Organizing Services for Boomers, Seniors & Heirs
“What will you do with my room when I go off to college?” my daughter Jacey asked me recently. While visions of a sewing room danced through my head, I teased her with “We’ll keep it as a shrine to you.”
Back-in-the-day when my sister Jeannie left for Sonoma State, my parents had no time to question what to do with her old room.
Before my mother returned from taking her to college, I had staked my claim to Jeannie’s bedroom.
While smaller than the bedroom I had shared with my sister Terri, it would be exclusively mine. No matter that whenever my dad went to the backyard to barbeque or my mom went to garden, they had to walk through my room.
This would be my semi-private turf, one I could decorate with my stuff.
Okay, I admit, I liked the idea of an organized bedroom without Terri’s clutter.
Whatever feelings you have about your child moving out of the family home, the matter of reclaiming space for new uses is a bonus.
But the practical question of how to use the room and still have a room for your kid to return to arises. Most students do come home for vacations at the least, and more often if they attend college nearby.
Consult with family members as to their use preferences for the room.
What to do with all the stuff that your child can’t take or doesn’t want?
Convertible Closet
If you don’t have one yet, install a modular closet system that you can change around at will. For example, you may need more drawers (for your hobby or office) than hanging space in the closet, but may want to convert your system to accommodate short hanging garments when your daughter–the clothes horse–comes home.