Whenever I inspect the attic in older homes, I look forward to some of the cool things that I sometimes see there. 

     There is the usual stuff that interests me as a home inspector, like vermiculite insulation, rat and bird infestations, leaks, asbestos wrapped duct-work, knob & tube wiring etc.  But in these older homes one can often see long forgotten "stuff" left by previous occupants. Stuff that can give clues about the lives of those previous occupants, and also glimpses into times gone by----perhaps into even my own youth----or that of my parents. 

     There are often old tools, antennas, century old Christmas decorations, children's toys, old newspapers/magazines/books (National Geographic seems to be common), and other collectibles and antiques.  This "stuff" can often be little "fringe benefits" to the new buyer when discovered after purchase.  I remember when we bought our current home a couple of the interesting curios that we found were a Peanut Man bracelet and an old flashlight------and an old sock with $40,000 in it!

 We also found a ton of old National Geographic magazines (though not in the attic).  The pictures later became the wall paper in one of the bathrooms.

     Another very common category of attic find is "contraband"----like the teenager's collection of hidden playboy magazines, or drug paraphernalia.  In an attic the other day I was transported back to the early 60's when I came across someone's collection of soft-core "erotica."  The covers of these old novels were kind of cool and sort of remind me of the old b-movie posters of the same time period. 

     After a little Google Research I discovered that the author Peggy Swenson was actually a "guy."  

     When you bought your home did you find any interesting goodies?

     Better yet-----what did you hide in the attic when you were a kid? (I don't really expect too many answers to this one:)

Charles Buell 

     PS, for those of you that are new to my blog (or for some other "unexplained" reason have never noticed) all  pictures and smiley-face inserts (emoticons) (when I use them) have messages that show up when you point at them with your cursor.