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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To leave a time capsule under the floorboards?

21 replies

DeathByWalkies · 31/05/2021 09:32

We'll shortly (sadly) be selling a house which has been in the family for years. It's been a much loved centre of the family, albeit neglected and will need a lot of work to bring it back up to scratch.

I'm thinking of leaving a time capsule in a biscuit tin under the floorboards - some photos of who lived here, a few notes, perhaps a floorplan with notes of how we used each room and a newspaper? I know it's likely to be found during the next owners renovation works so I'd add a note saying "if you find this please add your own message and replace it for future owners to find"

I can't work out if this is a nice thing or a bit barmy!

OP posts:

Hellocatshome · 31/05/2021 09:34

I did it when we had an extension built but I was only 8 at the time. Not are I would bother doing it as an adult but if you would like to do it it won't do any harm.

Sometimesfraught82 · 31/05/2021 09:38

But if I was new owner I wouldn’t replace it. I’d send it back to you
Or if I didn’t know where live, if bin

It is my home now and wouldn’t be interested in keeping remnants of previous owners there

Ifailed · 31/05/2021 09:40

Be careful what you add.

WhenSheWasBad · 31/05/2021 09:41

Do it that sounds lovely.

The floor plans would be good. Include pictures of the house from before you renovated it.
I mean this in a nice way but the new owners probably won’t be to interested in your family pictures. But pics of the house from years ago would be great.

jakalaka · 31/05/2021 09:42

We did this when we dug out the subfloor and relaid it. A bit of fun for the kids - why not! I'd like to find one.

Neilsfavouritechilli · 31/05/2021 09:42

There's an episode of Frasier you might want to watch first for some tips on what not to do.

Umpteenthiteration · 31/05/2021 09:46

Sounds like a lovely idea. There was an old painting of our house left for us when we moved in, we left it when we moved out a decade later for the new owners - they loved it!

Umberellatheweatha · 31/05/2021 09:46

I was genuinely thinking of leaving treasure map clues around my house and a little trinket somewhere before leaving mine. Just for funzies.

FourTeaFallOut · 31/05/2021 09:46

If you are going to leave it, just leave it. Don't be telling them to pass it on like one of those emotionally incontinent Facebook posts.

DappledThings · 31/05/2021 09:49

I would love that. We were left a box that contains documents showing the sale of the house at every point since it was built in 1905, including the sale of the land before the house was built.

If it had come with photos of the previous owners too I would have been thrilled and I would have loved to know how they used different rooms too.

DH has used his Ancestry website membership to research some of the previous owners. Anything that added to that would have been most welcome.

HotChocolateLover · 31/05/2021 10:51

I so wanted to leave a plastic skeleton under our patio when we had it laid but didn’t in the end as thought the builder would think we were barmy! A time capsule is a lovely idea though.

Posieandpip · 31/05/2021 11:09

@Sometimesfraught82

But if I was new owner I wouldn’t replace it. I’d send it back to you Or if I didn’t know where live, if bin

It is my home now and wouldn’t be interested in keeping remnants of previous owners there

It sounds lovely! Anyone with half a brain would realise what a lovely thing this could be and maybe keep it going by adding their own things to it if they find it too soon. Sadly there's always going to be dull people like the poster I've quoted, but I feel they're very much the minority. Everyone I know would think this was great!

wtheck · 31/05/2021 11:10

I'll be doing this in a wall we are covering over - but with 8yo DS.

I think it's a lovely idea,

GreenLeafTurnip · 31/05/2021 11:14

Some people are so boring 🙄 go for it OP! I'd love to find something like that but we built our house and doubt we'll sell it!

Bbq1 · 31/05/2021 11:21

What a lovely ideas ans most potential new owners would love to find that. I would love to find one and may one day, leave one. Dh and myself inherited mils house 2 years ago. We had it completely redecorated etc and when we took the paper off the walls we found little notes my dh had written on the wall as a child from when it has been redecorated around thar time. They were lovely to find. I've always been interested to know about who lived in out homes before us.

Pinchoftums · 31/05/2021 11:24

I love this. I found a Victorian marble as a child. It was very exciting!

CricketsBats · 31/05/2021 12:00

Fabulous idea! Almost everyone would find this exciting.

PinkPomeranian · 31/05/2021 12:58

I'd be chuffed to bits to find a time capsule in my house or garden. I loved the old wallpaper and newspapers we discovered during renovations of a previous home. I wonder if there's a questionnaire about the present day that you could print out and complete, e.g. price of a pint of milk/load of bread, today's headlines, PM etc.

Blankspace101 · 31/05/2021 13:31

I’d feel uncomfortable leaving photos.

CricketsBats · 31/05/2021 13:36

When we moved into this house the people that built it left a little book including a shot of them and their children from the 1940s. Everyone who has lived here since has added to it. I think it's lovely.

Original poster

DeathByWalkies · 31/05/2021 14:38

Right, I'm going to do it! Not planning on sticking a whole family album down there, just 2-3 pictures to illustrate who lived there! I've got family photos on Instagram so it would be illogical to feel weird about putting a couple under the floorboards.

Focus would definitely be on the house (eg this room was used for X hobby) and there's a rumour that Y exists in the house, that sort of thing.

I'll take the risk of some grumpy git binning it in future, and try to avoid materials that'll be offensive in future as per that fab video I'd be fascinated to know who lived in that house before (it's very old, early Victorian) so I hope it'll provide some interest for someone in a few decades time.

OP posts:

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