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Sometimes, when we’re going through all the things we own and determining “Should [it] stay or should [it] go,” we also have some pretty specific realizations about ourselves. In my mad-dash to handle what we do have and where it should live, I have realized that no matter how much I can -and do- admire my friends and family with simply curated collections of what they need and use… I will never be one of them. I will never be a minimalist. There is nothing wrong with that, just as there is nothing wrong with my maximal, sentimental collections. One thing I do love is stories. And keeping the things I do usually comes with some kind of story about how it came to my possession or whose it belonged to before me. And I love that. It turns out I’m working toward Kon Mari maximalism. 
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Living in Minnesota means developing a deep appreciation for all kinds of weather -not just the cold! But we really do design all our systems to accommodate the frigid temperatures we can see as the calendar turns from one year to the next. So, beyond our HVAC system (you can read about our gas-free HVAC system here, and the one-year review here) and our solar array providing energy in sunny conditions if the grid goes down, there are a lot of things we do to separate ourselves from the cold. So many of our decisions revolve around doing just that.  I know I've made some wild claims in the past, like "Timeless Design" doesn't exist, but this is one that really has been shaping how I think about our house this time of year. In the post-Christmas-stuck-inside season of cold that we get in January in Minnesota, getting organized is a huge part of how we start the year. This is when the restlessness of winter sets in, and the deep scrutinization of things takes off. There are a lot of ways to do storage, but the importance of closed storage cannot be overstated in houses like mine: lots of people, not a lot of square footage. The more we keep in the open, the more we feel cluttered. It's important to rethink open storage, even for folks like me who are slowly -but surely- finishing a basement library filled with open shelving.  This year was unlike any other, and in almost every way, I'm ready to leave it behind. We started off with a great deal of hope, and went through some pretty big changes personally that made it hard to finish on a high note. Progress seems to have slowed in more ways than one, but we'll have to find our way through. The house didn't see any huge changes, but we have had some reconfiguring, and that has changed a lot about how we lived. When we got the cat last autumn, it definitely shook things up!  While I have no plans to leave my current house any time soon, we have been working behind-the-scenes to get my grandparent’s house ready to find its next family. This weekend, we dropped off the keys and closed the door on this midcentury gem for our last time. My grandparents moved in on my mom’s 14th birthday. And like any home, it’s been a huge part of the family. After nearly five decades, it’s time to say goodbye.  |
Katie SwansonI am a parent, creative spirit, and old house lover. My big passions are sustainable design and preservation. Bringing these together is key to moving existing homes into the future. * By subscribing to the monthly newsletter, you consent to receive links this month's blog posts and other relevant blog updates, a round up of things I love, and as a throwback to my DIY days, I may toss in an exclusive knit or crochet pattern of mine. Archives
January 2025
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