First Look: Dyson

First Look: Dyson’s Blade-Free Wonder Fan Blows Our Minds

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July 29 09: Heat Wave in The Great Pacific Northwest; Here is Rachel, our California Treasure, wearing protection. The day that photo was taken (*by Halla, also wearing a, err, cooling towel on her head), the barometer had reached 102f.

The Kitchen; We tore out the "hide behind the counter" island, repaired the oak floor, banished the noisy fridge to the newly created pantry, along with the dishwasher and the microwave, (first, we had to kick the laundry room out of there) and are now busy installing hand made cabinetry and a gorgeous farmhouse sink. Next post: the new and improved miniature kitchen on Pleasant View Lane.

http://chrisbakerstolefromthemaid.blogspot.com/

http://chrisbakerstolefromthemaid.blogspot.com/

The Office

It's a short step from the front door to the office. We pulled 'Toinette, The Desk, out of storage and summarly positioned her as our ambassador to all things Grace & Style. It was the master ebeniste, Mr Boulle himself, who directed her construction in the late17th century. Somewhere out there, I've been told, is her mate, a perfect replica of this long legged beauty, but in reverse so as not to waste any tortoise shell or bronze "scraps", a lovely artistic comment on waste management indeed.

Forged from the same rib as they may be, it's doubtful Toinette's counterpart will ever find her here. Like a beached treasure from a forgotten shipwreck, she landed in my life, lost and damaged, although yes, structurally sound. A fine restorer, a bit of love, and she may yet find her way back to the regal surroundings she was born to adorn, though it would be right here, in America, far from her native France.

The leg warmers are unapologetically prophylactic. Dexter the Dog, our sweet unexpected arrival in January this year, immediatly picked up on the fact that Toinette was held together by aging rabbit glue. Those solid but worn out cotton cloths we use in the business of cleaning got applied immediatly, a solid layer of duck tape holds them in place, and a further layer of very hot pepper sauce have dissuaded Dexter from further investigation. Mr Boulle is turning in his grave, absolutely indignant, ah, l'horreur, oui, je sais, je sais...

A year in Freeland

We're celebrating one full year in our new house; apologies for not updating the blog sooner! Getting to this house has been like a really long marathon, but the bank was kind, and we were granted the mortgage, and Dan helped us move in, and the crew worked extra hard on the floors and the structure, and a dog did find his way to our door, and a young vigorous garden is about to sprout under the watchful eye of Alexis, who has made "sustainability" her senior class project, as mentored by an amazing Barton.

A Clutter Too Deep for Mere Bins and Shelves

Is clutter standing in the way of your health? Join the discussion.

The country’s collective desire to clean up is evident in the proliferation of organization-oriented businesses like the Container Store and California Closets. Reality shows like “Mission Organization” on HGTV and “How Clean is Your House?” on Lifetime feed a national obsession to declutter. The magazine Real Simple has even created a $13 special issue on cleaning house.

Getting organized is unquestionably good for both mind and body — reducing risks for falls, helping eliminate germs and making it easier to find things like medicine and exercise gear.

“If you can’t find your sneakers, you aren’t taking a walk,” said Dr. Pamela Peeke, assistant clinical professor of medicine at the University of Maryland and the author of “Fit to Live” (Rodale, 2007), which devotes a section to the link between health and organization. “How are you going to shoot a couple of hoops with your son if you can’t even find the basketball?”

But experts say the problem with all this is that many people are going about it in the wrong way. Too often they approach clutter and disorganization as a space problem that can be solved by acquiring bins and organizers.

Measures like these “are based on the concept that this is a house problem,” said David F. Tolin, director of the anxiety disorders center at the Institute of Living in Hartford and an adjunct associate professor of psychiatry at Yale.

“It isn’t a house problem,” he went on. “It’s a person problem. The person needs to fundamentally change their behavior.”

Excessive clutter and disorganization are often symptoms of a bigger health problem. People who have suffered an emotional trauma or a brain injury often find housecleaning an insurmountable task. Attention deficit disorder, depression, chronic pain and grief can prevent people from getting organized or lead to a buildup of clutter. At its most extreme, chronic disorganization is called hoarding, a condition many experts believe is a mental illness in its own right, although psychiatrists have yet to formally recognize it.

Compulsive hoarding is defined, in part, by clutter that so overtakes living, dining and sleeping spaces that it harms the person’s quality of life. A compulsive hoarder finds it impossible, even painful, to part with possessions. It’s not clear how many people suffer from compulsive hoarding, but estimates start at about 1.5 million Americans.

Dr. Tolin recently studied compulsive hoarders using brain-scan technology. While in the scanner, hoarders looked at various possessions and made decisions about whether to keep them or throw them away. The items were shredded in front of them, so they knew the decision was irreversible. When a hoarder was making decisions about throwing away items, the researchers saw increased activity in the orbitofrontal cortex, a part of the brain involved in decision-making and planning.

“That part of the brain seemed to be stressed to the max,” Dr. Tolin said. By comparison, people who didn’t hoard showed no extra brain activity.

While hoarders are a minority, many psychologists and organization experts say the rest of us can learn from them. The spectrum from cleanliness to messiness includes large numbers of people who are chronically disorganized and suffering either emotionally, physically or socially. Cognitive behavioral therapy may help: a recent study of hoarders showed that six months’ therapy resulted in a marked decline in clutter in the patient’s living space.

Although chronic disorganization is not a medical diagnosis, therapists and doctors sometimes call on professional organizers to help patients. One of them is Lynne Johnson, a professional organizer from Quincy, Mass., who is president of the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization.

Ms. Johnson explains that some people look at a shelf stacked with coffee mugs and see only mugs. But people with serious disorganization problems might see each one as a unique item — a souvenir from Yellowstone or a treasured gift from Grandma.

Many clients have already accumulated numerous storage bins and other such items in a futile attempt to get organized. Usually the home space is adequate, she says, but the challenge is in teaching them how to group, sort, set priorities and discard.

Ms. Johnson says she often sees a link between her client’s efforts to get organized and weight loss. “I think someone decides, ‘I’m not going to live like this anymore. I’m not going to hold onto my stuff, I’m not going to hold onto my weight,’” she said. “I don’t know that one comes before the other. It’s part of that same life-change decision.”

On its Web site, www.nsgcd.org, the group offers a scale to help people gauge the seriousness of their clutter problem. It also includes a referral tool for finding a professional organizer. But since the hourly fees can range from $60 to $100 or more, it may be worth consulting a new book by Dr. Tolin, “Buried in Treasures” (Oxford, 2007), which offers self-assessments and advice for people with hoarding tendencies.

Dr. Peeke says she often instructs patients trying to lose weight to at least create one clean and uncluttered place in their home. She also suggests keeping a gym bag with workout clothes and sneakers in an uncluttered area to make it easier to exercise. She recalls one patient whose garage was “a solid cube of clutter.” The woman cleaned up her home and also lost about 50 pounds.

“It wasn’t, at the end of the day, about her weight,” Dr. Peeke said. “It was about uncluttering at multiple levels of her life.”

E-mail: well@nytimes.com.

By TARA PARKER-POPE

Published: January 1, 2008