Parents often go through a big transition when their children move out of the house. Despite being on their own, your kids may have left a lot of items behind they no longer want or need. As a parent, you likely have a lot of emotional attachment to the items, and you may struggle to properly clean out the home.

With a dumpster rental and some careful planning, you can reclaim the space, get rid of excess junk, and still keep some cherished memories without keeping so much clutter in the house or packed away in an attic. Learn how to make the most effective use out of a dumpster rental and transform your empty nest.

Just because you throw items away doesn’t mean you need to give up on all of those special memories. Check out some ways to keep the memories alive for years to come.

1. Sew a Memory Quilt

As your child grew through the years, you may have had a wide range of clothing and blankets you just couldn’t part with. You could have old blankets from when they were a baby, comforters from their older years, or even character pillowcases from their favorite cartoon or movie.

Instead of stacking the items up in boxes and bins, turn all of the fabric into a memory quilt. Cut off a single square of fabric from each blanket or piece of clothing that means something to you. Toss the rest out into a dumpster and free up extra space. Use the squares to create a memory quilt that features all of the memories in a single blanket.

Hang the quilt up on a wall, or lay it across a couch as a nice throw blanket. You can eliminate extra clutter and do not have to feel any guilt when you toss out old pillows, clothes, and blankets.

2. Use a Keepsake Display Box

When you go through a child’s old room, you may discover old toys or items you never parted with over the years. A child could have old stuffed animals, special building toys, or even some old schoolwork. Purchase a keepsake display box to hold a special collection of the items.

You could save one item from each year of childhood and put them all together in the display box. Once you pick the items, you could have an easier time tossing out the rest. A dumpster is ideal for throwing out old board games, stuffed animals, and toys. Once you declutter those items, you will have an easier time tossing out some of the more bulky items.

For example, with the creation of a keepsake box, you could get rid of bigger items like toy boxes, children’s furniture, or bulky items you no longer need.

3. Create a Photo Collage

As you clean out your home, you may come across some of the bulkier items you may have loved when your children were younger. For example, you could have an old race car bed, a child’s favorite beanbag chair, or a huge framed photo of a superhero. One way to keep all of the memories without wasting space is with a photo collage.

Take pictures of the items and put them all together in a single collage. Keep the digital collage or print out a small poster with all the pictures. Any time you feel nostalgic, you can look back on the pictures and all the memories associated with them. With the photos, you can get rid of bulky items that you may never use again.

Easily fill a dumpster with the bulky waste. More memories may come back from the pictures rather than just keeping the pictures in storage.

4. Create a Memory Garden

Along with the inside of your house, you may have a lot of exterior items to go through once the children move out. Old playground equipment and backyard toys can take up a lot of space, both in the yard and in any storage areas like a garage or shed.

As you go through items to place in a dumpster, consider creating a memory garden. A memory garden will give you space to grow plants and flowers while honoring the years of backyard play your kids had. For example, you could plant a hockey in the ground and use the top to hang a plant. Toss out hockey goals and extra sticks right in a dumpster.

If you cut down a tire swing, you could use the same tire to create a round planter in the garden while you dispose of the rope and any excess branches you pull down. Get creative as you clean out backyard areas. A whimsical garden could become a location your children love to come visit and look back on fondly.

For all of your dumpster needs, contact us at Tri-State Disposal. We can deliver a dumpster to your location and provide enough space for you to completely clean out your new empty nest.