal, delivering unneeded; prescriptions for disposal, saving us time and energy.
Colleen helped with address changes, helped lay out a plan for furniture arrangement and has a very competent group of women I call The Dream Team for moving in day. They stocked the kitchen, arranged items in the dining room on shelves, made the bed, put the linen closet in order, and arranged the bathrooms. Colleen also hired a careful, hard working moving team. All in all it's been a very successful venture. I wouldn't hesitate for a moment in recommending Colleen Trotter to anyone preparing for a similar move. Richard and Barbara K.

Moving is never easy, especially in our later years. We need all the help we can get. Colleen Trotter, owner of Sunnyside Senior Transition Services provides all the services you would need and then more. She will pack, and unpack everything in your house and hire movers to take everything to your new home. Then she will arrange and unpack everything in your new home. This includes hanging artwork, arranging furniture, placing clothes in the right closets. She will have your phones, computer, and tv hooked up and ready to use. SHe will also arrange change of address and all the little things you won't have to do to complete your move. Colleen makes moving worry free!

Don and Sharon F.

What did you like best about working with me? "Your pleasant personality, your efficiency and knowledge. I would definitely recommend your services. " What's the most important thing people should know about working with me? "That you know what

you are doing and they can trust you.

You are very good at what you do!

It was a pleasure working with you!"

Bud and Joyce S.