As seen in the Dayton Daily News on November 19, 2016.
This article is for all you empty nesters who have raised your children and watched the last one leave the family home. You announce to everyone you’re an empty nester!
But you have a secret. Even though there are only two of you at home now, your home looks as if you have a houseful of people still living there.
I’ve heard empty nesters say, “All this extra stuff really isn’t hurting anything.”
It may not be a burden at the moment, but I’ve seen instances where overnight these extra items become a very big liability.
I’ve worked with clients whose basements flooded. All that stuff had to be carried outdoors, dried out on the lawn and lugged back in. That’s a lot of work.
There’s been times when repairmen couldn’t do the necessary repairs to the home until the homeowner moved mountains of stuff to gain access to the appliances. That’s embarrassing.
I’ve had clients who had to move suddenly because their spouse passed, which left them with a houseful of stuff to deal with. That’s sad.
I suggest you start dealing with the excess in your home now, while you and your spouse are healthy and not in a rushed scenario.
The best place to start is with all the stuff your children left behind for you to store, while they live in their clutter-free homes.
Give them a deadline for when they have to remove their items out of your home. After all, it’s your turn to live clutter-free.
When you propose a deadline, your children may tell you they don’t want the items they didn’t take with them. Bingo, you have the answer you need to move forward. Donate what is usable and trash the rest. You can do this yourself or insist they come and take care of it.
Do not keep questioning them about items you find. If it was important to them they would have taken it. If you have a hard time parting with their things, that’s your hurdle to deal with. Don’t try to talk them into keeping things because you want them to have it.
Now that their stuff is out of your way, it’s time to pare down your things.
Holiday decorations are a good category to tackle. Do you still decorate like you did when your kids were home? Reduce your boxes to just the decorations you put up every year.
It’s time for the hobby and sports equipment you don’t use to go next. Why are you saving that bowling ball when you’ve had back surgery and are forbidden to bowl? How about all those half-finished projects you never seem to get around to completing?
Let’s get real. Are you ever going to take the time you have left in this world to re-read the boxes of greeting cards you’ve been saving?
I’m taking an educated guess that you have boxes and boxes of unsorted photos stashed about your home. Invite family over for pizza night and let your children take those they treasure.
Travel lighter in your empty nest years. Welcome experiences over stuff. Check things off your bucket list. Don’t let excess stuff get in your way and weigh you down.