Empty-nesters were most looking forward to their washing pile reducing – ahead of lower food bills and having a tidy home

The poll of 1,000 parents aged over 45 who have had at least one child leave home found 65 per cent were looking forward to the day their kids finally left.
Although 78 per cent of 55 to 64-year-olds were sad when then their last child moved out.
Lower energy bills, only having to cook for one or two, and not having to collect dirty cups and plates from rooms around the house also featured on the list.
It also emerged 38 per cent turned their children’s former rooms into something else – with a guest bedroom the top choice for 45 per cent of those.
Nearly a fifth (17 per cent) converted the space into a home office, while more than one in twenty (six per cent) opted for a dressing room.
Other uses for their children’s old rooms included art studios, a home gym and even a bar.
While 12 per cent chucked out all the ‘clutter’ their children had left behind.
A spokesperson for Key Later Life Finance, which commissioned the research, said: “While your children flying the nest can be an emotional time, it also presents opportunities to start enjoying things in life that you may have had to put on the back burner.
“It can be a wrench but with more financial freedom, less responsibilities and more time to devote to you own interests it can mean the start of something new.
“But as many parents whose children have left home know all too well, just because your kids don’t live under the same roof doesn’t mean they won’t need a bit of financial help from time to time.”
The study also found more than one in 10 empty-nesters (15 per cent) looked forward to going on exotic holidays – without the kids, while 20 per cent took delight in having more disposable income to

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