Nest Just Went Empty? Here are 6 things that you may want to start doing!

So, your nest just went empty? The last kid just left for college? The house feels so quiet? Suddenly, you have nothing much to do? Too much time at hand? The house, too, feels so big? Well, here are 6 things that you may want to consider doing:

1. Space X : No, folks, I am not talking about Elon Musk and his Space X programme. Get rid of the unwanted space in life. Suddenly, you will find more space at home after the kids leave. Time to think - do you need that much space? If you have three rooms in your house, how many do you actually use? The extra space would mean extra work for you - cleaning, tidying, dusting - things that you may not want to keep doing till you kick the bucket. So, down size if you need to. I have been thinking about tiny house for some time now.  Yeah, tiny house movement has been going strong in the west and in Oceania countries, but my idea of a tiny house is probably a wooden kampung house with one room, one bathroom, kitchen, living and bedroom - pretty much like the houses in the villages in my home town. These days, most village houses are built of brick and cement, but wooden houses never cease to amaze me and that's one of the top 5 items in my to- do-after-retirement list.

2. Throw all extra stuff: Most of us are hoarders, we keep things for multiple reasons - sentimentality, the thought that those stuff may be of use some day (trust me, if you check my kitchen cabinet, history resides there!), or simply forgotten that we have those things. It's time for life cleaning - throw out or give away all those unnecessary things that have become semi-permanent resident on your shelf, in your cabinet, hidden in boxes what not. The more you discard, the lighter your life would feel. Then again, please do not go on shopping spree to start hoarding up newer things!

3. Tighten your purse: Empty nest means lesser expenses. Lesser electricity usage, lesser water consumption, lesser of every thing. My electricity bill reduced by 60% and water bill, by 80%. My home resides on the KL-Selangor border, so classified as KL, else I would not need to pay water charges at all because in Selangor first certain cubic metre of water is free 😤!! Spend only if really necessary, spend wisely. Stop all services that you may not need. I am really mulling about disconnecting my ASTRO as I hardly watch anything except on weekends. And most of my weekends are spent in Cyberjaya. Disconnecting ASTRO would save me a sizeable chunk, monthly.  If you have not paid off all the debts taken for your kids schooling and college fees, use the extra to pay off all that. In my case, I am at the verge of `leaving the woods'. Most debts paid off and with calculated spending I get to stretch my money a little longer.

4. Fatten your bank balance: It's time to live for yourself. Once all debts paid, no more extra expenses to be met, keep the rest for yourself. Comfort is the word I would use as I see my bank balance increase. It gives sort of a cushion for us to rely on, on rainy days. Inflow of money, especially when saved from expenses always gives that calmness at heart. Gone would be the days when money has to be scrapped from every nook and corner just to pay the bills. So, what ever you can save, save it for yourself (but no one need to know about it 😃). These days I no longer tell my daughters anything about money. My money=mine!!

5. Single and Mingle or Awesome Twosome: If you have a spouse, plan some activities together. You may have wanted to backpack in Vietnam for sometime, so go for it. Or you may have dreamt of going on cruise during the next wedding anniversary, it's time to do so. Some hiking, sight seeing or whatever that you have always wanted to do - go for it.

And what if you are single? Do the same thing, either on your own or with a friend/partner/date - hey, you are single, what's stopping you? Me? Well, there is this nice handsome muscular guy who says he likes me...hmmm, muscles means I can rely on him during those hiking or white water rafting...handsome? A feast for the eyes!! So, I see that as a potential`beautiful activity' 😇 and motivation for me to get rid of that stomach of mine which had been the look spoiler all these years!! Half my age? Since when that mattered???

6. Learn Something New: When the nest becomes empty, the first thing that becomes apparent is the amount of time at hand. You can choose to sleep but life is so short that one should think of optimising time. Pick up a new skill, take a new course, jump into Internet of Things or do just about anything that would make your brain feel good. The brain needs to be stimulated to delay or stop dementia from setting in. I took up dance lessons a few years ago - hey, I did learn American Tribal Belly Dancing and Kathak, though both were short lived. Perhaps, it is time to go back to dancing again...with that handsome muscles 💝

Life is a journey of experience. When I started blogging, I realised that it is the experiences that I have undergone in life that comes to the fore when I look for topics. People think a rich person is one with money, but believe me, a real rich person is one with multitude of experiences!