I think transitional storage is great, if you’ve got the space. There’s nothing wrong with changing out your decor every now and then. We do it with seasonal decoration, why not with vases and display items?
2 Likes
I get it…ha…I lived in so many foreign countries where bugs and vermin were the norm…my mother would sift out “most” of the mealy bugs out of flours and cornmeal, but I am sure I have eaten my share…flies to me are the worst…they spit on your food…cockroaches and waterbugs at least stay long enough for you to notice them to throw out whatever they touched…of course, veggies and fruits with bugs inside…eh, extra… 
3 Likes
I wouldn’t get rid of anything special to you until you feel that your house is pretty much exactly as you want it. You’re still auditioning things in places and would be so sad if you found just the spot for a particular family heirloom only to find you’d “gotten rid of it.”
Once you feel confident that you’ve chosen the most important things, and you’re house is pretty much settled as you like it, then you could consider writing out the history of an item as you know it and offering it to family members who would cherish it, and if there are no willing takers then perhaps a museum type place would be interested in them.
3 Likes
Speaking of keeping stuff unnecessarily, can someone please tell me it’s ok to throw out the dust jackets I’ve been taking off my art books. I’ll never use them or try to resell my books so they’re literally just taking up space but my brain says I need to keep them.
6 Likes
Throw them out…I just priced a resell of a popular hardback book that I paid $35 for…they will give me $1.99 but I have to ship at least 10 pounds before they will offer free shipping label. Throw them out, use the books to hearts content. Unless it is a collectible first edition in prime condition AND there are suitable buyers, it is a book among many books.
7 Likes
I think writing the history down is smart, if you haven’t done that yet. Even if you end up keeping all the things, you’re not going to live forever. That way your family members will at least know the history of the pieces when they find them. “A box of 19th century antique pottery passed down for 5 generations” sounds a lot more interesting than a box of “stuff”.
2 Likes
Throw out, or creatively repurpose them. Would they make cool gift wrapping paper? Or cover a shoe box for an artsy storage container?
Book stuff is always a tough one for me too. But Linda is right. I keep reminding myself that the real value of most modern books is in reading and using them, not preserving or archiving them in perfect condition.
4 Likes
The nutcrackers have been put away(ish) and my shelf now has cute little winter trees and vintage frames from the thrift shop! (I even printed pictures today!)
The frames came in a grab bag and I kept the ones I liked. They all needed cleaned and judging by the sharp, uneven glass, they may have been hand cut. I wish I knew how old they were.
Bonus: pictures from our Mexico vacation last week!
8 Likes
I don’t know what the before looked like, but knowing my kids’ room, that is quite the accomplishment!
4 Likes
Too much furniture, too much clutter. When it’s time to move back in, I think they’ll decide to sell/donate almost everything.
4 Likes
GASP!
Those gorgeous floors! Did you know that was hiding under there? Wow 
3 Likes
I know, right?! What luck!
2 Likes
Yeah, we knew that was there. All the bedrooms have hardwood floors. We’re having it repaired and refinished. Trying to research nontoxic options for finishing it.
ETA: DH’s parents built this house, so we’re familiar with all its loveable quirks. Funny enough, it was a really popular layout at the time and my stepmom’s house was nearly identical.
6 Likes
My guest bathroom finally has a new toilet! My handyman and his assistant came today to take care of a bunch of things in anticipation of having my first official house guest in 10 days (my sister!). I had to get a new toilet as the old one was so short and gross. He picked out a much taller one with a seat that closes itself! Now I want that seat for the other toilets! ha ha
Anyway,he got my dishwasher mounted into the cabinet, put up brand new stair handrails, and fixed a bunch of small but irritating things…he set up a schedule with Jim to get his studio and drum room built and will be back in February. We are fortunate to have good people to help us.
I also managed to get all my Japanese dishes, saki sets and tea sets into my new display cases…now I just have to get the dining room furniture.
12 Likes
Looks beautiful, Linda. I love that carpet too, nice!
One of the tea kettles belonged to my great grandmother and one from my grandmother. The others are from my mom. Of course, in this day and age, I use a regular tea kettle and tea bags, and a huge mug, but I like to think of the nice, relaxing times of people enjoying tea out of those beautiful tea sets.
As easy as LVP is to take care of, we are going to replace it with real hardwood floors in a darker color this summer. I like this style of rug over the wooden floors.
4 Likes
The new fridge and dishwasher were installed yesterday. Our 1950s kitchen is small and so are the appliances, little choice in color or size. Right now the fridge is in the old spot, a future kitchen remodel will move it to a better spot. I like the fridge ok, but it seems to hulk in the corner. Scary. And we have to be very careful opening it and not bashing it against the door. Fun times in a small house.
But we have a working dishwasher again and a light in the fridge!
Old fridge
7 Likes
looks nice and cozy…What do you have in those cure little drawers?
A fridge is on my list as well…our space is smaller than our last one, so we have to scale down. We are keeping the old one in the garage to use for drinks and leftovers…although, the garage is cold enough that drinks stay pretty cold in their containers .
How many cubic feet is your fridge? I looks plenty big to hold a lot!
2 Likes