The Diderot Effect
In his 1769 essay “Regrets for My Old Dressing Gown,” Denis Diderot chronicled how the acquisition of a fancy new robe - one that made all his other possessions pale by comparison - led to a spiral of consumption that eventually bankrupted him.
Je suis Denis.
This week I bought a $100 toaster because I couldn’t imagine putting my old Amazon one in my new kitchen. And obviously I must have new dining chair cushions to go with my gorgeous wallpaper. Gonna need some more art for those tall walls in the living room, I tell myself as I add a linocut of Ferdinand the Bull to my Etsy cart. Don’t even get me started on the bath mat runner from Anthropologie that I think is really gonna tie the room together.
Anyhow, this is how I am distracting myself from the fact that today was our targeted move date and we’re still a few weeks out. However, some major boxes just got checked off over at the Project. Here’s the week in pictures:
Monday: Plumbing & Plant Delivery Day
Pretty plants for the front and back yards
Tuesday: Lighting Installation Begins
Wednesday: Appliance Installation
Thursday: Planting Begins in the Backyard
Friday: Odds n’ Ends
Coming up next week:
Monday: electric meter inspection
Tuesday: remainder of dining room wallpapered
Wednesday: cleaners come (!!!!)
All week: more landscaping and yard lighting
Other items that still need to be done (timeline unclear):
painters need to do touch-ups and paint the garage walls
remaining door levers need to be added
floors need to be sanded one last time and finished with a final coat
railing on exterior stairs needs to be installed
actual front door needs to be installed
all final inspections
In a fit of optimism, I booked the movers today for July 5th. I let them know the date is not firm yet, but it sure made me feel a lot better to set a target (that I admittedly have zero control over).
