In other news… If you’re an empty nester but still have closets, garages, or even entire rooms filled with your kids’ belongings, you’re far from alone.
A new survey shows that most young adults leave plenty behind when they move out — and many have no immediate plans to come back for it.
According to new research from Talker Research, 92% of young adults admit they’ve left belongings at their parents’ home after moving out. For some, it’s just a few boxes of clothes or old school papers. For others, it’s much more — including furniture, childhood keepsakes, and even entire rooms filled with belongings.
The survey found that 41% of young adults say they leave items behind for “safekeeping,” while 25% say they’re simply storing things at home until they decide what to do with them later. Meanwhile, 74% believe their parents don’t mind holding onto their belongings indefinitely.
Still, that doesn’t mean parents never push back. About 21% of young adults admit they’ve been hassled by their parents to come collect their things — sometimes with warnings that the items might be thrown away.
But parents’ feelings about the clutter are mixed. The survey found that 44% of parents believe their children will eventually come back for their belongings, while 58% say they don’t mind storing the items because they have the space. Interestingly, 30% of parents say they actually like keeping their kids’ things around, saying it gives them another reason for their children to visit home.
On average, young adults leave about nine boxes of belongings at their parents’ homes after moving out. And many aren’t in any rush to reclaim them — 27% say they currently have no plans to pick up their items.
In fact, 23% of respondents say they’ve completely forgotten about the boxes they left behind and don’t even remember what’s inside them.
For many families, it seems the empty nest isn’t quite as empty as expected.









