Below are the results of our survey about audience experiences related to the topic for episode #207 of The Clutter Fairy Weekly. If you haven’t already done so, please take the survey.
We asked our audience to choose from among several statements about their “empty nest” status. (Respondents who chose the “Other” option were given a chance to elaborate. You can see those responses in the table below the pie chart.)
Note: Hover over any pie slice in the chart to see the name of the category and the number of respondents who selected that answer. (Mobile users: Click on the slices for details.)
To view the complete, detailed survey response from any respondent, click on their name (or “Anonymous user”) in the table below. You may also find it easier to read long responses in the detailed view.
| Name (click to view full survey response and comments) | Which of the following statements best describes your living situation? | What environmental or social issues most concern you with respect to your efforts to declutter, organize, and maintain your home? | What outdoor activity or activities tend to take time away from your indoor chores in the warmer months? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sheila | I’m an “empty nester” whose child/children have taken all or most of their belongings with them. | Although I am aware of earth day concerns, I don’t personally focus on any of it. I have changed to glass food storage containers, really think twice if I need an item before buying, donate as much as I can since family members are not interested in having. | |
| Anonymous user | I’m an “empty nester” who still stores a significant amount of my child’s/children’s stuff in my home. | I like to recycle or use things till they are completely worn out or no longer working | Hiking with my dog or visiting outdoor musical concerts or theatre performances |
| Beth | I’m an “empty nester” who still stores a significant amount of my child’s/children’s stuff in my home. | “I don’t like the idea of sending a lot of stuff to the landfill.” “I like to use things until I’ve wrung every last bit of value out of them.” “I want to make sure my donated stuff goes to a worthy cause.” | |
| PJ | I have no (human) children. | A documentary I watched did an "archaelogical dig" into a landfill, and found that newspapers don't degrade between the layers of landfill plastic. They also found perfectly-preserved school uniforms (polyester) from the 1980s that could honestly just be washed & would be good as new. It was terrifying - our cast-offs will persist long after we are all gone, even the ones we think will degrade away. I am super conscious about plastic, replacing it wherever possible, reusing & recycling, donating items, and keeping what comes into the house at a bare minimum. Supermarkets are the worst - they wrap individual fruits or small numbers of vegetables in layers of plastic which is ridiculous, so I buy loose produce & take my own bags. I've also found a charity shop that will recycle ("rag") old clothes if they can't sell them - so at least the fibres are being used again and not going into landfill. | just being outside in the warmth of the sun! it's wonderful to feel the sun & the breeze, & listen to the birds after months indoors. Have to get up early to do the indoor chores, then do the outdoor chores while it's getting warmer, then I can relax in the afternoon as a massive reward with a coffee, puzzle book, snoring dog, and comfy pillow. |
| Lisa Beth | I’m not an “empty nester” yet, but I expect my child/children to leave home within the next few years. | I enjoy repurposing items especially old architectural pieces or furnishings. It's a serious hobby in home decorating/design. I enjoy using items from the past to make new purposeful items for modern uses and needs in my home so they look like they belong in my High Victorian home. | My gardens, the fairy gardens, various floral gardens, my vegetable garden and Train garden with G scale train and working tracks complete with cascading water and little villages along the path. |
| Peggy | I’m an “empty nester” whose child/children have taken all or most of their belongings with them. | hmmm I like to donate to Goodwill as they employ people who otherwise might not have jobs I don't buy gifts or receive gifts (unless consumable), as they can contribute to clutter | gardening! |
| Hila | I have no (human) children. | i try to limit the amount of plastic i buy. i like to use things until i've wrung every last bit of value out of them. i prefer to buy or get second hand things. i want to make sure my donated stuff goes to worthy cause. i prefer buy things only if i really must. i try to have less stuff. | garden maintenance |
| Summer | I’m an “empty nester” whose child/children have taken all or most of their belongings with them. | I want to make sure my donated stuff goes to a worthy cause. | Walking |
| ErinG | I’m an “empty nester” who still stores a significant amount of my child’s/children’s stuff in my home. | I feel guilty throwing things away. We try to buy good quality items, repair rather than replace and wring out every bit of usefulness. We have been "rescuing" items for years, planning to use them on our homestead for some creative project or another that we never actually undertake. I don't want to live in a landfill. | Gardening - growing food and flowers Large outdoor projects - fencing, tree planting, fixing broken things Hiking (aka dog walking) Visiting with friends who come for a holiday in our area Going to the Farmers Market |
| Evelin | I have no (human) children. | I have a lot of clothes that are still in good condition, I want them to go to someone who will really like and use them | playing volleyball, going for walks, going to the swimming pool,... |
| Anonymous user | I have no (human) children. | I prefer to buy things that I know are made under healthy and safe working conditions. Also I buy less overall. I do not want to overly consume but take care of the impact I have on the environment. | Gardening, going for a walk (short because I'm disabled), sitting on a veranda. |
| A.G. | I have no (human) children. | I try not to be too wasteful, I'm not perfect. Sometimes things just need to be gone. I like fair trade or other socially conscious products where I can or ones with reduced packaging (although thats not enough to balance my amazon packaging but my household is chronically ill and can't drive so I try not to beat myself up about that too much). I like LGBTQ2S+ and BIPOC friendly companies or artist/creators where possible. | My health issues make me more susceptible to heat so mostly I hide in my AC from the evil daystar. My heat aversion actually takes me away from the outdoor chores! |
| Janice | I’m an “empty nester” who still stores a significant amount of my child’s/children’s stuff in my home. | “I don’t like the idea of sending a lot of stuff to the landfill.” | gardening and home upkeep. |
| Anonymous user | I’m an “empty nester” who still stores a significant amount of my child’s/children’s stuff in my home. | Want to use things up. | Sunbathing |
| Noreen | I have no (human) children. | I want to make sure my donated stuff goes to a worthy cause or I sell it for a nominal price. | My yard |
| Granny | I’m an “empty nester” whose child/children have taken all or most of their belongings with them. | I prefer to send things to people who would use them. I don't like to send lots of stuff to the landfill. Fortunately my city helps with this as we pay rates based on the size of the black bin (refuse bin, rather than green or recycling) | I'm not a great outdoors person, but we travel. |
| Celina | I have no (human) children. | so much junk is produced that really shouldn't be purchased and should be boycotted instead: e.g. event and holiday decorations or costumes (I'm a profound believer, but the amount of glittery junk in the season just annoys me! Putting a big-a*s Christmas tree with tons of garbage plastic that people manufactured in sweatshops won't make anyone a better Christian, sorry! Tons of lights using up electricity won't do that either. Yes, I'm a no-fun... But I'd rather get rid of that and get back to the kind of straws that didn't make any drink taste like cardboard 😉 (I can't go on because this awakens my cynical self) | long-distance walking |
| Sandra | I’m an “empty nester” whose child/children have taken all or most of their belongings with them. | I am now more comfortable buying a more expensive piece of clothing because I know it will last vs. fast fashion items. We also all make an effort in our extended family to recycle used textile items, something that did not exist even a few years ago. | Sitting outside to enjoy longer evenings with a glass of wine! The dishes do not get done as diligently... |
| Ernestine | Other | I don't like the idea of sending stuff to the landfill, so I try to donate and/or recycle as much as possible. However, this does require some thinking time. | None. I do some container gardening, but because of previous cancer surgery on my nose, I feel I have to avoid the sun as much as possible. My outdoor activities are mostly from sunset to sunrise. I tell people that I'm either practicing to become a vampire or that I'm already an old bat. |
| Annie | I’m an “empty nester” whose child/children have taken all or most of their belongings with them. | I’ve always been considered a penny pincher, so I use up everything as much as possible. And when we do need to replace something, we try to get a replacement that is as environmentally friendly as possible and doesn’t come with packaging that we can’t recycle. Those items we declutter are donated to an organization that helps our community. | Gardening is a favorite activity. I have 2 flower gardens in the front of our apartment that I am replanting with native plants. The back yard has one flower bed, an herb garden and a vegetable garden. On the weekends we also like to go hiking on local trails very early in the morning. |
| Anonymous user | I have no (human) children. | I don't like to send things to the landfill. I would rather sell them or find a place where the things I don't need will go to someone who needs them (clothes, furniture, dishes...) | I rather work out in the yard. The problem is I haven't figured out what to put in the spaces where I removed dying plants. |
| Diane | Other | All of the above- I also like to thrift shop if I need something ie furniture (I love the craftsmanship of 40’s furniture) I do buy new stuff bedding, couches but I make sure I take care of it so it lasts a long time. If it is still decent I will donate it, if it is not I make sure I dispose of it properly. | Weeding, planting and pruning and mulching not good at it either. Not much of a gardener. Maintenance of outside of house- lighting etc. We’ve been so busy taken care of our parent’s places we’ve got a lot of catching up to do. Thank goodness it snowed so I can put it off another week! |
| Amy | I’m an “empty nester” who still stores a significant amount of my child’s/children’s stuff in my home. | I won’t buy new stuff until what I already have is all used up. | Yard work like weeds and mowing. |
| Sue | I have no (human) children. | I try!! Went to the tip this week Paid a man to take away my old mattress then worried he would dump it in the environment | Sea swimming |
| Anonymous user | I have no (human) children. | 3,4,5 from the examples above | |
| CHRISTINE | I’m an “empty nester” whose child/children have taken all or most of their belongings with them. | worried about landfill , getting into water supply and air quality try to reuse, upcycle TRY NOT TO BUY MORE STUFF, UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NEEDED | GARDENING, LANDSCAPING |
| CHRISTINE | I’m an “empty nester” whose child/children have taken all or most of their belongings with them. | worried about landfill , getting into water supply and air quality try to reuse, upcycle TRY NOT TO BUY MORE STUFF, UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NEEDED | GARDENING, LANDSCAPING |
| Anonymous user | Other | “I want to make sure my donated stuff goes to a worthy cause.” | (I have no excuse.) |
| Lela | I’m an “empty nester” who still stores a significant amount of my child’s/children’s stuff in my home. | I hate adding two landfills, and trying to figure out where to dispose of chemicals,. | Mowing, mowing, gardening, & more mowing. |
| Jeanne | Other | I think we all strive in these directions with limited degrees of success. We do recycling in areas that are available to us. My hubs and I once professionally sold vintage for many years. We felt we had channeled just about anything and everything! | The yard and garden work is the focus during our too short summers. Any home repairs also need to be completed during this time. |
| Anonymous user | I’m an “empty nester” whose child/children have taken all or most of their belongings with them. | I try not to buy a lot of temporary and seasonal stuff: just what I need | Travel |
| Anonymous user | I’m an “empty nester” who still stores a significant amount of my child’s/children’s stuff in my home. | I want my unneeded things to go to good homes not in land fills. We first try and sell then reduce prices then give away before going to garbage. | Gardening, lawn |
| Anonymous user | I’m an “empty nester” whose child/children have taken all or most of their belongings with them. | I have started to compost more regularly. However, if composting started to get in the way of cleaning or would overwhelm me, I would have to go back to using the trash. I’m a pretty good recycler, and we have a large bin that gets picked up every other week. | Walking, swimming, biking. |
| Anonymous user | I have no (human) children. | If I can pass it off the someone who needs it I prefer that, but I definitely find want to just pass my clutter to someone else and create a burden for them. | lol, not a one |
| Lynn | I’m an “empty nester” whose child/children have taken all or most of their belongings with them. | I just don’t like parting with MY stuff! I would like to know my things will be re-used in some fashion. | Gardening. Puttering around in the yard. |
| Anonymous user | I’m an “empty nester” whose child/children have taken all or most of their belongings with them. | Want it Donated to worthy cause and/or to environmentally friendly disposal clearance firm | Being able to go out into the sunshine, fresh air, and expanse of sky and waterside areas nearby, and have coffee in natural beautiful spots and enjoy all the colours of nature, flowers and seascapes |
| Anonymous user | I have no (human) children. | I like to use things until I've wrung every last bit of use out of them and I want to make sure my donated stuff goes to a worthy cause | Enjoying the warm weather |
| Linda N | I have no (human) children. | I only donate to the Salvation Army, where I know it will go to good use and not to line somebody's pockets moneywise. | Don't spend too much time outdoors in South/Central Tx. It's too hot and humid. I have no excuse. |
| Lucy | I’m not an “empty nester” yet, but I expect my child/children to leave home within the next few years. | Really dislike wasting/throwing away things that are still somewhat functional | Kids summer activities |
| Laurie | I’m an “empty nester” who still stores a significant amount of my child’s/children’s stuff in my home. | I try to donate as many of my unwanted items as possible before I put them in the trash. I feel wasteful if I have to throw something away that someone could use. Sometimes I think that I think too much about finding the right home for my items because I want to do the right thing (and keeping them is not the right thing)! | Outdoor chores like weeding the landscape and mowing take time away from my indoor chores. I think that's why I appreciate winter so much more now, it's because I don't have to deal with the outside chores. I hear my neighbor mowing his grass right now and dread getting back into outdoor chores! |
| MS | I’m an “empty nester” whose child/children have taken all or most of their belongings with them. | I reuse or repurpose whatever I can, in a different room, a different way, or give things to someone else that wants them. Yardsales are my best friend, because I can always find something that will fit the purpose. That saves things from the landfill and gives me unique things. For example, I use a non-handled white creamer to store pencils on my kitchen counter. | Sitting outside reading or entertaining. |
| C | I’m an “empty nester” whose child/children have taken all or most of their belongings with them. | “I like to use things until I’ve wrung every last bit of value out of them.” AND “I hope my donated stuff goes gets used well.” | travel, swimming, hikes, balcony and garden |
| Ginger | Other | ✔️1. I limit purchases by having an annual purchasing plan. Fewer items coming in. ✔️2. I buy quality and make it last. ✔️3. I dislike the thought of sending more stuff to landfills. And, I don’t trust our local “recycling” efforts. (I think they simply drop it at a landfill.) But, I continue recycling. I simply try to have less to recycle. ✔️4. I use things up. All the way up. And, get frustrated it didn’t last longer. ▪️ I add water to the last bit of shampoo, use it until there’s no more soap. ▪️ I keep the empty cream carton in the fridge and swirl coffee inside it to use the last of it. Sometimes there’s 1-2 more servings inside. ▪️I’ve learned to make some things from scratch - whipped cream, salad dressings - from ingredients I already buy for other cooking uses. ▪️I mend clothes. Embroidery over a tear if I can make it look right. ▪️I use some junk mail to make note pads or in art projects. I keep a few envelopes to reuse instead of buying more envelopes. ▪️ I’ve taken apart my electric toothbrush to repair it. Bought a part for my Bunn coffeemaker. ✳️ I long for the days of Emmett’s Fix-it Shop. | Not many. I’m not much of an outdoors person. (Bugs bug me.) I hire that work. I force myself out for walks or for plants or just to get some good ol’ natural Vitamin D and all the other health benefits of morning sunshine. |
| Anonymous user | I’m an “empty nester” who still stores a significant amount of my child’s/children’s stuff in my home. | I feel like some things are of value and shouldn't go to the landfill. And it takes a lot more time and effort to sort through it all and find homes for things than it would to just get it hauled away. | Spring clean up in the yard and garden. (This year it is more like a renovation because winter weather was extra damaging). Setting the outdoor areas and furniture up. |
| Lynn | I have no (human) children. | All of the above, especially the landfill and donation ones. | Vegetable gardening, swimming, and camping. And that's ok. Plenty of time in the winter months or when temps reach 100+ for big inside projects. |
| Eileen | I’m an “empty nester” whose child/children have taken all or most of their belongings with them. | I try to limit the amount of things going into a landfill. I like to donate my things to a worthy cause. | The temperature in parts of my house sometimes stops me from working in certain rooms. No central air. |
| Katharine | I’m an “empty nester” whose child/children have taken all or most of their belongings with them. | I don’t think about that much. I care more about not having to deal with the excess. | I don’t have any activities since I tend to stay inside during the warmer months. Florida gets too hot. |
| Elizabeth | Other | I tend to use things until their useful life is over. I do like the idea of donated items going to a worthy cause and helping someone in need. | Gardening until it gets too hot! |
| Patty | I’m an “empty nester” whose child/children have taken all or most of their belongings with them. | I agree with all of the clauses above! | Weeding the garden. |
| Linda#3 | I’m an “empty nester” who still stores a significant amount of my child’s/children’s stuff in my home. | Healthy and safe | Yard work and I love it! |
| Anonymous user | I have no (human) children. | I've taken your suggestions about limiting shampoo, hand cream and other personal care items - use up the one I have before buying more. I try to buy less and then be gentle with myself about throwing out old product (past their healthful state to give to others). I try to buy locally, trying to avoid packaging laden deliveries from Amazon when I can. I try to donate goods to non-profit organizations that take almost everything but trust that if I do that things will end up with someone that needs them. I donate books to a local non-profit that specializes in books with profits going to a good cause. | Liking to be out and about. I live in Massachusetts and we don't have a lot of warmer months where there are outside craft shows, fairs, dining and other activities, so you want to enjoy them while you can. That said, I'm retired, so there is really still time to do the chores if I want to. (Also, some of the outdoor activities involve shopping, so I need to be careful there). |
| Kathy | I have no (human) children. | I like to use things until I've wrung every last bit of value out of them, and I want to make sure my donated stuff goes to a worthy cause. [I learned from an older episode to make up a story about a person finding something I've donated and being overjoyed because it was exactly what she needed/wanted. That has helped me a lot in being able to just let go of things.] | Raking the lawn, weeding, trimming bushes, other external home maintenance tasks; or avoiding such chores by going for a walk. |
| Anonymous user | I’m an “empty nester” who still stores a significant amount of my child’s/children’s stuff in my home. | Every example above rings true for me. I spend a lot of time making sure my discarded stuff ends up where it will receive the highest reuse. I am getting much better at not buying stuff in the first place. The most radical act one can do in our capitalist society that is addicted to "more is better" is to not be a consumer (Yes, I fancy myself to be a rebel.) | |
| Heather | I have no (human) children. | I focus on buying less in general and used items whenever possible. | Hiking |
| Jetta | I’m an “empty nester” whose child/children have taken all or most of their belongings with them. | I try to limit all non-consumable items because I don't want to get tired of it and then feel bad about getting rid of it. | Grandkids' activities! |
| rowan | I have no (human) children. | donating stuff so it will continue to be used. shopping where I can get produce not in plastic bags | |
| Anne | I’m an “empty nester” whose child/children have taken all or most of their belongings with them. | If I can, I try to get some items at thrift stores. I don’t always need new! I use the library because I don’t have to own every book I read. | Gardening and dog walking. |
| Name (click to view full survey response and comments) | Which of the following statements best describes your living situation? | What environmental or social issues most concern you with respect to your efforts to declutter, organize, and maintain your home? | What outdoor activity or activities tend to take time away from your indoor chores in the warmer months? |
How Much Lining Does an Empty Nest Need? and Other Good Questions
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