3 min readBecoming an empty nester has its pros and cons. Of course, you’ll miss your kids, but the opportunity to repurpose the spaces they once inhabited certainly has its advantages. As you transition into this new stage of life, your home should, too. Holding onto items from that past that will just gather dust prevents you from using your home for things that will bring you joy in the present.
“When decluttering as an empty nester, I always remind people to look at it not as erasing memories, but as making room for their next chapter,” says Lenora O’Keith, a professional organizer, certified KonMari Consultant, and founder of Aronel Home.
Here are the main things pro organizers recommend decluttering after the kids move out to make use of all the freed-up space.
Your Adult Children’s Possessions
If your kids have moved away, it’s a good bet that anything left behind has been abandoned and forgotten. Unless the kids are in college or have a temporary living situation and have explicitly asked you to keep their things for future use, anything left behind is probably unwanted.
Take photos of these belongings and send them to your kids, then give them a deadline to pick up those items and relocate them, recommends Mindy Godding, generational clutter expert and founder of Abundance Organizing. “If the item is important to them, they will come and get it. If it's not, you then have permission to let it go,” she says.
If there are sentimental items from your kid’s life that feel special to you, Godding suggests trying to limit yourself to a small selection of keepsakes that could easily fit in a dresser drawer or storage bin.
School Work and Supplies
Now that your kids aren’t in school anymore, they definitely won’t need those leftover glue sticks, calculators, and colored pencils—and neither do you. Paper clutter in particular can add up quickly (and probably has after years of school work and report cards).
“I have seen parents who have difficulty setting boundaries with their children when it comes to using their homes as storage, so it's worth having an honest conversation about what makes sense for your space,” O’Keith says.
The Linen Closet
Linen closets are usually small, and bulky towels and bedding can take up a lot of the limited shelf space. If only one or two people are living in your house now, you probably don't need a dozen bath towels and six sheet sets unless you're hosting often, O’Keith says. By decreasing the towels and bedding sets you keep, you free up room for other items.
Your Kitchen Cabinets
That same “less is more” mentality applies to your kitchen, too. Now that you’re cooking for fewer people each day, you probably don’t need as many dishes and cookware items. This is a pro (yay, fewer dishes to wash!) and a con (so many leftovers!), but consider keeping only what you’ll truly use every week or when you entertain.
Old Hobby Supplies
There may be activities you did when your kids lived with you that you’ll no longer continue as often (or at all). For example, maybe you coached your child’s little league team, but now that they’re grown, you don’t need multiple kids’ bats, balls, and gloves.
It may be bittersweet to get rid of these items, but doing so allows you to make room for new ones. “Try to reframe it as an opportunity to start new hobbies and prioritize your interests,” O’Keith says.
Godding suggests tackling these items using a technique called shrining. “If you're feeling sentimental, choose your favorite one or two items that will evoke memories and put them on display,” she says. “Once you’ve prioritized and featured your favorites, it becomes a lot easier to take photos and let the rest go.”
