UNITS is Helping Empty Nesters Adjust as Adult Kids Boomerang Back Home

Published: July 14, 2020

In a new local trend, which is also sweeping the nation, empty nesters who recently downsized must find space for their adult children— and all their stuff — to move back home during the coronavirus pandemic.

They’re called “Pandemic Nesters,” and their parents are scrambling for a plan — and patience — to welcome back adult kids and all their things — without a family feud!

Why is this necessary? A recent study reveals about 2.7 million U.S. adults moved in with a parent or grandparent in March and April as the coronavirus pandemic spread. In the Job Quality Index, researchers at Cornell University estimated more than 37 million U.S. jobs are vulnerable to layoffs during the pandemic.  The study reveals adults ages 22–38 will be hit the hardest.

To help local parents find space (and peace), local storage experts with UNITS Moving and Portable Storage created the “Pandemic Nesters” Checklist.

“Millions of young adults moved back home this year. Many thought it would be temporary, but they’re staying longer, and now parents have to scramble to find room in their homes and their hearts for all their stuff,” says Michael McAlhany, CEO and founder of UNITS Moving and Portable Storage. “We created the ‘Pandemic Nesters Checklist’ to help local families figure out how to efficiently share space without crowding each other and destroying their relationships.”

UNITS Moving and Portable Storage
Pandemic Nesters Checklist

Tips for making space for everyone back at home

1. Pack Away Non-Essentials – Ask your adult children to unpack everything they need and want to have within easy reach over the next few months and pack up everything else. They should be selective with the items and clothes they keep nearby. The other items can go in storage, the attic, or stay in their former homes.
2. Re-imagine Rooms – Did you turn your daughter’s room into a gym when she left? Is your son’s room now a craft area? Put the treadmill and the sewing kit in your office, and let your children put as much of their stuff as possible in their old rooms. If they work from home, their bedrooms can also be their offices.
3. Customize Closets – Maximize closet space by installing custom storage solutions. Extra shelves and drawers can make it possible to combine wardrobes and fit more stuff into a smaller space.
4. Keep it Clean – Keep your home tidy and organized to prevent stress down the road. Everyone who lives under the roof should participate in this project! Make sure your adult children keep their belongings in one space and ask them to help with the rest of the cleaning.
5. Divide and Conquer – Consider placing room dividers in any rooms that need to be shared. Maybe there’s only space for one bedroom, but you have two kids at home. A room divider can help keep the peace. This would also be great for a room that needs to be converted into an office space for multiple “co-workers.”
6. Consider Portable Storage – Perhaps there is just TOO MUCH STUFF! Or maybe your children decided not to go back to their old lives in the big city. If you rent a portable storage container, you can pack and unpack it at your own pace. It can be dropped off at your home and then delivered to a new location whenever decisions about future residences are made, and minimal interaction with anyone else is required.

Portable storage companies like UNITS Moving and Portable Storage bring the container to you and set it in a convenient, ground-level location so you can load stuff at your own pace. Once the container is ready to go, the portable storage company moves the container to store it in their climate-controlled warehouse or moves it to your new home so you can unload it yourself.

To find a UNITS Moving and Portable Storage near you, click here.