Empty Nesters Should Avoid This Interior Design Mistake If They Want To Reduce Clutter

There are two key moments in every parent's life: The day they bring their new baby home, and the day they send them off into the world. But while they spend months creating the perfect room for the new addition — worrying over every last detail from the color of the drapes to finding the perfect wallpaper and changing table — almost no thought is given to what they'll do with the space once their fledgling adult has flown the coop. Very often, the room is left as is. Whether it's a case of being in denial about the newly emptied nest, or simply not knowing what to do with it, it's an interior design mistake that's best avoided if you don't want the clutter in your home to get out of control. 

How so? Clutter has an annoying habit of multiplying when there's free space to occupy. And that newly vacated bedroom is the perfect dumping ground for floating items that don't have a home or purpose. There's nothing wrong with using the room for storage, but you must be intentional about it. First, because you want an organized space, not a cluttered mess. And second, because it means you can also have an office, art studio, or meditation retreat, in addition to some welcome extra storage space. After all, a spare bedroom is the one spot in homes today that's a wasted space — and there are innovative ways to use it.

The first step in transforming your child's old bedroom into something new and exciting is to empty it of all their belongings. For various reasons, kids are often in the habit of using their family home as a free storage facility. There can be situations where this makes sense. For example, they may be travelling without a home base, so you've agreed to store their things temporarily. However, a lot of the time stuff is simply left behind when they move onto the next phase of their life. There are various ways to deal with this — such as giving them a box to take back whenever they visit or taking the tough love approach and giving them a deadline — but ultimately it's got to go.

With the room empty, it's time to round up everything you'd like to store in there that's taking up unnecessary space elsewhere in the house. These could be the floating items that are begging for a permanent home, the art supplies stashed in your closet, and anything else that could do with being better organized. Pro tip: Be intentional about it. Declutter as you go so you're not packing anything you don't use or like. Those things need to be donated or rehomed. If the closet space isn't enough, or you need a better way to organize everything, you could maximize your space with a DIY home gym box for workouts and storage.

Unless you've turned your child's old bedroom into a mini warehouse for your Etsy business, there's likely still plenty of space left to indulge yourself. Whether that's turning it into a reading nook you'll never want to leave, a relaxing meditation studio, home office, or sewing room, you now have the room to explore new passions or reacquaint yourself with old ones. And if you've always wanted a guest room as well as a space to work, there's nothing stopping you from adding a sleeper couch for those occasions when you have out-of-town visitors.

Before you do that, you'll first need to give the bedroom a neutral (but inviting) coat of paint to cover up whatever phase your teenager was going through last. Once you've decluttered, cleaned, and painted, all that's left to do is shop or thrift the decor you need depending on what you've decided to use the space for. With the right approach and mindset, this phase of redecorating can be every bit as exciting as when you prepared it for the arrival of your now all-grown-up baby. Plus, you'll be side-stepping that clutter-causing interior design mistake. Talk about a double win.