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).
Julia @ Hooked on Houses says
I love this! Don’t we all wish that the former owners of our homes left us notes like this with clues to its past? :)
Sanja says
That is so sweet and thoughtful of you! I would love to find something like that :)
Carol N. says
How neat! What a great idea to leave a sweet note for the next (or next) owners to find.
holly says
if i were to be the finder of that note at some point in the future, I would love to know that the house had so many good memories in it! plus it would be cool to actually SEE who lived there in the past. I always wonder that when i move to a new place.
Julia M says
Hahahaha! When I was little, me and my sisters found a very small cubby in the built in closets in the attic (talk about hidden). Honestly, only very small children could fit in there/find it. We wrote notes all over the walls. Sadly, they were more horror notes like: Help us! We’re trapped! and I think we even wrote something about JFK…which was way before our time. Haha. I think whoever finds that will hopefully smile. Hopefully.
mariel says
when i moved into my first apartment with my boyfriend, the previous tenant left a frame with a note in it wishing us well, and telling us that living there was a wonderful chapter of her life. we still have it up on a shelf today, even after we’ve moved from that apartment. it was so sweet and positive and hopeful, a nice reminder of that first place.
love your time capsule, but wait! no picture included of burger!!! wah wah!
Kim says
What a great idea! Love it!
Amanda says
How fun! I’ll have to remember to do this whenever we decide to move from our house. I’d love to find something like this hidden in my house from the past. Super cool!
Julie M says
That is so funny. I wish I could find notes like that about my old house!
Tara says
Love this idea! When we renovated our bathroom, we discovered an old fireplace behind the bathtub!! It would’ve been great to have found a note detailing all the changes made to our old house over the last 70 years.
Julia White says
That is very cool. When we were putting on a second floor, our builder (an old school restoration expert) told us that traditionally time capsules are left under the stair treads. He enlisted the help of my 2 children to put together newspapers, photos, letters, coins and some bill statements to leave under the new front entry stairs. I don’t remember what they put together, but I do remember it being a special family/construction crew moment. Good luck on your new place.
Kristina says
I am more sad about you leaving your house than I should be. Could be the postpartum hormones, or that you both are documenting this move with such poignancy. Best of luck.
Ellen says
When my parents were doing some remodeling, my mom put a time capsule inside the wall before they closed it up. She included a newspaper, a family picture from my wedding that summer, and a note about who we are and when we lived there.
I hope yours stays hidden for awhile. It would be so fun for future owners to find. :)
liz @ bon temps beignet says
If I were the soon-to-be-owners of your house and read this post, I would go nuts looking for the note.
My dad always had us write note to put in the walls of our house whenever they needed a patch job. There’s also a few mason jars buried in our old back yard. They’re filled with notes and random trinkets like Mardi Gras beads and other bits and pieces. I wish I could go to our old house & dig them up.
Kaitlyn says
What a sweet, sweet note! Now I want to go searching in our house for old notes from past owners. It is clear how much you have loved this house, much like a member of your little family!
RLR says
When we did some work in the master bath of our first house, we pulled out the medicine cabinet and found a note written on the drywall (back side of the opposite wall). It was by the folks who built the house – something along the lines of “built for my lovely wife” with the date – some 15 years before we bought it. I remember taking a picture of that sweet note, hoping to someday do a photo album/scrapbook about the homes we have lived in.
Relevant Notes says
This is super cute. The children of the couple that lived in my family’s house before us carved their initials into our closet/bedroom doorways, and my younger brothers and I used to love trying to “decode” them and look for more “clues” (there weren’t any, imagine that… haha). If the finders of this note have kids they are going to have so much fun with this – but you’re making it too easy for them ;)
Roshni says
How cute! How thrilling to find one of those! Do you actually get time capsules or did you make one?!?!?!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Roshni,
We actually just put it into an envelope and slipped that envelope into a ziplock bag (so it wouldn’t get wet).
xo,
s
Leslie says
Ha! When my husband and I moved out of the little one bedroom apartment that we’d shared since we were 19, we left hidden messages as well. The space had been our home for seven years and, while we were happy to move to our dream home, we were a bit sad to leave where we’d “grown up” as a couple. :)
Rebecca says
LOVE IT!!! Our first home was 110 years old when we moved in. During our home improvement, I was always looking for little treasures that may have been left behind by previous owners. Alas, my only finds were legos, toy cars and doll shoes. Oh wait…there was that chicken bone in the heating vent too! YUK!!
Ro says
I would also like to leave them a note.
Dear finder of this note,
I am jealous you get to live here. that is all.
Best,
Ro- YHL Reader.
hee hee
http://randomroro.blogspot.com
Kristin S. says
Love this! But I’m actually writing with a little FYI about a possible error on your site…
Maybe my computer (or skills) are wonky, but I just cllicked on your “Sara Langley” link in the Discount-O-Rama box, and it took me to the Le Papier Studio page. (I was still able to find her, of course (thanks google), but I thought you might want to know.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Kristin! John’s on it!
xo,
s
Barbara says
No Burger in the picture? Or is he in the wedding photo?
YoungHouseLove says
Yup, he’s in the wedding pic. He came outside for the toasts!
xo,
s
tricia says
THIS IS AWESOME!:)
Alison says
What a great idea! How do the new owners feel about buying a house that’s so nationally published? Are they cool with that?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Alison,
They didn’t read our blog or know anything about us when they made an offer, but of course we disclosed all that info to them to be sure they were cool with photos of the house (as it looked with our furniture) remaining on our blog and being published in mags. Apparently they didn’t mind!
xo,
s
Brittany says
arrrg…lately every time i drop by, i get all choked up. i can’t believe you are moving so soon! and maybe i don’t deal so well with change…
anyway, your time capsule is a sweet idea and i’m sure anyone who finds it will treasure it.
best wishes for your moving weekend!
Beth@Just{Heart}It says
Love the idea! And of course you had to put your names on it so people can find you when you’re 80 (if that’s the case)! :-) What did you put it in? I’m assuming an envelope would just decompose over time. A jar of some kind?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Beth,
We used a paper envelope inside of a ziplock bag to combat water or mold or anything else time tries to do to it…
xo,
s
Michelle says
This is such a sweet idea. I hope whoever finds it appreciates it and perhaps will pass along the idea when they move out of the house.
Stacy @ Every Little Thing says
That’s such an awesome idea! Good for you guys :)
When you mentioned inside the walls – once I leaned over a table to look an an old newspaper that someone found in their walls (I’m talking 80 years old), and my throat closed up from the mold :O Thumbs up for plastic baggies! :)
Kaci says
What a GREAT idea!!! You should leave a way to get in touch with you so you down the line you might know who found your note.
Rhiannon says
This is one of my favorite things you two have ever done! My husband and I actually did the same thing last year when we were knocking down some walls. We had just moved into our very first house and when we were getting ready to drywall I just knew I had to put something! I did several pictures of us working on the house and of the day escrow closed! I also included a similar note. While we are not planning on moving any time soon, I love the thought that in many many years someone may find it and know how much we loved this place!
Ericka says
“Precogs” – LOL Was that a Minority Report reference?:)
YoungHouseLove says
Hahah, yes. Guilty as charged! I was waiting for someone to call me out on that!
xo,
s
Jackie K. says
We recently renovated our kitchen, and stuck between the old cabinets and the wall was a church flyer from 1952. We were so excited when we found this old treasure from our house’s past life, and it was nothing like what you guys have made. I’m sure whoever ends up finding your note is going to be so appreciative that you took the time to make it and hide it for them. :)
Chris says
I love that you left this behind. I grew up in a very old house. The medicine cabinet used to have a little slit in the back where used razor blades could be put through to go who knows where. As a little girl I used to write notes and slip them in the slot. I probably left hundreds of them and I always wonder if someone gutted that bathroom at some point and found my notes.
Jen says
This is such a great idea! You all really need a show on HGTV or the DIY network. You’d be way better than most of the stuff on there!
Tina says
Such a nice idea – touching and fun! I´d love to be the finder of something like that! :-D
Something similar happened to my parents when we moved into an old house when I was 8. They were renovating the kitchen floor, and when they removed it, they found a newspaper from 1931. Guess what date it was from? My birthday – which is a pretty fun coincidence. :-)
Tiffany says
Love time capsules!
XOXO,
http://outfitidentifier.com/
[email protected] says
Hey S&J (and C&B),
We did something similar when we moved into our house. My husband and his buddies (one a skilled contractor – thank goodness!) tore down two major walls and installed an I-beam the second day we owned the home. Before the beam was mudded we wrote a letter to future owners and included a picture of the guys on demo-day. Who knows if anyone will ever find it sealed inside next to the beam but it will be pretty cool if they do!
Haley
Handy Man, Crafty Woman says
that’s such a cool idea!
susan says
Everyone should leave a letter and picture for the next occupants. We left a letter of welcome but no picture. Love the idea of sharing your good memories with the new owners. btw my birthday is July 7 and I didn’t know that was your wedding date. susan
steph anne says
That’s an awesome idea!! And so weird to think that this “finder” isn’t born yet or a 3-year old now.
YoungHouseLove says
That IS such a weird thought!
xo,
s
Emily says
Another cute idea! (I found hidden hand prints in cement, chalk drawings on the inside of some drywall, and initials scratched into my garage’s roof beams and loved finding each of those treasures. I actually just installed glassblock in my home and etched my own initials into the wet cement for someone to find someday… ironically, I posted about it today with that photo here: http://www.merrypad.com/2010/12/09/basement-update-love-my-glassblock/ )
Sarah P. says
First of all, this post made me cry. So excited and sad for you guys all at once!
Second, ugh! I SOOOOO wish I had thought of doing something like this! My husband and I just moved 3 months ago from our first house. He owned it for a few years before we got together. We met for the first time in the living room, had our first “date” hanging wall paper border in the living room, it went from my boyfriend’s house to our first house as a married couple, I saw those two little pink lines that changed our lives in that bathroom, it’s where we brought our daughter home from the hospital, and it had the nursery where I rocked her night after night. So many incredible memories and so bittersweet to leave. We love our new house, but that house will always be so special to us. What a fun treat it would have been to leave behind a little time capsule. I would plan to do that someday when we leave this house, but we kind of plan to live here forever. Oh well.
Anyway, Great idea!
I wonder if the new owners are following your blog and are now going to rip the house apart looking for it?
Kelley says
I’m totally loaded with pregnancy hormones right now, but that note brought tears to my eyes! What a sweet gift for the next homeowner!
Karla @ {TheClassyWoman} says
I love this idea! I hope you placed it inside a ziploc bag so the pics and ink don’t become ruined over time. I had an idea about where it could be located. You did just redo that pocket door to the bathroom, maybe somewhere in there…
YoungHouseLove says
Great suggestion! Yes we did use a plastic bag to protect it. As for where we hid it- we’ll never tell!
xo,
s
Rachael @ Mrs. Adventure says
I love that you guys did this, hubs and I were talking of what we will write once we sell Bungalow. It makes my eyes teary just thinking of moving still.
Tanya says
You guys are cute! When we renovated, we found empty soup cans in the walls. A letter would have been nicer.
Alexandra says
I found the “time capsule” at my house! It was a photo of the couple who built my house in 1948 and lived there until they passed and I bought it in 2009. I am only the second owner of my home! They raised six kids in my modest three bedroom, 1 bath (!!!!) home and I LOVE that history. I have the picture taped to my fridge to remind me of both the love they shared over the 50+ years they spent together in my house and the history of my home. A great idea!!
Melissa says
You two are amazing! What a super cool and fun idea. We moved out of our first house three years ago and I wish I could go back and do the same thing. Because that house was not the same house at all when we moved out. We had so many fun memories of fixing up our first house together that I would have loved to have shared that with future owners of the house!
Jason says
Wall Trickery – I have a guess but i don’t want to ruin your surprise! Cool idea – you guys are so thoughtful.