Attention Empty Nesters – life just got better!

Do you fear the empty nest – the stage of life when your dependents have finally left home and your house has a certain ‘hush’ about it? Then don’t! Love our adult kids though we do, as everyone who’s been-there-done-that, will tell you: ‘an empty nest is a happy nest.’ And it can be made even happier – and more attractive – when you know how to go about it.  But, first, allow yourself a little time to grieve because, after all, your life has changed significantly.

To begin with, you may feel you’ve lost your role in life. You may even feel you’re past you’re prime. Trust us though, when the house stays tidy, there’s no longer a mountain of washing to fold, meals to prepare, and dishes mounting up on the bench, you will start to appreciate your new situation. When your kids return home for visits, and love you just as much as they ever did, your grief will lift. When it does, that’s the moment to begin reclaiming your home with our suggestions, below, on how to go about it!

Quit the craft cupboard

For years you stowed your arts and crafts materials in a tiny closet. Now you can repurpose your adult child’s empty room for your own use. No more laying everything out for a brief period on the dining room table, then tidying it away again mid-project. First, however, you will have to empty the room of the possessions your ‘child’ has left behind (because no adult child ever fully moves out!). To do this, load everything into cartons and drop it off at their flat, or if this doesn’t meet with their approval, volunteer to deliver it to the op-shop instead!

Add a home gym

For years, you hit the pavement in all weathers to cram in  exercise. Now your kids’ surfboards, mountain bikes, skateboards, skis, and vehicles are no longer occupying your garage, head to Facebook’s market place or Trade Me for some reliable second-hand cross-training gear. Use them to set up a home gym for those chilly days when you’d rather be working out indoors. Blissimo!

It’s official – you have an office

We know, you don’t need an office to write a book, but it sure helps! So, reclaim the empty bedroom, or a section of the living room where the huge family sofa used to hang out, and install a small writing desk and swivel chair where you can leave your laptop permanently set up. Just the thought of it, ready and waiting for you, is enough to make you want to start a memoir. At the very least, preparing your tax returns will be a whole lot simpler!

Beautify your bathroom!

Now the shaving gear, multiple containers of hair product, and rails of damp towels have gone, it’s time to make your bathroom your own. Splash out on some new bathroom linen, a shower curtain in your favourite colours, a glammy new mirror, low-light pot plants, bath bombs, and scented candles, and make your bathroom a place to enjoy rather than just a cleaning destination!

Pretty up the pantry

For years, your pantry looked like a smash and grab site. Now the contents of cereal packets aren’t spilling over the shelves, and the lids stay on the jars of spreads, it’s time to create the order you always knew was possible. So shout yourself some new spice racks and containers, clear storage bins, tiered can-racks, and a turntable or two for those tight corners. Grab a white-out pen or some pretty labels for glass jars, and pop a colourful flip-top bin on the floor. Your pantry will look great each time you open the doors – and it will stay that way!

Bring in the ‘love seat’

With kids in the house, there may have been almost no time for you and your beloved to snuggle up in front of the telly, but now you have your home to yourselves, it’s time to get intimate. Dress your two seater couch with pretty cushions and throws, add some foot rests and a coffee table, and if you don’t already have some low lighting in the house, purchase a couple of lamps. Turn off the main lights, grab a box of chocs, tune into a streamed movie, and remember what your life used to be like before your off-spring turned into young adults!

Enjoy your empty nest while you can – because the grandies won’t be far away!