Watching your children grow into adults is both satisfying and saddening. On the one hand, you can be proud that you have brought them this far and are now seeing them leave to build a life of their own. On the other hand, saying goodbye to your child as they leave a home filled with memories and love is never easy no matter what the circumstances.

As parents, you adjust and set about building a life that doesn't involve your children, rediscovering long-forgotten hobbies and finally getting round to making that home-improvement you once desire.

More Young Adults Living with Parents Today

But what happens if in a few years, your adult children decide that they want to move back in, perhaps even with a spouse and a child of their own?

All over the world, young adults are returning home to live with their parents. For instance, in Australia, almost 1 in 3 young adults live with their parents, while in the UK, 1 in 4 young adults live with their parents.

House prices have soared and there are more single mothers than ever before, with 10 million families led by single mothers in the US alone.

Accommodating them when you and your spouse were just beginning to get used to life without them can be a challenge, but with the right approach, this arrangement can become one that benefits everyone.

Put Aside Some Space for Them

While your child was away, you likely rediscovered a love for certain rooms in the house, and developed routines that were once not possible, such as enjoying a quite read on the patio.

In order to avoid a clash of styles in this regard, especially if your returning child has a child of their own, put aside some space for them before they return.

Clear out a couple of rooms in which they can stay and spend their time while they live with you to ensure that you both have the privacy you need.

Place Some of Your (and their) Things in Storage

To make space, you will need to store some things. Don't cram your garage and attic full of things. This will only lead to a substantial headache later when you realize that you want to locate something amongst all the boxes and cobwebs.

Instead, hire a storage unit. Not only will this give you more room at home, but it will also mean that you can easily find your things whenever you need them. Hiring a long-term storage unit from a local self-storage service will help you free up more space for your adult child, and allow your adult child to store their own accumulated possessions that might otherwise take up valuable space.

Take the Opportunity to Eliminate Clutter in Your Home

This is also the perfect opportunity to declutter your home. Before your child arrives, go through your home and clear out the thing that you will seldom use again, such as that old Singer sewing machine, or that trophy collection you kept for sentimentality's sake.

Put some of your things into your storage unit, give some away to charity and even make a dollar or two flogging some of them on Ebay or Amazon.

Talk to Them about Your Expectations First

Finally, now that you have cleared a space, and set your boundaries, you will need to discuss your expectations with your child. Make sure you cover everything in advance, from length of stay, rental fees and responsibilities. Talking about these things in advance will mean that your child moves in knowing that they have responsibilities to take care of. They will feel like more of an adult, and less like a child.

If your adult child is planning on returning to the nest, get prepared in advance by researching self-storage facilities in your area. That way, you'll be able to focus on reshaping your life with your returning child in the extra space afforded by your self-storage unit.