Author: kirstenmau
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When your Mom Won’t Sell: Getting your Childhood Dollhouse on the Market
Read or listen as my mom and I take a fun and surprisingly emotional stroll down memory lane on the quest for more closet space. I am not sure if this is another “child of the 70’s” thing, but dollhouses were a big part of my childhood. Not the Barbie playhouse kind (one of my…
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A Lifetime of Greeting Cards
A box of 60 years of cards can hold a lot. In fact, sorting through them gets a little emotional. October, 2025 My sister and I just returned from a visit to my parents helping them out after our mom had minor surgery. It gave the 4 of us a rare chance to spend time…
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The Mink Coat Edition
What to do with bygone status symbols that are just so hard to let go? When a coat is much more than a “coat” Sometime in the early 80’s, my dad brought home an extravagant gift in a big box for my mom. It was probably around the holidays, or close enough, as the Connecticut…
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The Invasion of the Handmade Throw Pillows
Oh boy, the invasion of the handmade throw pillows. Do you have any idea how many throw pillows you can acquire over the course of your life? So. Many. Bed pillows, couch pillows, kitchen chair pillows, desk chair pillows! The options are endless. Some are handmade, others accumulate from trips to HomeGoods, or travel adventures. …
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Unearthing Family Memories: A Journey Through Greeting Cards
A personal essay on digging through a treasure trove of greeting cards My sister and I just returned from a visit to my parents helping them out after our mom had minor surgery. It gave the 4 of us a rare chance to spend time together as the OG “nuclear family.” It also gave me…
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The Vintage Cross Pen(s) Collection
Do you have a stash of these or other historic desk artifacts? Most likely you are familiar with Cross pens. They were founded in 1846 by a family of jewelers. They’ve been used by Presidents since Ronald Reagan for signing bills into law and formalizing other important documents. Growing up, personalized Cross pens were a…
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Beware the Dangers of Estate Sales when Decluttering (your parent's home)
You may find something you can’t live without! One adage about decluttering is to not shop where you donate. The point is to avoid the temptation to come home with something you didn’t really need. I try my best to heed this advice but sometimes I can’t resist a great estate sale. About 15 minutes…
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Supporting Aging Parents: Productive Time vs. Quality Time – Top Ten Strategies
Does a variation of this to-do list feel familiar? This brings me to a topic I have been thinking a lot about: Quality Time vs. Productive Time At some point along your parents’ “longevity journey” 😉 you may notice a shift in the way you spend time with your parents. You are spending less time…
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Who Gets The China? 