As if this morning’s pie charts weren’t enough, we’re back to get all numerical and statistical on you. Each year we like to break down what YHL looks like by the numbers. Some are crazy. Some are surprising. Some are serious. Some are, well, just for fun. We’ve included some of last year’s numbers just for comparison’s sake, but you can also look back at our past by-the-numbers posts for our last three blogiversaries to see how things have changed: 2010, 2009 and 2008.
2,014 – The number of published posts to date on Young House Love (Last year: 1,527)
16 – The number of published posts to date on Young House Life (clearly someone’s gotta pick up the slack over there).
570,314 – The number of total comments left by you fine folks. More than DOUBLE our number last year (258,904) meaning there has been more commenting action in the last 12 months than in our first three years.
38,754 – The number of comment responses we’ve posted, which is more than TRIPLE last year’s total (13,039).
9 – Number of months we’ve lived in our new house
21.5 – Clara’s weight (wonder how long she’ll let us keep sharing that?). Up from 14lbs last year. She’s tall and skinny like… well, a bean (a string bean to be exact).
8.5 – My main man Burger’s weight. Up from a whopping 8lbs last year.
210,460- Most blog hits we’ve received in a single day according to WordPress.com stats – the day our Washington Post feature came out (last year’s top day: 97,024). But yesterday we were just 7K away from topping the Wash Post day!
4,048,011 – Total number of blog hits we received last month (insanity – last year’s stat: 2,144,976).
68,164,565 – Total blog hits to date (nearly double last year’s number: 36,698,957)
4 – Number of times we’ve driven by our old house to check in on it (including once after Hurricane Irene – it was fine!)
1 – Number of times we accidentally turned down our old street when we meant to go to our new house (we’re proud of ourselves since it’s only a mile away).
150 – Total number of mood boards featured in our Mood Board Gallery.
146– Total number of weekly giveaways that we’ve held since starting them back in November of ’08 (after you guys requested them during our very first blogiversary)
35- Our average number of posts per month
3 – Number of soda-themed shirts I (John) own (I do own non-soda-related shirts, despite the fact that they seem to be the only ones that show up in pictures).
12 – Clara’s current catalog of animal sounds. She can moo like a cow, neigh like a horse, baa like a sheep, maa like a goat, meow like a cat, woof like a dog, hoo like an owl, cheep like a chicken, roar like a lion, quack like a duck, say “ooh-ooh-ahh-ahh” like a monkey, and even imitate a sloth (which according to one of her books says “slowly slowly” – so she slinks around saying that).
2,405- Average number of words written per post (we’re chatty, huh?)
19,204- Average number of words written per week (admittedly, this is kind of insane)
648 – The total number of projects that we link to on our Projects page (and we still have around 50 to add, but haven’t gotten to that part of our to-do list yet. Sorry!)
58: Photos of Clara that we’ve taken for her photo project (52 weekly pictures + 5 monthly + 1 for her birthday card)
230,652 – Number of Pinterest followers (this. is. insane.)
22 – Total number of steps from our bed to our desk (in the last house it was 7, so we no longer risk posting in our sleep anymore).
6:30 – The time tonight that we’ll be participating in a local panel discussion called “Hobby to Business: Making A Living Doing What You Love.” How fitting for blogiversary week, no? More details here (psst- we’re not getting paid for it, just thought it sounded fun).
So there you have it. The stats of the year. Do you guys count things like steps from one room to another or how often you intentionally and unintentionally drive to an old house? Can you picture how cute Clara is when she slinks around the house saying “sloooowly, sloooowly” – seriously it’s amazing. We’ll have to get it on video pronto.
Psst- You can also look back at our past by-the-numbers posts for our last three blogiversaries here: 2010, 2009 and 2008.
Jordan Turner says
In reading through your old posts, I saw that you guys seem to really like Frank Lloyd Wright (and for good reason!). I’m a former student of Florida Southern College which holds the largest collection of his designs in the world. It’s so beautiful from Annie Pfieffer Chapel, which has a huge window in the top to open up to the heavens, to the Water Dome, which is gorgeous when the water is on at night with the lights surrounding it, to The Esplanades which weren’t really that effective for tall people since Frank Lloyd Wright was short. Though it was funny seeing the huge basketball players trying to walk under them when it was raining though most of the time, they just walked on the grass outside of them.
If you guys are ever in Florida, you should definitely go to Lakeland where Florida Southern College is. You’d be amazed at how gorgeous the campus is. They also give free tours!
Jordan Turner says
Also! Congratulations on four years! You guys should be extremely proud of yourselves for the things you’ve been able to accomplish! I hope my life can be as amazing and filled with the things I love as y’all’s!
YoungHouseLove says
That sounds so much fun! Thanks for the tip! We’ll have to check it out!
xo,
s
Nora says
Congratulations year number 4!! I am looking forward to reading your blog for many more years. This is a wonderful post — I love stats info.
Marguerite says
I’m a senior in college and I think I speak for a lot of your slightly younger audience when I say this: THANK YOU! The idea of going out into the real world and being “real people” can be so overwhelming and unnerving! You guys make it seem fun, something to look forward to rather than dread. So I just wanted to let you know that while you are definitely a wonderful inspiration, you also set a great example for all of us anxiously awaiting the real world :-)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, how sweet! The real world isn’t that bad actually! Come on over. Haha.
xo,
s
Jesse Rader says
WEST ME” I am a Nurse in an operating room having just got my first job after graduating Nursing school in 2006.
Amanda S. says
Those numbers are crazy! And I totally came over here to comment that you must video Clara for posterity’s sake on the animal noises — so cute! The sloth sounds adorble! She could be the next youtube sensation ;) lol
Marissa says
Oh my gosh, I’m head over heels in love with you guys all over again! I just started reading your posts from the very beginning. I had to cut myself off for tonight- I have a mountain of grad school homework to finish! I hate to imagine people’s reactions when I say, “I flunked out of grad school because John and Sherry are WAY cuter than that article I have to read/presentation I have to create!” Happy Blogiversary!
Jenny says
Haha – the first time I read this, I thought you wrote, “The number of total comments left by you fine FOOLS.” And yes, a sloth video would be great, thanks.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, not fools! You guys are awesome.
xo,
s
Elizabeth says
Wow it’s crazy to see how much your readership has grown over the years (must be even crazier for you two)! I’ve been reading this blog for over 2 years now and I love it, I never miss a post. Keep up the great work guys! :) Love from Canada!
Azure says
I see Clara learned to stick the second “ahh” on to “ooh-ooh-ahh-ahh!” Smart girl!
YoungHouseLove says
Yes! We got it! Finally!
xo,
s
GreenInOC says
I’m curious – how do you control the “one comment per email address”? PLEASE don’t tell me that you are manually weeding through that because if you do, I think I might cry at the sheer workload!!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- that’s actually John’s awesome method. He does a search in our comments for other posts by that email address and if others match/come up on the contest post they’re out… but if they come up on other posts (or not at all) they’re winners! So glad it only takes a second.
xo,
s
GreenInOC says
At first I thought John was searching through the comments BEFORE picking a winner and literally, my mouth was hanging open!
I had to re-read it a couple of times to comprehend it – MUCH better system!
By the way, congratulations on your anniversary and your much deserved success! You guys are so genuine and talented, your readers are your fans and wish nothing but the best for your family.
I now find myself thinking of you guys when I’m wandering around Home Goods! The other day I was at TJ Maxx and I saw a ceramic greyhound that was SO close to your old guy except he wasn’t looking up and I really wanted to get it for you!
Megan says
Wow, I’m blown away at the numbers of your blog and what your day-to-day routine involves. It’s amazing! I was wondering how you guys archive your photos and at what point (if any) do you delete photos from your computer?
YoungHouseLove says
We save personal ones on our external harddrive and back them up on Flickr along with saving them to our computers (using iPhoto). As for blog pics, we upload them to the cloud (Amazon S3, where they’re stored and backed up for the blog) and keep some key ones on hand in iPhoto (labeled by project) and delete all others. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Begen says
All the way from Brisbane, Australia — I somehow stumbled across your page (probably when I googled something to DIY?) and I certainly contribute to your blog hits! I check out your page several times a day at work =X Totally hooked and I love love love seeing the progress! I’ve looked at a few other “reno” sites and I just don’t visit as often as I do here! There is just something about you guys and your writing/blogging style =D
Happy Blogiversary!!!
Natalie says
Lol the “slowly, slowly” sloth sound kills me!
Diana says
Congratulations on 4 years!! Can hardly wait to see Clara’s sloth imitation! Those videos get more precious with each passing year…children grow up so fast!
Wendy says
Elephant sound- roll your lips inward to your mouth (open mouth, and pull them backwards to the back of your mouth); press lips together; blow outward til you hear an elephant sound.
A former neighbor’s grandfather taught me this. This wonderful white-haired man made the best elephant sounds for his grandchildren. It took me a few tries to master it.
Caution- some spitting may occur when one initially tries it. Once you get the hang of it, it’s quite fun!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- now I want to try it. Just might…
xo,
s
Chrissie says
My friend does this, it’s highly amusing. Took me ages to be able to do it properly!
Christy Bryan says
You should totally crash your old house! I sometimes wonder about it :)
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, we’d love to. The ball is in their court!
xo,
s
Amy says
You guys would knock it out of the park if you signed up for NaNoWriMo! If you managed to find the spare time to do it that is. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Sounds fun! Off to check it out!
xo,
s
Kimberly says
http://www.folksy.com/items/2162273-Where-We-re-From?shop=yes
I think you two will absolutely adore this, and maybe even make it for your home? I saw it & automatically thought of you two.
YoungHouseLove says
LOVE IT SO MUCH! Pinned it. Haha.
xo,
s
Heather S says
Hey guys, what a fun post to read..must be a little daunting to pull together! Your memory recall is amazing (for those that can’t be generated from the computers stats).
I have joined Pinterest, but I haven’t found you (I didn’t see it on FAQ’s or about us – sorry) can you please tell me your username so I can find & follow you? Stalker! :) LOL
I think the Clara video of animal sounds would be so cute…I can just picture my girls when they were learning their animal sounds….but I missed out on the sloth, that has got to be the cutest thing ever!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Heather,
You can find me on Pinterest here: http://pinterest.com/younghouselove/
And we’ll definitely have to share an animal sound video soon!
xo,
s
Chris Froberg says
Congrats!
Monica says
Totally off-topic from this post, but since I know y’all are still pondering the island/breakfast nook option as an arrangement for your kitchen, I thought I’d mention these photos I just came across of a similar design in real life. I guess the new Design Star winner used that layout in one of her kitchens for the new show (photos 17 & 18 in the photoset here: http://www.hgtv.com/on-tv/amazing-before-and-after-makeovers-from-hgtvs-great-rooms/pictures/index.html). They have a bigger island than you would, I think, but still intriguing to see outside Photoshop!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much for the link! Love it!
xo,
s
Amy says
Wow, it’s so fun to see the last 3 year’s posts and see how you’ve grown! It’s encouraging to anybody who is thinking of striking out on their own in any way at all. I love how much of the behind the scenes details you’re willing to share.
Rosemary M. says
Happy 4thiversary!!!!
I love love love your blog..I started out reading just your posts but now I can’t get enough without reading your comments as well. I love the interaction you have with us! Keep up the great work.
I also love how you throw in the occasional “spanish word” like no bueno it makes me laugh everytime :)
Sara says
Please, oh please post a video of Clara imitating a sloth. That would make my day! And I’m sure a lot of your other readers days as well :)
Xoxo
YoungHouseLove says
We’ll do our best to catch it. That book has gone back to the library for now, so we’ll have to find some sloth pics online to trigger a real quality impression.
-John
Carrie Z. says
Thanks for keeping it real. You guys are blogging geniuses:) What does it feel like to blaze such an awesome trail?
YoungHouseLove says
You’re too kind. I think we’re just figuring it out along with the rest of the blogosphere. :)
-John
Melissa E. says
Such a cool list. I love the idea of having things like to look back upon when years have gone by.
Maybe everyone should do a number round up every year. Makes sense to me.
r8chel says
At the moment, it looks like you have 245,366 followers on Pinterest. Does this mean you’ve gained almost 15,000 new Pinterest followers since this afternoon?!?! That’s amazing.
YoungHouseLove says
Apparently. Crazy! Maybe linking in this post helped?
-John
karen says
wow! those are some big numbers!! Continued success!
btw…how did clara’s 1 nap go yesterday??
YoungHouseLove says
Eh, it was so-so. She’s also a little under the weather thanks to a molar coming in, so she’s got a lot going on. But we kept her active through her usual morning naptime just fine and she fell asleep very quickly. It just didn’t last quite as long as we would’ve wanted. But we know this adjustment takes time so we’re sticking with it!
-John
Semlly says
Please don’t tell me that you are manually weeding through that because if you do, I think I might cry at the sheer workload!!
Jerri says
Lindsay, can I start the answers?! Yes about the DIY stuff around my house! And, yes to constantly THINKING about starting my own blog, after reading theirs!
Steph says
I had this funny moment the other day when a good friend came over to offer her two cents on the color swatches painted on our living room wall. We got to talking about places for inspiration, and at the same time we looked at each other and were like “Do you read Young House Love?” and we started laughing about our favorite posts (hers was the clothespin chandelier, mine was that $6 office cabinet makeover… so jealous, ps.) Anyway, the BEST part was that our husbands were there to witness the whole thing… and my husband ruefully agreed that maybe I’m not so crazy by ALWAYS referencing YHL. Maybe it’s a more common phenomenon than previously thought! Thanks so much for your hard work… You have inspired little re-dos, make-overs and projects in EVERY SINGLE ROOM IN OUR HOUSE. Thanks for inspiring me to take design risks that I otherwise wouldn’t have. I can’t say that any of our rooms are “finished” (like you often say, rooms evolve and ours are all still works-in-progress), but I can say that you have helped me feel the sense of accomplishment in working to make our house a home that I feel comfortable in and that I absolutely adore. And thanks so much for the info. you’ve shared this week. I often get down on myself because I feel like we aren’t accomplishing enough (I am an attorney and my husband stays home with our son), but then I remember how far we’ve come… and that you guys are professionals… and I remember to breathe. Have enjoyed reading your adventures for the two years I’ve been following you, and am looking forward to all the great stuff you’ll do in the future! Thanks again!
Chrissie says
So many numbers! I love Clara’s imitation of a sloth, I would definitely watch that video. I’ve been trying to catch my kitten in action with her tennis ball – when she’s in an active mood she goes nuts with that thing! But she always seems to calm down right around the time I remember to pull the camera out =/
Marta says
Congrats on 4 years!
I definitely laughed out loud at the thought of Clara slinking around like a sloth and then proceeded to explain your whole blog along with the Clara story to my sister! I can’t wait to see the video :)
Keep on posting!
Pamela says
John & Sherry – thank you both so much for all your tremendous work & excellent blog. Your writing style is amazing, entertaining & detailed.
Okay, I had a dream about y’all on Monday night. I dropped in on you at a house (not your current house – it had an open floorplan/low ceilings/sparsely furnished/dated – with unpainted wood paneled walls). You were both surprised that I just showed up (I believe you’d also just returned home) & as I walked across the room to talk to you Sherry, you started crying a lot. I hugged you & said everything would be okay & to take it day-by-day…you’d been feeling extremely overwhelmed with things. After that, I told you & John that if y’all were ever traveling in my area, I’d be happy to babysit. John then takes out a long, silver metal pointer (used in presentations) and walks over to a “map” on the wall (not a traditional U.S. map, but a map with squares showing regional areas). He points to your location first & then points to my location (proximity not close at all), and then looks at me incredulously as to say, “you gotta be kidding” (considering the geographical distance). John didn’t even speak a word – just used his metal pointer & facial expression to impress upon me that my offer wasn’t a possibility. Ha. Sherry, important wish for ‘ya – I sure hope your tears have dried!! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Hahaha – hilarious about John and the pointer. The fact that he didn’t talk but used facial expressions and a big metal pointer is hysterical for some reason. Haha. And no worries over here- no tears! Thank goodness.
xo,
s
Pamela says
Whew – good to know about no tears, Sherry (although in the dream it was a good thing for you, because you’d bottled things up & it all came out, so it ultimately made you feel better). :) Oh, and yeah, John’s silent demo with the long metal pointer, map & his expression was all sooo stinkin’ funny!! SNL kinda funny (in my opinion). Ha.
Theresa says
ahhh, can’t wait for that clara video! cutest thing i’ve ever heard, bet its great in person too.
KarenH. says
Well, if you’ve been in your new house 9 months, then you moved in right about the same time I first drove by my new house (just killing time because I was early for dinner with my son and daughter-in-law,a nd they weren’t home yet). I’d seen the house listed for sale months ago and the pictures online were kind of cute and I knew it was near my son’s house so I figured I’d go see if I could find it. (remembered the street but had no idea of the house number)
To my surprise, it was not only still for sale, but they were having an open house right then! AND nobody was in the drive, so I knew I wouldn’t be distracting the realtor from real buyers. So what the heck, right?
I entered through the side, kitchen door and knew immediately–without another thought–that this house would NEVER do. The kitchen was tiny, tiny, tiny. Seriously. Even smaller than the one I had in my condo. And the rest of the house wasn’t much bigger. The combined dining room/living room was a good two feet smaller in each direction than my condo’s living room. The “master” was a bit smaller than my smallest (of 3) bedrooms, and the second bedroom? 7×11 feet. The bathroom was the only room even slightly comparable to any in my condo. Just a wee bit smaller than the condo’s small bath. But with a window, so it was bright and cheery. (we shall not mention the unfortunate tile–which looks like a 70s take on streambed-washed pebble effect, but with a side order of “microscope slides of fungus”–inside the stone. I mean, the tile didn’t have fingus growing on it–it was a design inside the tile stones. LOL)
There was absolutely no hope for this tiny house. But it was so cute. And then I decided to check out the basement. At the head of the stairs, about two inches before the first stair, the carpeting ended. And there was a lovely strip of original oak flooring visible. Hmmmmmmmm.
And the basement was completely unfinished, so you could see all the plumbing (sound), electrical (updated, and with a breaker box, not fuses), and dry. Lovely, lovely dry basement. Hmmmmmm.
And then I got to thinking that maybe there was no extra bedroom for my sewing room, but I had that whole, lovely, dry basement. Hmmmmmm.
And it’s just me and the cats now that my son is married. And son and DIL have been trying to convince me to move closer. And it would be a house, with a yard. And a real, live garden!!! Hmmmmm.
Oh, did I mention the fireplace in the dining room with a wood burning stove insert? No? Yeah, that too.
Okay, so too late to make this long story short, but I made an offer just three days later and they accepted it a week later. “They” meaning the original owner and her sons (yes, sons, plural, who were raised in this tiny itty bitty brick house). Her husband had died three years ago. She moved out to be closer to her sons, a year after that but wasn’t yet ready to sell the house, and then it sat on the market for almost another year until I drove by on a fluke.
I moved in in March (to get my cats out of the condo so I could sell it), closedmon my condo sale in April, and closed on my tiny brick house in May. I don’t count steps in the house (too little–for the record, it is 100 square feet larger than half the size of my condo)–but I can plug my vacuum into an outlet in the middle of the house, and vacuum every single square foot of the first floor without changing outlets. :D
And just last week, I completely blew past my exit for home, heading towards the condo instead.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, it sounds so charming! Congrats!! And I think the fact that you don’t have to unplug the vacuum is a huge perk! So sweet.
xo,
s
Janke says
Happy happy blogiversary!!!
WOW, those numbers are impressive! I’m glad all this work and time pays off for you! I love your blog and with all those good news I guess I will be able to enjoy some more time.
By the way: I really hope your book will be available at Amazon Germany next year! I’m sooo excited about it!
YoungHouseLove says
We really hope it’ll be available internationally for sure! I love that you guys have Amazon Germany! Seems like a good place for it…
xo,
s
LauraK says
230,652 Pinterest followers?! That’s insane!! And to think I got excited when I saw I had 19 :)
Congrats on your 4 year blogiversary, I discovered YHL about a year ago when I first moved into my very own flat and have been checking back every day since then. Love it!
lesli devito says
wow…and here I was getting all excited because I finally got 1500 reads on a post…you have set the bar pretty high my friends! and all of your attention is well deserved…just send some folks my way will ya!!!!. keep up the good work.
Lindsay says
I gotta say, I applaud you for your patience when answering comments. There are so many times when the questions asked are written right in the post, or easily found with a little searching. THAT shows some dedication on your part!
Noah says
My favorite number in this entire post is the number of animal sounds Clara can make! And the number of steps thing is pretty funny!
Girona says
Congrats from Spain (Girona).
I enjoy with all your posts :-)
I live in a small flat, so I don’t have any room like yours and I’m impressed with all your job. Very good job !!
Maky says
OK so not to add to your crazy numbers game… but I did wonder which posts came up with the highest number of searches in your Google search on the page? As in, what did people search for the most on the site?
I feel like an enabler, feeding your addiction to your (much-loved) over-sharing! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, we don’t keep very good track of that, but we do know that searches about painting cabinets and paneling and furniture tend to bring people here!
xo,
s
Meaghan says
You guys are really an ispiration! I’m a corporate writer who started a DIY blog as a creative outlet after discovering how awesome YHL is. You’ll even see some projects inspired by you on it :)
I love reading about your projects and admire your courage to chase your writing dreams! Good luck in your next year!
Sam G says
I’ll bet the .5 lbs on Burger is from standing vigil under Clara’s chair hoping for droppings. I know that is our dog’s favorite spot.
YoungHouseLove says
So true!
-John
Katherine Victoria says
Congratulations on a wonderful 4 years!
I started reading in early 2010 and am so glad I stumbled upon your site. It’s now my first (and favorite) web stop each day.
Best wishes to the two of you, Clara, and Burger in the upcoming years!
Jenn says
I just found your site a couple of weeks ago and have really enjoyed your posts. Love the writing style, love the step-by-step how-to’s and definitely appreciate all the helpful photos; I have bookmarked sooo many of your pages!
It’s clear by your numbers post that I’m just one in a sea of many of your fans, but I’m really glad I found you. Keep up the good work and we’ll keep reading!
By the way, I was just searching online for a picture frame and thought this would be a cute memento to celebrate your 4-year blogiversary:
http://www.kohls.com/kohlsStore/clearance/forthehome/frames_albums/PRD~760918/Fetco+You+Are+Meant+4+Me+4+x+6+Frame.jsp
Anyway, cheers to you! I wish you all the best in your future endeavors.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw cute! We’re total suckers for sentimental numbers. And 4 is such a good once for our family of four…
xo,
s
Katie Adams says
That’s amazing! I’m so happy for your you two. Who knew that a little ‘ol blog could come so far. I for one appreciate all your help. Your blog has helped our little family in many ways:
1. We Drylocked our basement
2. My sister also scored your excellent deal on her washer and dryer (and you scored a new follower)
3. Spray painted our front door hardware
4. Your post on selling your house and not making a killing gave me the comfort and confidence to list our own well loved but too small home
5. And my FAVORITE….the 1 year video we made for Max exactly like Clara’s
I bet there’s more but I can’t think of any right now and I know that there will be more to come. So, THANKS!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw I loved that breakdown! So sweet and inspiring.
xo,
s
Allyson says
I am looking for a new reliable host for my website after a horrible experience with my current host. What do you guys used to host YHL, and would you recommend them?
Thanks in advance!
x Allyson
YoungHouseLove says
We use Liquid Web. We love them, but they’re expensive. We need an entire server for ourselves and use them for support too, so maybe if you’re smaller they’ll be more budget friendly? We also had an amazing experience with BlueHost! We loved them until we got too big and they kicked us off. Haha.
xo,
s
Sam F says
I’m sure others have said it above, but you have to get video of Clara “doin’ the Sloth”! I bet it is adorable!