Harold's Renovation Blog: #45: Why We Got Rid Of Half The Toys In Our House

We had an “a-ha” moment while we were away on spring break, which led to a HUGE whole-house purge (including lots and lots of toys) and a ridiculously surprising reaction from our kids. So this week we talk about what inspired the change, and how it has shaped our outlook moving forward. We also share how we got so chummy with our neighbors – and how you can foster a more social atmosphere with yours. And we learn why paying attention to house staging tips might pay off, even if you have no plans to move. Plus Sherry finds inspiration in the success story of one of her favorite accessory designers and I find inspiration by gawking at people on the beach. Like a creeper.

You can download this episode from iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, and TuneIn Radio – or listen to it below! Then use this page to check out any links, notes, or photos that we referenced. Note: If you’re reading in a feed reader, you might have to click through to the post to see the player.

What’s New

For everyone who has asked, here’s the listing for the place we stayed in Cape Canaveral for Spring Break. There are more pics of the place on Airbnb, but we’ve included a few of our favorite shots here.
More importantly, here’s the Simplicity Parenting book that Sherry read twice and can’t stop raving about. Even if you’re not a parent, it has some good reminders about the role that “stuff” plays in our lives, and some good actionable ideas for simplifying life in general.

Also, Burger had the time of his life.

Updates

In case you want to hear more of my so-called voice twin (not to be confused with Joey’s hand twin), you can listen to all six episodes of the S-Town podcast on their website or wherever you listen to our podcast (warning, it does have some adult language).
Also, is it weird that I keep jamming out to the the S-Town soundtrack?

<a href="http://ift.tt/2ob7xR1">Music From S-Town by Daniel Hart</a>

And here are our original episodes where we referenced S-Town (Episode #42), our totally not spoiled escape room (Episode #43), and what to do with paint sample cans (Episode #37)

What’s Not

Here’s the article on How to Stage Your Home For Living by one of the guys from the Minimalists (they also have a book).
Also, here’s the old episode where we talked about staging a house to sell (Episode #41) and the Minimalism documentary (Episode #30)
And since this episodes seems to be especially self-referential, below is Episode #33, “In Pursuit of Doing More & Buying Less,” which is a good supplement to many of the things we talked about this week:

Listener Question

Below is a pic from our neighborhood Thrift Store Date Night that prompted this listener question (the episode that we talked about it originally was Episode #39). That’s us in the green & yellow get-ups.
And here’s an old post about that moving sale we hosted years ago that turned into an impromptu neighborhood meet up.

We’re Digging

Above is a quick video of one of the Inflatable Loungers we saw on the beach. This one is the Fatboy Lamzac, but there are less expensive options too, like the Air Lounger and the more colorful (and more colorfully named) Chillbo Baggins.
Also, here’s the beach cart we used at our rental, or the version that turns into a table which is pretty cool too.
And of course, the “quicksand” blanket that doesn’t hold sand. Kinda mind-blowing, eh?

If you wanna listen to How I Built This, the podcast about how big business got their start, you can find episodes (like the Kendra Scott one Sherry loved) on their website or wherever you listen to our podcast. Let us know if there are any others you recommend!
Oh, since Sherry promised a visual of Kendra Scott earrings for anyone who hasn’t laid eyes on ’em yet, she has these in turquoise/gold, these in rose quarts/gold, and these in platinum drusy/gold. Literally, she wears them like it’s her job.

Psst- Looking for something we’ve dug in a past episode, but don’t remember which show notes to click into? Well, here’s a master list of everything we’ve been digging from all past episodes.