For many parents, having children move out doesn’t mean their rooms suddenly become empty. Years later, closets, attics, basements, and garages may still be packed with boxes and belongings their adult children left behind.
According to a Talker Research survey commissioned by CubeSmart, 46% of Americans still store belongings at their parents’ homes, with the average person leaving about nine boxes behind. Parents may be happy to hold on to a few things, but that doesn’t mean they want to keep storing everything forever.
Here are some of the belongings parents may be hoping their grown children will finally come pick up.
Old Clothing
High school sweatshirts, winter coats, prom dresses, and shoes can take up an entire closet long after someone has moved out. If those clothes haven’t been worn in years, it may be time to bring them home, donate them, or pass them along to someone who can use them.
College Textbooks
Some parents still have shelves full of textbooks their children haven’t touched since graduation. They may have cost a small fortune at the time, but many are now outdated and take up space that could be used better.
Furniture From Childhood Bedrooms
Old desks, dressers, nightstands, and bookshelves often stay right where they were when their owners moved out. Parents may have kept them for years, but they may now be ready to reclaim that room or use the furniture elsewhere.
Collections
Baseball cards, comic books, dolls, model cars, and vinyl records can be hard to part with, especially if they were collected over many years. If these items still mean something, parents would probably rather see them cared for in their children’s homes than sitting untouched in a storage box.
Holiday Decorations
Handmade ornaments, childhood crafts, and other holiday keepsakes often get packed away with the family’s decorations. Parents may hope their adult children will take some of these items and use them to start traditions of their own.
Musical Instruments
Guitars, violins, keyboards, and old band instruments can spend years gathering dust in spare bedrooms, closets, and garages. If nobody is playing them anymore, it may be time to bring them home, sell them, or pass them on to someone who will enjoy making music.
Boxes of Random Memorabilia
Ticket stubs, yearbooks, school notebooks, awards, and souvenirs often end up together in boxes that haven’t been opened in years. Parents may not want to throw away someone else’s memories, but they probably don’t want to keep storing them indefinitely either.
Old Electronics
Outdated laptops, gaming systems, DVD players, flip phones, and tangled chargers have a way of piling up in storage spaces. Parents may not know whether they’re saving these items for a reason or simply forgetting them.
Sports Equipment
Baseball gloves, hockey gear, bicycles, tennis rackets, and camping equipment often stick around long after the hobbies have been left behind. If nobody plans to use them again, taking them home or passing them along could free up a surprising amount of space.
Items With Family History
Some belongings carry stories that parents want their children to know before those memories are lost. Grandma’s quilt, Dad’s pocket watch, or a piece of family furniture may mean much more once you share the stories behind them and give them a place in the next generation’s home.
