What do you do when you’re unsure whether your current house will be your long-term home? And if it isn’t, how do you decide when to stop investing time and money in improvements? In this post we tackle those two big questions and share how our own answers shaped recent renovation choices. Shortly after we posted photos of our mostly finished master bedroom, an unexpected change — a beautiful “wrench” — prompted a chain of free updates that shifted the room’s look. We also share a simple routine that has eased our weekday mornings and a surprising factor that can reduce a home’s property value.
You can download this episode from iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, and TuneIn Radio — or listen to it below. Use this page to find any links, notes, or photos we referenced. Note: If you’re reading in a feed reader, you may need to click through to the post to see the player.
What’s New
- Above is a preview of the new rug in our master bedroom. We plan to take a few more photos and publish a post detailing what stayed and what left the room — hopefully by tomorrow.
- In Episode #45 we first discussed storing items by function, which is why we keep a Sharpie in our lunch-prep drawer for quick labels.
- I also noted that I stopped bulk-prepping smoothies the way I described in Episode #3. We still have green smoothies every morning; I just stopped portioning everything into individual baggies ahead of time.
- For our daughter’s lunches we use reusable Sistema containers — either the side-by-side size or the stacked size — along with small plastic cups for snacks and sauces.
What’s Not
- Here’s an article that lists nine surprising things that add value to your home, which is worth reviewing when planning updates.
Listener Question
- If you want to hear our old (2009) take on whether this is our forever home, skip ahead to 5:45 in the Blogiversary Q&A video above.
- If you haven’t seen them, our first house and our current house tours are linked on their respective gallery pages for context on how our approach has evolved.
We’re Digging
- Above are two of the decorative backup toilet paper holders we keep in our half bath: a basket on the floor and a glass vessel on the tank. They keep extra rolls accessible for guests while fitting the bathroom’s style.
- Although that specific basket is no longer available, there are many stylish options if you want an attractive way to keep spare rolls within reach.
- We’ve been enjoying Grand Designs on Netflix — a great way for Americans to see the ambitious and quirky projects showcased in the U.K. Several episodes are also available on YouTube, and there are lighthearted rundowns that capture the show’s tone.
Psst — Want to revisit something we featured in a past episode but can’t remember which show notes to open? Here’s a master list of everything we’ve dug in previous episodes.
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