Now and then the urge to rearrange possessions is deep and powerful. The process is one of innovative design and happens in a particular kind of trance. Managing things in space is a sophisticated math skill, I was relieved to learn.
It’s helpful to clean as one goes. Subtracting dormant furnishings reveals hidden areas of habitat. A damp cleaning cloth makes short work of the accumulated dust, webs, and house breath of years. Cords are the vines of the interior. It’s good practice to wipe them clean as they are disentangled from whatever they were supporting. I like to stow them in labelled zip bags and tape them to whatever it was they connected to the wall socket. This kind of cleaning makes me appreciate the spare low-tech interiors of the eighteenth century.
The recent exercise displaced a substantial pair of speakers. It became apparent that I could go to Craig’s List and find a neighbor to give me money so that he can house, maintain, and operate the equipment. Doing so will be easier than toting the things upstairs and dusting them for ten years.
Now that the walls of the room are clear, I can clean and use it in a flash. It feels a little hollow at the moment, but when the table is set and guests are enjoying themselves, it will come to life. The principle is to leave room for people.
More after the jump.