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HOME PROJECTS FOR EMPTY NESTERS

You’ve been living in your home for many years now, raising an active and rambunctious family. The kids are kids no more, and your youngest has just traveled several hundred miles away to start their college adventure. This can be a bittersweet time, for you have become an empty nester, with an unusually quiet home and more time on your hands than you have had in quite a while.

 

You find yourself getting excited with the idea of sprucing up your h

ome, now that you are starting a new chapter in life. One great place to start is to declutter, do a deep clean, and organize. Go through the entire house – closets, garage, every room, the attic – and get rid of all the old junk, toys, children’s clothes, sporting equipment etc. Have a yard sale, donate to the Salvation Army and make a few trips to the dump. Now it’s time to do a deep clean. You can do this yourself or hire the pros, but you want to clean in places you don’t get to with your weekly cleaning: behind appliances, scrubbing the oven and washing the windows and curtains, for instance.

You’ve given your home a thorough scrubbing; it’s time to refresh and reorganize. You might want

to add shelves, cabinets, cubbies and closet organizers. Kids are rough on a home, leaving scuffmarks, chipped paint, dings in doors and dirty walls. Now is the time to paint the interior of your home, refinish hardwood floors, deep clean or replace carpeting and update the lighting. If you want to lower your energy bills, you can replace your doors and windows with energy efficient options.

 

Turning your home into a smart home is a great idea, especially if you plan on traveling. You can manage thermostats,alarms, automatic lights, timers and cameras from afar. Water sensors can be installed that will detect leaks. If your budget allows, you can take on a bigger remodeling project. You have some empty bedrooms now. Turn one of them in

to a guest room, perhaps with a Murphy bed, that can also function as a home office when friends and family are not visiting.
Perhaps you will want to create a hobby space, for exercise and fitness, crafting, drawing, painting or music. You might want to expand your own bedroom and make an ensuite bathroom/spa. Or you could create a large walk-in closet, with a dressing room. If you love to spend many an afternoon curled up with a book, turn one of these rooms into an office/library, with bookshelves, a reading nook and comfortable seating.

Not ready for a full remodel? Have some fun with upgraded fixtures and hardware,

get a new rainfall shower head, some soft plush towels and rugs and some fancy aromatherapy candles. If you have always longed to become a dedicated gardener but have never had the time, this is your chance to lean into that. Maybe you will want to build a greenhouse, a pergola, a fire pit or an outdoor kitchen (or all of these!)

Your home is your kingdom – have fun with turning your dreams into reality!