We made a little time capsule to leave behind and it was actually a lot of fun more fun than packing. Our big hope is that someone finds it at least a few decades from now (when there are flying cars and precogs) since it would be kind of a womp-womp moment if the new owners discover it as soon as they move in on Monday. Which is why we hid it very very well. So well that it may never be found. Of course we can’t reveal its location because that could ruin the surprise, but consider it to be something along the lines of “inside the walls” trickery. No “taped under the sink” easy stuff.
Anyway, the “capsule” included a hand written letter and a sheet of paper with two photos on it (one of me, John, and Clara from this year & one of our backyard wedding from ’07 – both of which were labeled with the date and the event/our names). Here’s what the letter says:
Dear finder of this note,
We lived in this house from May of 2006 to December of 2010. Our names are John and Sherry Petersik and we moved in as a 25 year old engaged couple and left as a family of four (we got married, adopted a puppy, and had a daughter all during our time here). We actually got married in the backyard on July 7th, 2007 among our friends and family. This was our first house, and we loved it so much that getting married here just made sense.
We actually started an online blog about our life and our renovations here in 2007 called younghouselove.com. You might still be able to find it online if we’re still blogging about our home improvement adventures when you find this note. We had a lot of fun here, from gutting and renovating the kitchen and the bathrooms to getting the driveway paved and adding a cobblestone patio in the backyard. We also closed off a doorway that led from the kitchen to the bedroom behind it (which used to be a formal dining room) to create a true 3rd bedroom, which eventually became our daughter Clara’s nursery.
We hope that you enjoy your time here as much as we have enjoyed ours!
-xoxo, Sherry, John, Baby Clara & Burger the chihuahua
The “dear finder of this note” line makes me laugh. It was all John. I wonder who the heck will find it! And when they do, will they teleport to a friend’s house and show it to them? Only time will tell. Or will it? (Cue the ominous duh-duh-duhhhhhhhh sound effect).
Psst- We announced the winner of this week’s giveaway. Click here to see if it’s you (and check out a sweet discount for everyone).
Katie says
I LOOOVE that idea. It would make me so excited to find something like that. Your site gives me so many ideas I can’t wait to put them to good use when I buy my first home.
Blair r says
So, you don’t have to answer this, but I am definitely guessing that you guys hid it in the wall when you were fixing the pocket door to your half bath. :)
YoungHouseLove says
We cannot confirm nor deny. Just kidding. We actually didn’t (that was a while ago, so we hadn’t made our time capsule yet). Good guess though!
xo,
s
Barbara says
That’s a great idea, but it invokes some sadness in me, as I lived in the same house as a child for over twenty years (in which my parents still own) and since 1990 have lived in the same house with my daughters and husband. I hope to grow old in this home surrounded by all the memories we’ve created and the fun times, hopefully leaving them my home some day. You will however, have many opportunities for that in your new home! Good luck to you!
KKM says
We have an office with some small doors that open into the attic eaves–which I use for Christmas present storage and wrapping paper. Just today the Orkin guy came out to check in there because I heard a bird or bat or something. Well, the animal was no longer there (sigh of relief) but he did find an (empty) 40 oz. bottle of Milwaukee’s Best in a paper bag!!! ICK! That’s what happens when you live in a house built in 1991 (and maybe explains why there must be a hole somewhere in the attic??). We do love the house though!
foo says
you should have put pictures of what it looked like when you moved in. I love looking at all the pictures of my childhood home from the time my parents bought it until the time they moved away. Even houses like to look back at their bad fashion sense, no? =)
plumber g says
Congrats on the move. I was on an internet fast this past few months so I missed the news. Goodluck to the four of you (including burger)
Corien says
I bet the new homeowners will break down all the walls just out of curiosity! If I would know there was a letter somewhere hidden in our (Dutch) 1966 house, I would not rest till I had found it!
jennifer d says
So cool! We heard that the elderly woman who owned our house before us hid money in the light sockets, but that her cleaning lady found out & stole it all. We replaced all the trim in our house and wrote a message on the back of the piece over our front door. I wonder if someone will ever find it!
Paula/adhocmom says
That’s much cuter than our plan of leaving a file of take-out menus with a “hope you’re as happy as we were note.” An apartment just doesn’t leave as many hiding options, plus – when you move in you really just want to know where the best Chinese comes from right?
carolinaheartstrings says
What a great idea. You know you have just started something “big” don’t you?
Ally says
Wow. I love this idea.
The previous owners of our home were actually the original owners, and they bought the house in the 1950’s! I often walk down the hall or sit in the living room and try to imagine their family living there. They lived in the house for more than 50 years, so almost their entire family history took place within the walls where my husband and I now live! It’s amazing to think about. We share something special with people we barely even know. It would be so awesome to come across a note left by them someday.
Suzanne says
You guys are so cute!
Sarah says
What a sweet idea- love that you left a little bit of yourselves behind. In a small way, you’ll still be a “part” of your first home together…
Cristina says
We did this too! Actually it was more of begging that the next person who lived here wouldn’t destroy the house. When we moved into our first home the previous tenant messed the house up SO badly that we left a note showing the before and after behind the bathroom cabinet, and begged the next owner to never let it go back to the way it was before, hah. The next person that lived in our home gave the bathroom and kitchen a gorgeous remodel, but they kept the bathroom cabinet, hehe.
Claire @ Claire K Creations says
Great idea! I love the ‘dear finder of this note’ too. Some friends of ours found a calender from the 60s behind some wallpaper in their new house and were super excited. Finding a letter from the past would be even better.
Carrie says
Love it! If I were the buyer of your house I’d be a reader of the blog…which means I’d spend the first year searching desperately for this little note. The house would be so torn up from my searching that I’d have a lot of DIYing to do just to get it back in shape. Congrats on the new place and bye-bye (boo hoo) to the old!
Newlywed Next Door says
I love this! I may have to do this too whenever we leave our first home.
When my boyfriend (now husband) moved out of his fraternity house in college, they demolished to build a new one. Before it was demolished the boys and I did some demolition of our own (ahhh college). Inside the walls we found newspapers from the 1930s! So crazy and cool too see. I guessed they used newspaper as insulation (nice).
jules says
That is the sweetest idea ever! When I was a kid I used to write myself a note every year and hide it in my stocking after Christmas as a reminder of what was going on in my life. (yeah, i was kind of a dork.) But this is truly neat!
heyruthie says
when i was a teen, we were uprooted from my childhood home in a rather dramatic way, and I was sad to say goodbye to the house. I wrote a long note on the inside of the closet, way up near the ceiling, above the door. I wrote it in the part you don’t see if you’re looking into the closet. in order to read it, you had to be *in* the closet, and looking for it, or painting, etc.i wrote about loving my childhood home, and hopes for the new owners. i don’t think i ever told my parents. it was my own way of saying goodbye.
the last time i saw the house, the new owners hadn’t changed much–they were still using the 1980’s woodland theme mailbox that my parents installed, and the same window treatments! I’d be willing to bet that the inside of the closet hasn’t been touched these 15 years. they don’t strike me as the type that paint inside closets ;-)
Brandon Y says
Great Idea!
MrsPaetz says
That’s a great idea. We live in a 70 year old house and I’m always intrigued about its history and its past inhabitants!
Bethany says
My family and I made a note for the house I grew up in as a child. What my mother didn’t though, is that my sister and I also drew a little tv set on the wall over the door in our bed room closet were she and i use to hide.I like to think a little kid is enjoying watching our show just like we did.
Jill says
I just happened across this post today and it made me laugh. My husband and I recently closed on our first house and the first thing we did was to clear a bunch of stuff that had been laid/stored on the upper beams of the detached garage. Among the things we found: half of a door, a cool mirror (that I hope to paint and hang in the house one day), two tabletops with no legs, old coffee cups, and a stack of 70s-ish porn. We had so many laughs! I’m not sure if we can ever bear to get rid of the books/magazines!
Jessica says
My husband and I recently renovated a home. We found a strange time capsule within one of the many walls we demolished. The handy fella who added on to our home (we cursed him many times!) placed a snapshot of himself and a pack of cigarettes in the wall. We had many great laughs, and we kept the snapshot. His photo is in our china cabinet!
Sam says
Just now coming across this post… We’re currently are living in our first home and when we ripped up the carpet to install new wood flooring, we wrote all of our names and the date on the concrete slab in permanent marker. Since we’re military we know we’ll eventually move and turn this home into a rental property… so it will probably be a long time before anyone sees the mark we left.
Kristin M says
Have you heard anything about this since leaving it? I’d be curious, as your original house is on its second owners since you, right?
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, we knew the couple we sold it to would only be there a few years (they were relocating for a job that moved them every few years) so we couldn’t wait for it to go up for sale just to see how the house was doing and stare at the new listing photos! We have heard from the new buyer and they’re awesome and excited to let us crash when they’re all settled in. Can’t wait!!
xo
s
Kristin M says
That’s awesome! Did those first owners after you find the note? Or is it still hidden safely?
YoungHouseLove says
We have no idea!
xo
s