There are particular recreational and general interest items which you need at the ready in order to stimulate the brain at home. Don’t let your spouse throw out that harmonica that you haven’t used since last year’s family reunion. That book with the marker at page 23 is still going to get read but maybe not tomorrow. How many of you think it would be nice to learn a language but there’s clearly no evidence of learning aids amidst that tidy end table by your TV chair? Someday, right? The discovery of some old dancing shoes may just be the re-think required for reworking old West Coast swing moves. How about that crochet project which isn’t happening because of some subconscious dilemma of tidiness? Is there a family bonding opportunity lost because the scrabble board is tucked away in storage while junior obsesses over some phone app?

We downsize and right size and retool as we grow. Then grandchildren are suspicious of the person of old. Sterility takes hold and the culture becomes cold. Can we live in the new lost from soul sustaining symbols of identity?

If your work commute is more than 45 minutes, it’s detracting from your quality of life and possibly impacting your health. Could the associated fatigue be a cause of waning interest on a home hobby? Perhaps it’s the behaviour modifying influence of a roommate or spouse? What is the cause of deteriorating mental health? Is it all physiological in need of mind altering chemicals? Is there some correlation between the suppression of a creative outlet through the sterilization of home and mental fitness? What about the social impact of a conglomerate of such individuals?