Living in the present
I think this quote sums it up or at least helps put it into perspective.
We go through many stages in life, each with its own trappings that leave their mark on us.
For young adults just starting out, they don't want to be weighed down with things they had as children; they want to find their own style and start fresh. Hence, they leave everything behind for their parents to deal with.
For those new to being empty nesters, we have several issues to contend with:
1. What to do with the stuff our kids left behind? Let's face it, they left it behind because they're leaving that life behind and no longer need these items.
2. Do we leave their old rooms as is or turn them into guest rooms or something else? While I can't tell you what to make of these new spaces, I can tell you not to turn them into storage spaces. You won't need anything you store in this room, especially if it's your kids' old stuff packed neatly into RubberMaid Totes.
3. Does getting rid of their old stuff make us look like bad parents? It certainly doesn't make you a bad parent to get rid of old stuff that neither you nor your child will ever use. Are you seriously okay with keeping those old posters from your children's high school days hanging on the walls? No, I don't think so, LOL! Well, not me, anyway.
4. Downsizing - that word strikes fear in many people. Maybe it's not as bad as we think. While most people want larger, more spacious homes to accommodate all their things and, of course, for the comfort of their growing family, there's this other thing: do you really need all that space? What will you do when you're older and want a simpler lifestyle?
That's where we were 6 years ago - wondering if we really needed all that space. While we bought our previous house with the forever-home thoughts in our heads, we knew that house wasn't our forever home. It was beautiful and spacious, to be sure, and yes, we had done a lot to it. We had been wonderful stewards of that house and the land it's on.
Perhaps you're going through these thoughts yourself - that you might want to downsize and move into a smaller home and have less stuff.
It's time to move on and lead the life you want to have and not stay stuck in the past. To keep things for that chance occasion that you may need them in the future is ridiculous. If you haven't needed it in the past year, you won't ever need it.
That's my philosophy, and it holds true.
Downsizing has been the best thing we could have done for ourselves. Our home is clutter free, easy to maintain and keep clean.
And just so you know, at our last house we turned our daughter’s bedroom into a guest-room and had zero guilt about it.