Posts By John Petersik

Our month-long shopping hiatus came to a close last week, so today we’re sharing our results! What was the most difficult part? How did it change our habits? What were we dying to buy first after it ended? And – most importantly – how did it impact our bank account? We’re sharing all those details, along with some ideas for you to try if you’re too nervous to commit to a full-on ban. Plus, there’s a part of our house that we rarely show because we’ve been so ashamed of its state – but not anymore! Find out what we did to fix it without spending any money. We also added some easy organization at

Right in the middle of our own month-long shopping ban, we jumped at the chance to have a deep conversation with the author who started it all: Cait Flanders. She shared fascinating insights, regrets, and explained how her “Year of Less” had a lasting change on her relationship with “stuff.” She also cleared up some common misconceptions about her ban, including why shopping is not the enemy – and how this experiment affected her relationships (along with her bank account). We also cover how some outsourced work in our backyard from last fall is finally starting to pay off, and why we’re both very glad not to be in high school anymore. You can download this

We’ve recently had a realization that we just don’t need as much space as we have. So how’d we end up buying a too-big house? What has made this so clear to us now? And what square footage do we think would be just right? We’re sharing all of that in this episode, including the exact moment we now realize we went off the rails during our house hunting search. We’re also taking you behind the scenes of our recent charity makeover for three deserving kids and sharing why things have really turned a corner out at the beach. Plus, Sherry hunts for the perfect Mother’s Day gift and John shares what exterior gadget made

Just when we thought the duplex renovation was finally rolling along smoothly, we found ourselves in the midst of an ordeal that required an emergency trip to Cape Charles, and another hot-seat meeting with the Historic Review Board. We’re sharing all the details, along with an update on our month-long shopping ban (oh the temptations!). Plus we’re talking about how to get large materials and furniture home when you don’t own a giant car or truck. Because as much as we DIY, we don’t actually own the ideal DIYers vehicle. So this week we’ll tell you why, and share how we get around it. Plus, maybe millennials are just efficiently experts…? You can download this

Can we go a whole month without buying anything we don’t need? That’s the challenge we’ve handed ourselves as part of a self-imposed month-long shopping ban. So this week we’re sharing how we were inspired by Cait Flanders’ “Year of Less” and how we’re adapting her rules for our own lives. Plus, the duplex renovation is (finally!) racing along and we’re answering some of your top questions about it. Also, how filming our April Fool’s video was even more embarrassing than it looked… and why a makeover show is giving Sherry hope that it might actually heal the world. You can download this episode from Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio, and Spotify – or listen to it below! Then use

Do you reject certain “household staples?” We do! And it turns out a lot of other people do too – to the point that experts are saying they might someday disappear. So this week we’re breaking down how and why the typical home (and its contents) might be changing, along with revealing what modern comforts we’ve deemed unnecessary in our house (one of them is weird, I’m warning you). We’re also sharing how we found the best spring break home we’ve ever rented, and how we navigated the stresses of flying with children, car seats, a dog, his crate – essentially ALL THE THINGS. Oh, and it turns out we’re storing lots of stuff in

This week we’re talking about when you should undo a personal change that you made to your house that might turn off potential buyers (and when we’d recommend leaving it the heck alone). We’re also getting into store returns and how they’re changing, because the ability to return decor items that don’t turn out the way you hoped is a great safeguard… but did you know that some stores may be cracking down on that practice? Here’s what we learned about the policing of returns that’s going on behind the scenes, and what a DIYer can do to avoid getting their account flagged. We’re also recapping our trip to a blogging conference in Austin, I