So, the kids have (finally) moved out. For some, this can be a moment of great nostalgia and sadness, mourning the passing of time and your freshly empty nest. For others, however, it’s a celebration – you finally have your house back! Well, once you clear the clutter that is…
Kick-start this new child-free chapter of your life by reclaiming your space. Stop sacrificing wardrobes and cupboards to childhood toys, ancient schoolwork and abandoned teenage hobbies. Now’s your time to shine and it’s hard to properly put your feet up when every surface is still cluttered with the possessions of those who no longer live there.
Here are the key items to declutter once the kids have flown the nest to help reclaim your space and bring back some much-longed-for order to your home.
1. Bedroom furniture
Once your child – or, rather, adult – has moved out, their room can become stuck in time: a shrine to someone who now only comes home at Christmas. While it’s lovely to keep meaningful mementoes, there’s no need for the whole room to remain in museum status – particularly when they have probably outgrown the furniture.
Review bunk beds, cabin beds, changing tables (more likely still in the attic), toy chests, child-sized wardrobes, low shelving, themed bedside tables, tiny desks, beanbags and plastic drawer units. A Batman-themed chest of drawers may not be the welcome your adult child wants when they do come home.
You don’t need to strip the room bare, but consider whether each piece is still useful. Replacing a bulky bunk bed with a proper double, or several toy-storage units with one adult-sized chest of drawers, can make the room feel completely different. And now it’s not only still their bedroom (should you wish to keep it as such) but also a functional spare room you won’t be embarrassed for your guests to board in. Just agree any major changes before getting rid of furniture they may want to take with them – it might also save you a trip to the tip.
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2. The ‘just in case they need it’ cupboard
This is one of the most important categories of clutter to tackle and potentially the hardest, as you’ll have to fight with your practical and caring parent brain to clear it. I know this first-hand: my sweet, sweet parents still have a huge Ikea duffle bag full of old crockery and appliances from my uni days they’ve been holding on to ‘just in case’ I should need them one day. Very considerate but ultimately not necessary.
Spare duvets, towels, toiletries, blankets, crockery and random household supplies tend to accumulate, all kept for the next time your child comes home, or the next uni term, or the next house they move into. But if they now have their own home and they haven’t collected any of it, they probably don’t need you to maintain a fully stocked back-up cupboard for them.
Keep enough to make visits comfortable – a clean duvet, a couple of towels and some basic toiletries – but be realistic about what they’ll actually use. You may not need six spare blankets, a cupboard full of old beauty products or enough crockery to cater for a wedding. Ask them if they want any of it and donate anything surplus.
3. Old school and university paperwork
School reports, certificates, revision notes, university documents, letters and artwork can quietly fill several boxes over the years. Before storing them indefinitely, ask your child what they genuinely want to keep – they may be sentimental about things you assumed they would not be or completely uninterested in others.
Keep the meaningful items, such as important certificates, handwritten notes and a few favourite pieces of artwork, then reduce everything else to one manageable memory box. Photograph bulky artwork or larger projects before recycling them and let your child take responsibility for storing anything they want to keep – you are not a storage unit.
4. Hobby and sports equipment
Kids tend to accumulate a lot of stuff throughout childhood, trying out different sports and hobbies all while they figure out who they are and what they like. You undoubtedly, as a loving parent, helped them do so, which likely means your garage is now full of the ghosts of identities past.
I’m talking musical instruments, old bikes, camping kit, dance costumes, football boots and specialist expensive equipment for some niche activity they tried for two weeks and swiftly abandoned. All of this can occupy huge amounts of space. If your child has not used it in years, ask whether they want to collect it, sell it or pass it on to someone who will.
5. The family-style kitchen stockpile
When you’re no longer feeding a household of four or five, there’s little point keeping enough kitchenware to cater for one. Go through the cupboards and be honest about how often you use all those excess mugs, lunchboxes, water bottles, plates, bowls, cutlery, roasting dishes and food-storage containers.
Keep enough for your current household and occasional guests, then donate the duplicates. Clearing out these family-sized reserves can free up a surprising amount of cupboard space, making everyday cooking and unpacking the dishwasher much less painful.
6. Old tech, chargers and cables
You might not think they’ve left much tech behind, or that it even takes up that much space, but once you start combing through desk drawers and side cabinets, you might reassess.
Children often leave behind phones, tablets, games consoles, headphones, computer accessories and a nest of cables nobody can identify, all likely abandoned in a drawer once the newer-generation tech came out. Check what still works, wipe personal data from devices and recycle anything obsolete, rather than allowing it to occupy a drawer indefinitely.
7. The storage bought to contain family clutter
Once the children’s belongings have gone, you may no longer need all the things you were previously using to conceal them – the toy boxes, under-bed containers, drawer dividers, bulky shelving and plastic tubs that were bought to contain them. It might seem initially like a good idea to keep a hold of these things in case they come in handy again, but if they don’t, it’s a serious waste of space.
Get rid of anything that is now empty, broken, oversized, no longer useful or even just not your style. This can often be the most satisfying final step – removing unnecessary storage containers makes your home feel lighter and helps prevent you from filling the newly available space all over again.
