Watching your former homes get altered by their new owners can be tough, and we witnessed a couple of changes that bothered us more than we expected. So this week we’re sharing how we got over those feelings and how to find the silver lining in seeing someone undo your designs. And back at our current house, we took a big step in making our driveway more kid-friendly that was long overdue and surprisingly painless to pull off. We also look at what items you shouldn’t be buying secondhand, why Sherry has been sentenced to more time in “tooth jail,” and how our beach house is having a brush with a true-crime saga. You can
#61: How To Conquer Paper Clutter (Once And For All!)
When it comes to paper clutter around the house, the struggle is real. Where does it come from? Is it in the rabbit family, because HOW IS IT MULTIPLYING?! We get it. And this week we’re sharing exactly how we keep it at bay (and exactly where we put everything, from receipts and school papers to bills, party invitations, and coupons). Also, a recent trip to tile at the beach house went less than smoothly, but a bout of good karma saved the day. I also share some psychology behind how to price your items on Craigslist, Sherry drops an easy way to keep frame galleries in order, and – believe it or not –
Beach House Update: Tile, Trim, & Doors!
Compared to the last nine months of gradual progress on our beach house, it feels like things are moving at breakneck speed lately. So this post is one big smorgasbord of updates (but the good kind of smorgasbord, with exotic cheeses and chocolate fondue). Just like I consider this picture of the house’s foyer to be the good kind of messy. I guess practically anything is a good kind of mess compared to the actual mess we had at the start of this project. Memmm-ries…. I know, I know, those two photos don’t look all that different, but what you can’t see is the repaired not-collapsing foundation, the new not-leaking roof, the fresh not-rotting siding,
#60: The Home Edit’s Best Organizing Tips
We’ve been on an organizing bender lately, so we called up pro organizers to the stars (yes, they’ve done Gwyneth Paltrow’s pantry!) and Target’s new home organizing experts: The Home Edit. Clea and Joanna explain how people are sabotaging their own organizing efforts, the right way to shop for baskets and bins, and how to not drive yourself crazy with labels. Also, Sherry shares two new (free!) sources of design inspiration that she has been devouring, John faces the facts about our online shopping habits, and we revisit if it’s really free to use a buyer’s agent when buying a house. You can download this episode from Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, and TuneIn Radio – or listen to it
How To Install An Irrigation System
Welp, I’ve found it guys – the DIY project I most regret undertaking: installing an irrigation system in our yard. Don’t be fooled by my friendly wave below. Why? The short answer is that it was much more exhausting and took much longer than I expected. A professional crew could’ve knocked it out in a day or two (I know this because I watched two neighbors get theirs installed in no time while I sweated and stressed through my own installation over a three-week period). Sure, DIY projects almost always take more time and elbow grease than just writing a check – but usually, the satisfaction of doing it yourself, learning a new skill, or saving some dough
#59: The Renovation Rollercoaster That Made Sherry Cry
It’s been a busy few weeks on our beach house renovation and they’ve been… well… less than smooth, to say the least. So this week we’re taking you through the saga of three setbacks that happened pretty much back to back (including a missed deadline, having no water line to our house, and a surprise medical complication). And although we’re keeping it real about renovations not always being easy or straightforward, it all has a happy ending: we survived nearly 20 hours of tiling, and we share the handy gadget that made working in a house with no electricity possible. Also Sherry continues to refuse to be a clean freak, and we spill what it’s
#58: Why We Stopped Sharing Our Kids Online
When does sharing things about your kids online become oversharing? And how do older kids who have grown up on their parents’ blogs and social media feeds feel about having their childhoods posted for public consumption? You’ve probably noticed we’re much more private about our own kids these days, and in this special episode we’re diving into “sharenting” and the reasons why we’ve decided to scale back. We also talked with four other bloggers (Erin Loechner, Myquillyn Smith, Cassie Freeman, and Joy Cho) about how much is too much to share – and we loved hearing how they find the right balance for their family. It was fascinating to chat with people who all come
#57: The Home Design Choices That Drive Us Crazy
Decorating is incredibly subjective, and everyone has design choices they LOVE and other things that make them feel… I don’t know… twitchy? Sad? Hangry? So we’re sharing what we’re neurotic about avoiding in our own home: like a certain way of arranging furniture and a specific color combo. We’re also detailing a range of places to find original art (in an awesomely broad range of prices) and we share a personal update about our beloved chihuahua. Plus, we’re revealing our new secret weapon for typos, and – wait for it – the exciting conclusion to the “what computer bag will John get?” saga. WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE! Oh, and you get to experience
#56: The Big Mistake We Made Selling Our House By Owner
With another wave of decluttering washing over our house, we’re looking back at our last yard sale and the strange trick we used to make it a fast-selling success (and the minor detail we overlooked that nearly turned it into a major disaster). We’re also talking about how we sold both of our homes without a realtor, and what five things you should consider before you go the For Sale By Owner route yourself – including the HUGE misstep we made when putting our first home on the market. You’ll also hear why we’ve given up on one area of our yard looking pretty anymore (we’ve just opted for pure function), and Sherry shares her
Celebrating Ten Years (!) Of Marriage In Puerto Rico
You might as well just pronounce us Mr. and Mrs. Puerto-Retersik, because we recently snuck off for a few days to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary (!!!) in Puerto Rico. Also because Puerto-Retersik rolls right off the tongue if you try hard enough. Promise. As we mentioned in last week’s podcast we wanted to share a few more pictures and details about our anniversary trip to San Juan because we LOVED it and we couldn’t recommend it more highly. So here’s the gist on where we stayed, what we did, and what we ate in case any of you are considering a trip to that area. Why Puerto Rico? After taking our actual honeymoon to Anchorage, Alaska
How To Pressure Wash Your Outdoor Cushions
Despite having a blast with the pressure washer we rented a few years ago, we’d always been hesitant to bite the bullet and purchase one. Part of us didn’t want to store another bulky tool, especially since it didn’t seem like something we’d be using all that often. But recently the universe sent us several signs that we were missing out. My neighbor kept waxing poetic about his. They were popping up in our blog feeds everywhere. Oh, and the pollen. The universe sent us lots and lots of pollen this year. Exhibit A: Those are pillows from the open sunroom on the back of our house, shown below shortly after we finished it back in
How We Cut The Cable & Saved Hundreds
Here it is, the post we promised all about cutting the cable cord (and how much we’re saving as a result). As self-proclaimed TV enthusiasts, we’ve been known to collapse on the couch after some good painting/organizing/spackling and kick back with some tube. So in all of the hubbub about cutting the cable cord in recent years, we never really considered ourselves strong candidates – especially because so many of the channels Sherry likes (Bravo, Bravo, and also Bravo) weren’t always easy to get outside of a traditional cable package. But after some recent frustrations with our cable provider, and an ever-growing bill (which went from $99 to $169 the last 4 years!) we became even more
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