So maybe your kids have gone (at least for the moment) and your house is quieter than it’s been in years. Yet would you call the nest “empty?” Not if you’re like most, who have decades of purchases and closets of possessions to deal with even if the house is “empty.” If you pine for a more serene life but must first contend with piles of stuff, there’s help available.

Just this week in the new Washington Post newsletter series for those over 50, called Bold School, writer Victoria Fogg takes you through strategies to pare down, declutter and turn your home into a “minimalist” haven. She consults the experts, creates a task list and provides ample reading and resources to get the job done. So pull out your broom and read here and here. And if you truly aspire to become a “minimalist”, then you may want to follow the blog of Joshua Becker, entitled, “Becoming Minimalist.” Or, take a look at the recent piece in Next Avenue that profiles several individuals who’ve created a minimalist life for themselves in their retirement years.

But before you can rid your house of those unwanted possessions, you’ve got to find a new home for them (or at least a trash bin to which they can be consigned). A recent article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, however, makes one thing clear: Because there are so many older adults trying to downsize and distribute their no-longer-desired possessions, local charities have been inundated and may not welcome your stuff with open arms. So if you can’t find a new home for your worldly possessions, maybe you can at least find more attractive storage to straighten up your house. And in a twist of irony, none other than Marie Kondo, the queen of streamlined living and discarding possessions, now has a website shop that includes small, elegant storage containers. At least if you have to keep some of your items, you might as well display them pleasingly!