Fewer Rooms

You're living in half the house.

The kids have moved out and the rooms haven't. These are plain, step-by-step guides to deciding whether to move, sorting what 25 years left behind, and settling into somewhere smaller.

Start with the seven questions
Floor plan of a family home after the children have moved outThe living room, kitchen, main bedroom and bathroom are in daily use. The formal dining room and two former children's bedrooms, nearly half the floor area, are shaded as unused.THE HOUSE YOU HEAT AND CLEANLIVINGKITCHENBEDROOMBATHFORMAL DININGBEDROOM 2BEDROOM 3ROOMS NOBODY SLEEPS OR EATS IN ANY MORE
A typical three-bedroom family home once the children have left. The shaded rooms still cost the same to heat, insure and maintain.

The four stages, in order

Decide

Whether to move at all, when, and how small is too small.

Sort

Working through 25 years of belongings without stalling.

Move

Selling, timing, movers and the weeks around moving day.

Settle

Making fewer rooms work, and hosting the family in them.

The first guides for this stage are being written.