The story of an empty nester couple whose “nest” no longer fits their lifestyle

You’ve raised Joannie, Anthony and Bobby and lived to tell about it! Too many to mention sleepless nights when they strolled in late from parties with some lame excuse why they were home late. You enjoyed good times with your kids’ and their friends. In a strange way, you enjoyed the craziness that was your home as they were growing up. Now, all 3 “kids”…

Lou Slangen immigrated to the United States from Holland as a young man with 2 simple suitcases, a boat-load of dreams and the perfect formula for success. He exuded passion, persistence and eventually found the perfect partner for his journey – his wife Linda.

He and Linda raised 4 kids while moving around to multiple cities during his journey. He led large sales teams for a multinational healthcare products firm - rising to become the…

After you dropped Jack off to start his freshman year at Ohio State it finally hits you. Unless his older brother Jim or sister Stephanie ‘boomerang’ back you’re finally an empty nester. And since Stephanie is due in a few short months, living in Chicago, and game fully employed (Thank God) the boomeranging child effect is unlikely to happen – at least with her.   

Somehow you thought being transformed into an empty nester would feel more…

It’s fun scrolling through Pinterest looking at glamour closets of stars like Khloe Kardashian. How cool would it be to have a room dedicated to your shoe, purse or jewelry collection (even if you’re jewelry is more costume than real)? 

While you may dream of such luxuries, you have waaaaay too many practical needs to deal with first.

Your son is demanding a new bookbag. Your daughter wants to buy a hot new prom dress she saw at the mall. “It’s…

Has your first (and hopefully last) worldwide pandemic made you want to S-C-R-E-A-M at your home because it’s sooooo disorganized? Is your frustration boiling over? Can you relate to the following?

• You ‘attempted’ to manage those Zoom calls for work from your make-shift home office (AKA your kitchen table). Your dog was barking and your ‘little angels’ (AKA your kids) were fighting in the background. Not exactly the professional image…

I’ll admit right up front I have no stock in Ikea and (crazy as it may seem) I don’t like they’re Swedish meatballs (although I do LOVE their crispy oatmeal chocolate cookies!).

And I’ll even admit on a few occasions my custom closet design and installation company has lost sales to our Columbus Ohio Ikea mega-store (and I’ll even share an example in this article why Ikea made more sense than buying from my business – bummer).

And while there…