Carissa, you’re brave to weather the Facebook Marketplace madness - that scene attracts a fair amount of uniquely bizarre people. I don’t know if they harbor murderous intent, but they have made me really uncomfortable.
I used to get boxes from an appliance store, the big refrigerator boxes. Taped them all together in our garage so that my kids had a labyrinthine cardboard castle. Five stars. Recommend.
I feel like I used to get dragged to Loehmann’s by my mom, but it feels like it's in the same place in my memory banks as the dentist and the doctor with the cold hands we would have to see before being cleared for high school sports.
I would absolutely read Murder At Loehmann’s or Murder on My Wrap-Around Porch.
Omygersh... Loehmann's!!! The Communal Dressing Rooms! They were the ultimate test of endurance. My mother adored it. I still have trauma. Women stripped down to their undies in an open room while other shoppers (and often impatient men waiting on the sidelines) critiqued outfits. It was candid, unapologetic, and undeniably cutthroat! I read they were eyeing a comeback!
When we moved last fall, I bought banker boxes—the ones with lids and cutouts for your hands. Also pricey, but worth it. Unfortunately, I didn’t even think to see if anyone would want them afterward.
I have never heard of Loehmann's, but it sounds both traumatic and awesome. My office moved 8 years ago (many boxes), then I had to empty every desk (100 per floor x 3 floors), so I had hundreds of boxes, all giant 2.5' x 2.5' cubes. I sold them to my colleagues who were moving and put the money to our company's charity fundraising.
My tape gun is MINE. No one touches it! I hide it from the rest of the office.
I would totally read a short story about 'Murder at Loehmann's'.
Gawd. If only my mom took me to Loehmanns. We lived in a rural town. Not a lot of great fashion forward clothing shops. Moving sucks—I’ve moved 4 times since my divorce a little over ten years ago, and was a little too good at getting rid of things. Including a lifetime of journals. Oops! I hope to move again to get away from this pool in our backyard, but moving from this house, filled with almost 30-years worth of things my husband-of-4-years will have a hard time letting go of, seems like a pipe dream.
Loved your Loehmann's memories. Accumulation of stuff makes me believe we have more squirrel and bird DNA than we are willing to lead on. I kid around with family and friends if you have a lot of boxes and moving paraphernalia you may have hoarder tendencies. I confess we have more boxes, moving equipment, tape dispensers, pop wrapping than makes sense or that we can sensibly need. Many years ago as the American middle class pivoted to warehouse shopping (including me) it seemed obvious we had transitioned to having an incrementally and likely unnecessary remote warehouse storage warehouse in our homes so that buying 30 rolls of toilet paper and 24 rolls of paper towels at a time became a thing. Brilliant for Sam's, Costo and BJ's -- they managed to convince perhaps millions of Americans to willingly become remote warehouse storage for them. My guess is if you buy toilet paper in such volume you might need to see a doctor :) Once we became sure that seed oils would be the death of us, the American middle class solution was to buy olive oil in 3 liter bottles. All of it funny and harmless. The important signal from all of this paranoia was to buy Costco shares.
Here's a prediction -- once Costco & Sam's start selling an idiotic 'cool dry place box' for your home so you can better justify a bunch of stupid bulk purchases we will arrive at peak warehouse. When an imbecile can't resist a five pound pumpkin pie I think a cool dry storage box will become irresistible. I hope that the warehouses start adding verbiage on the baked goods as "use two hands and lift with your legs". When I am TV surfing and pause on the conspiracy land pundits I LOVE that their advertisers are peddling gold and bad freeze dried beef stew in prodigious tubs.
Big box stores are very American. I still collect toilet paper like it’s 2020. I like your prediction, but I also wonder if people are requiring larger closets in new builds. It was certainly one of my requirements in buying a house.
Erma Bombeck titled one of her books "All I Know About Animal Behavior I Learned In Loehmann's Dressing Room", or something like that. I had to wonder what she meant by that, since the "dressing rooms" I am familiar with are isolated, insulated cubicles where you can only observe yourself and not other people. Your depiction of the dressing room makes me finally understand what she probably meant!
I've heard stories about Loehmann's. I think it made national news a few times when I was a teen, but it could easily have been when I was in my 20s... it all runs together now. 😂. I lived in the midwest then.
We currently have a U-Haul storage facility with 31 boxes of books and about 20 boxes of other stuff plus some chairs, lamps and a keyboard. We had to get it out of the house before the painters arrived. Made life much easier for sure. All we had to deal with were the plastic drop cloths for 8 days.
Currently waiting to get our new post lamp (it's being made - had no idea those driveway lamps were individually made - as the old one was crushed by a tree limb). Then get an electrician in to fix some things so we can put this place on the market. I keep wondering if we'll ever get out of here! But we are closer... I hope.
I won't ever put our address on FB marketplace, we are too hard to find. If I did, I would only meet with people in a public lot to make the exchange. Anything I want to get rid of now, goes to the local recycling lot, they seem to take everything. However, it's good to know marketplace works for boxes.
I've determined we MUST get the realtors in here after the electrician is done, my darling husband who moves at a glacial pace isn't sure... but otherwise we won't get out of here this year!!! And we need to be somewhere warmer! 😂
I know there will be some other small stuff to do. Electrical is the last important thing. It shouldn't take too long to get a realtor bid that we like and get it on the market. I was really hoping we'd be up by the end of June but I guess that was too optimistic. After living with an engineer for 47 years you'd think I'd be used to this slow methodical pace, but no... not at all 🤣
Oh! You just helped me realize something! My husband never finished his degree (the kids came too fast and he decided to set up a computer repair shop so we could support them), but he has the mind of an engineer. EVERY single decision, no matter how minor, must be slowly, methodically, 100% planned out to the teeniest tiniest detail. It's only been 44 years, but it still has me biting my tongue and tearing out my hair... and thanks to you, now I know why! Thank you! My hubby did the electrical work in our current house (he doesn't trust anyone else to get things done right), and he did a great job, but glaciers move faster! So that's the way engineering brains work, huh? I guess I'll just have to learn how to chill out. 🤯 He's a good one, though...
Oh definitely. I'm sure some of them aren't so slow. But those who are, definitely are making sure everything is covered nothing is missed, they are the ones that make sure buildings stand, engines work, and planes don't fall out of the sky .
Of course the reason I bite my tongue is because he is often exactly right and catches stuff I would miss. 🤣. On the electrical, he could likely do a good percentage of the work himself, but the stuff he can't do isn't enough to bring in a pro, so we're just giving all to the person he calls in. Our son is an electrician, unfortunately he lives too far away to come out here and do it for us 😂
I got a lot of laughs and head nodding over this piece. But I hate having strangers come to my house--it's leftover paranoia from a very public life on the air for decades. So if I have anything to give away, I drag it into the back of my car and meet someone In front of a crowded Safeway. Like you, I've moved seemingly endless times over my life and I agree that the tape is the Holy Grail and you NEED to keep it in your family! P.S. Never did Loehmann’s,, but when I was older, my sister took me to Nordstrom Rack. There was a T.J. Maxx/Ross vibe going on only the women were better dressed.
Maybe the cops could use some boxes! Filene's was a real free-for-all. As a self-descibed special needs clothing shopper, I was intimidated and never went into that joint without my fashionista sister.
That's an awesome story idea! I'd read it! My hubby refuses to let me advertise anything on line because he's convinced it might be dangerous to US...
We still have an attic (and an entryway, and a hallway, and a barn) full of boxes of my late in-law's stuff, that my fil insisted come to our house when he moved in with us back in '21 (and we didn't have the heart or the energy to say "no"). Now they're waiting for my poor husband to go through and sort into keep, give-away, and toss piles, but he's understandably not eager to get rid of any reminders of his parents. That's okay, I'm no Martha Stewart, and I'm patient. I just hope they're not still there when WE go someday, or our kids will be very annoyed!
I'm sorry, I've never heard of Loehmann’s, but then again I've never been keen on shopping, unless it involves plants or critters... my SISTER, though, SHE might know. 😁
Mazel Tov on the move. (what times we live in that you threw in that Holocaust reference.) Love how you got rid of the boxes. May this be your last move!
Carissa, you’re brave to weather the Facebook Marketplace madness - that scene attracts a fair amount of uniquely bizarre people. I don’t know if they harbor murderous intent, but they have made me really uncomfortable.
I’ve had good experiences for the most part. I always check their profile and ratings. I’ve learned.
I used to get boxes from an appliance store, the big refrigerator boxes. Taped them all together in our garage so that my kids had a labyrinthine cardboard castle. Five stars. Recommend.
I feel like I used to get dragged to Loehmann’s by my mom, but it feels like it's in the same place in my memory banks as the dentist and the doctor with the cold hands we would have to see before being cleared for high school sports.
I would absolutely read Murder At Loehmann’s or Murder on My Wrap-Around Porch.
Which Loehmann’s did you go to? I used to get boxes from supermarkets too. It was great for storage.
Not sure, but somewhere in Riverside County where neutral gang colors were an imperative.
Trying to sell things on Facebook marketplace, in my experience, is the quickest way to lose faith in humanity. Haha.
Who knew all I needed to do was sweeten these deals with some free boxes hehehe :)
That’s a great line! Haha. Being a buyer is much easier than selling although I did finally sell those curtains.
Haha thanks CK!
Glad you was able to get rid of those curtains :)
I think this is the first time I’ve listened to a post of yours - you’re very good at it!!!!
I hope my next move is a very long time from now and into a pine box
Omygersh... Loehmann's!!! The Communal Dressing Rooms! They were the ultimate test of endurance. My mother adored it. I still have trauma. Women stripped down to their undies in an open room while other shoppers (and often impatient men waiting on the sidelines) critiqued outfits. It was candid, unapologetic, and undeniably cutthroat! I read they were eyeing a comeback!
When we moved last fall, I bought banker boxes—the ones with lids and cutouts for your hands. Also pricey, but worth it. Unfortunately, I didn’t even think to see if anyone would want them afterward.
I have never heard of Loehmann's, but it sounds both traumatic and awesome. My office moved 8 years ago (many boxes), then I had to empty every desk (100 per floor x 3 floors), so I had hundreds of boxes, all giant 2.5' x 2.5' cubes. I sold them to my colleagues who were moving and put the money to our company's charity fundraising.
My tape gun is MINE. No one touches it! I hide it from the rest of the office.
I would totally read a short story about 'Murder at Loehmann's'.
Gawd. If only my mom took me to Loehmanns. We lived in a rural town. Not a lot of great fashion forward clothing shops. Moving sucks—I’ve moved 4 times since my divorce a little over ten years ago, and was a little too good at getting rid of things. Including a lifetime of journals. Oops! I hope to move again to get away from this pool in our backyard, but moving from this house, filled with almost 30-years worth of things my husband-of-4-years will have a hard time letting go of, seems like a pipe dream.
Loved your Loehmann's memories. Accumulation of stuff makes me believe we have more squirrel and bird DNA than we are willing to lead on. I kid around with family and friends if you have a lot of boxes and moving paraphernalia you may have hoarder tendencies. I confess we have more boxes, moving equipment, tape dispensers, pop wrapping than makes sense or that we can sensibly need. Many years ago as the American middle class pivoted to warehouse shopping (including me) it seemed obvious we had transitioned to having an incrementally and likely unnecessary remote warehouse storage warehouse in our homes so that buying 30 rolls of toilet paper and 24 rolls of paper towels at a time became a thing. Brilliant for Sam's, Costo and BJ's -- they managed to convince perhaps millions of Americans to willingly become remote warehouse storage for them. My guess is if you buy toilet paper in such volume you might need to see a doctor :) Once we became sure that seed oils would be the death of us, the American middle class solution was to buy olive oil in 3 liter bottles. All of it funny and harmless. The important signal from all of this paranoia was to buy Costco shares.
Here's a prediction -- once Costco & Sam's start selling an idiotic 'cool dry place box' for your home so you can better justify a bunch of stupid bulk purchases we will arrive at peak warehouse. When an imbecile can't resist a five pound pumpkin pie I think a cool dry storage box will become irresistible. I hope that the warehouses start adding verbiage on the baked goods as "use two hands and lift with your legs". When I am TV surfing and pause on the conspiracy land pundits I LOVE that their advertisers are peddling gold and bad freeze dried beef stew in prodigious tubs.
Big box stores are very American. I still collect toilet paper like it’s 2020. I like your prediction, but I also wonder if people are requiring larger closets in new builds. It was certainly one of my requirements in buying a house.
Erma Bombeck titled one of her books "All I Know About Animal Behavior I Learned In Loehmann's Dressing Room", or something like that. I had to wonder what she meant by that, since the "dressing rooms" I am familiar with are isolated, insulated cubicles where you can only observe yourself and not other people. Your depiction of the dressing room makes me finally understand what she probably meant!
I saw that! Now I have to read it!
Get a new gardener. He is a greedy so-in-so.
😆 they are pricey here.
I've heard stories about Loehmann's. I think it made national news a few times when I was a teen, but it could easily have been when I was in my 20s... it all runs together now. 😂. I lived in the midwest then.
We currently have a U-Haul storage facility with 31 boxes of books and about 20 boxes of other stuff plus some chairs, lamps and a keyboard. We had to get it out of the house before the painters arrived. Made life much easier for sure. All we had to deal with were the plastic drop cloths for 8 days.
Currently waiting to get our new post lamp (it's being made - had no idea those driveway lamps were individually made - as the old one was crushed by a tree limb). Then get an electrician in to fix some things so we can put this place on the market. I keep wondering if we'll ever get out of here! But we are closer... I hope.
I won't ever put our address on FB marketplace, we are too hard to find. If I did, I would only meet with people in a public lot to make the exchange. Anything I want to get rid of now, goes to the local recycling lot, they seem to take everything. However, it's good to know marketplace works for boxes.
Now, go write that book... I wanna read it. 😁
Oh my God, you’re still in the throes of it. Do you have a deadline of when you’re putting the house on the market?
There was a rumor in the last couple years that Loehmann’s was gonna come back. I haven’t seen it yet.
I've determined we MUST get the realtors in here after the electrician is done, my darling husband who moves at a glacial pace isn't sure... but otherwise we won't get out of here this year!!! And we need to be somewhere warmer! 😂
I know there will be some other small stuff to do. Electrical is the last important thing. It shouldn't take too long to get a realtor bid that we like and get it on the market. I was really hoping we'd be up by the end of June but I guess that was too optimistic. After living with an engineer for 47 years you'd think I'd be used to this slow methodical pace, but no... not at all 🤣
Oh! You just helped me realize something! My husband never finished his degree (the kids came too fast and he decided to set up a computer repair shop so we could support them), but he has the mind of an engineer. EVERY single decision, no matter how minor, must be slowly, methodically, 100% planned out to the teeniest tiniest detail. It's only been 44 years, but it still has me biting my tongue and tearing out my hair... and thanks to you, now I know why! Thank you! My hubby did the electrical work in our current house (he doesn't trust anyone else to get things done right), and he did a great job, but glaciers move faster! So that's the way engineering brains work, huh? I guess I'll just have to learn how to chill out. 🤯 He's a good one, though...
Oh definitely. I'm sure some of them aren't so slow. But those who are, definitely are making sure everything is covered nothing is missed, they are the ones that make sure buildings stand, engines work, and planes don't fall out of the sky .
Of course the reason I bite my tongue is because he is often exactly right and catches stuff I would miss. 🤣. On the electrical, he could likely do a good percentage of the work himself, but the stuff he can't do isn't enough to bring in a pro, so we're just giving all to the person he calls in. Our son is an electrician, unfortunately he lives too far away to come out here and do it for us 😂
A good realtor will definitely force you to set a date in which to put the house on the market.
I got a lot of laughs and head nodding over this piece. But I hate having strangers come to my house--it's leftover paranoia from a very public life on the air for decades. So if I have anything to give away, I drag it into the back of my car and meet someone In front of a crowded Safeway. Like you, I've moved seemingly endless times over my life and I agree that the tape is the Holy Grail and you NEED to keep it in your family! P.S. Never did Loehmann’s,, but when I was older, my sister took me to Nordstrom Rack. There was a T.J. Maxx/Ross vibe going on only the women were better dressed.
I hear you about meeting in public places. The police station parking lot is probably best. Do you remember Feilene’s baasement?
Maybe the cops could use some boxes! Filene's was a real free-for-all. As a self-descibed special needs clothing shopper, I was intimidated and never went into that joint without my fashionista sister.
The police station actually has a huge recycle bin in case you ever need to recycle boxes.
This was so good! We moved a few months ago and I was so grateful for my son’s expertise with FB Marketplace!
Thank you! Glad your son was helpful. Moving sucks.
That's an awesome story idea! I'd read it! My hubby refuses to let me advertise anything on line because he's convinced it might be dangerous to US...
We still have an attic (and an entryway, and a hallway, and a barn) full of boxes of my late in-law's stuff, that my fil insisted come to our house when he moved in with us back in '21 (and we didn't have the heart or the energy to say "no"). Now they're waiting for my poor husband to go through and sort into keep, give-away, and toss piles, but he's understandably not eager to get rid of any reminders of his parents. That's okay, I'm no Martha Stewart, and I'm patient. I just hope they're not still there when WE go someday, or our kids will be very annoyed!
I'm sorry, I've never heard of Loehmann’s, but then again I've never been keen on shopping, unless it involves plants or critters... my SISTER, though, SHE might know. 😁
Hubby will go thru when he’s ready. It could be therapeutic or bring up nice memories.
Mazel Tov on the move. (what times we live in that you threw in that Holocaust reference.) Love how you got rid of the boxes. May this be your last move!
Right? I never thought it could happen here until recently. Bitachon.