Emptying the nest: what to do after the kids fly away

When children leave for college, a couple can have a hard time adjusting to the idea of being empty nesters. Sure, it can be nice not to have to worry about what the kids are up to when you leave home, and it can be fun to have the place all to yourself, but what happens once the novelty has faded a bit and you’re back to daily life? What kinds of things do you want to do then? A lot of people downsize once they have an empty nest, and others spend more time focused on their own hobbies and interests. If you’ve been thinking about a smaller house, or you want to get involved in more of the things you like, this is your chance. You have raised your kids well, you’ve done the work, and now it’s finally time to kick back and enjoy.

Having an empty nest can be enjoyable

That doesn’t mean you won’t miss your children once they’re grown up, but only that you’ll have the opportunity to move forward with things you want to do that you may have put off while raising your family. Now you can travel more, set up a home gym, invite guests over, or do all kinds of other things that you might find interesting. Some empty nesters also go back to school to take classes they never would have had time for while they had children at home. There are so many different things you can do with your time when it’s not all about your children any longer.

What if your empty nest is not that empty yet?

One of the ways you can make space for the things you like and want to do is through renting a storage unit. That will give you the opportunity to move some things out of your house while still having them where you can get to them. A lot of those things will belong to your kids, since they may not have taken everything with them when they moved out. If they’re at college, or they are traveling before settling down somewhere, they probably left things behind at home. If you carefully box up those things and take them to storage, you can give yourself the space you need, while your children won’t need to give up their things.

Being an empty nester gives you opportunities

You can also redecorate the rooms the children used once they’ve moved out, then use them as guest rooms or for all sorts of hobbies and interests. New paint, a change of flooring, and some new furniture can go a long way toward changing the entire look of the room. If you don’t want to get rid of the furniture your children used when they lived with you, the storage unit is a good place for those items as well. No matter how you envision your new rooms looking, being an empty nester gives you opportunities that you wouldn’t have had in the past.

Seize new opportunities and enjoy your life’s next chapter

Don’t let guilt at changing your children’s rooms into something new stop you from having the house you really want. Your kids are out in the world, living their own lives, and you should be living yours as well. Between some redecoration and a storage unit, you can have an empty nest that looks the way you want it to. You’ll have the opportunity to get involved with the hobbies you left behind, or create some new ones, which will give you plenty of opportunities for joy after your kids have moved on to the college and careers of their own.

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