This August Is “Throwback Month” Here at Apartment Therapy

I sometimes struggle to find the line between what items are sentimental… and what items are sentimental clutter. I have trouble getting rid of things that no longer suit my life or style because I remember the happy day I acquired them, or the people I was with, or the life stage I was in at the time.

Over the past year, though, as I’ve been working to pare down the excess in preparation for fitting my daughter, Lily, in our small-ish apartment and hopefully moving later this fall, I’ve had to get a little ruthless. There’s nothing like the clarity of being really pregnant in a really small space to force yourself to part with stuff you’ve been hanging onto.

But what I realize is that now I’m surrounded by the memories and things that really matter, not a sea of things that sort of matter. I have a snow globe I bought with my mom on my first trip to New York City in middle school proudly displayed on one of my shelves. I have a quilt of “needlepoint” I did as a kid, ready to drape over a rocker in Lily’s nursery. Her bookshelves are dotted with books from my husband’s childhood. And my grandparents’ wedding photo in the original frame has its own spot. The other things (like a bowl of plastic fruit I inexplicably held onto for years?!) have found new homes, where hopefully they can help to create memories for new people.

In case you can’t tell, I’ve always been a sucker for nostalgia, which is why I’m excited that this is our first-ever “throwback” month at Apartment Therapy. We’re going to spend all of August exploring this theme on our site, looking at retro homes, design trends through the decades, and more blasts from the past. I hope you’ll enjoy these trips down memory lane as much as we have.

August is also the last full month of summer and the start of the back-to-school season, and we’ll have ideas for all of it. Plus, we’ll have our usual house tours, before and afters, and design tips to take you through the season.

I’m wishing you all a healthy, happy month.

Warmly,
Laura