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Kids and College – Solutions for Extra Rooms

Your child has finally grown up and left the childhood home, swapping out your house for a college dorm. He or she will be gone for the majority of the year, and you as a parent are suddenly stuck with the rather open question of just what to do with the newly vacated room.

First Thing First

What you do with your child’s room depends largely on how many things your child took with them to college, how much they left behind, and what you intend to do with the room in the future. This means that the first step is going to consist of packing up the room and finding a storage space, like a self storage unit, to deposit whatever remains. As noted before, what you plan to do with the room, and what your child will be taking with them after college, will dictate what you do with the larger pieces of furniture. In some instances you can put them in storage, in others, you’ll need to leave them be.

Another Kid’s Room

If you happen to have a large family, specifically one in which two kids are sharing a room, this decision is often the easiest to make. After all, you’ve got the room, and it’s in one state or another of being furnished, it is only fair that each child gets their own room. And if you doubt that, the kids sharing a room will be more than willing to reassure you.

The Guest Room

A similar, and common solution, is a guest room. This is a solution typically best for those who have frequent guests or those who wish to appear to have frequent guests. However, the guest room solution is a good idea when you have children in college as it affords them a place to stay when they’re at home. The typical college year only has between thirty and thirty-six weeks of classes. This leaves a great bit of the year free for your child to return home.

The Fun Room

When you embrace your creativity, there are a host of ideas which are fitting for a vacated room. Depending on your personal tastes, that room might be a home office, a gym, a craft or sewing room, or the recently fashionable “man cave”. Each of these solutions allows you, the home owner, to create a private sanctuary tailored either to your specific tastes or the tastes of your entire family. These ideas seldom leave space for your child’s possessions, and thus can necessitate a storage solution, but the upside is that you have a new addition to your house which you get to furnish and play with.

The Student’s Decision

Of course, if you leave things up to your new college student, the choice will frequently be to leave the room exactly as is. For the student, this is a means of maintaining one foot in metaphorical childhood, the housing equivalent of water wings. And, as a parent, it’s not an easy task to explain to your child that their childhood bedroom will be converted into a shrine that houses a 53″ flat panel television complete with a new leather couch and a surround sound system. But, if that’s the solution your arrive at, the news will help your child more towards establishing their own adult existence.

One Final Piece of Advice

The ultimate solution you choose is wholly up to you and your family. However, if your child is anything like the typical teenager, you will like want to clean the room. Thoroughly.