The towels did not need a weekly meeting.

The towels were dry. This should have been encouraging. Instead, I looked at them and remembered that the linen cupboard also needed sorting, which reminded me that we owned a duvet cover neither of us liked. Sunday afternoon had acquired a procurement problem.

My partner found me on the floor beside three piles. One was clean washing. One was things to give away. The third was a category I had not yet defined. He asked whether the cupboard had broken.

I said I was getting ready for the week. He looked at the duvet cover. Neither of us expected to need a second bed at work.

We started with Monday.

He had an early appointment. I needed a clean shirt and the documents for a meeting. We needed something for breakfast. Those were actual requirements. Refolding every towel so the cupboard resembled a photograph was something I had added without consulting the calendar.

We made a short list together and divided it. He checked the appointment details and picked up bread while he was out. I found my shirt, put the documents in my bag and cleared the part of the table where we ate.

The remaining chores did not vanish. We chose a time later in the week for the cupboard, and I put the half-sorted things back where we could still find them. There was no special storage system for a job I had decided not to finish.

I kept expecting to be called back.

We went out for a short walk. At the corner I remembered that I had not wiped the cupboard shelves. My partner asked whether I wanted him to admire how clean they might have been. I said that would help enormously.

At home we made dinner. There was enough table to eat it and enough clean washing for the next day. I had not prepared every meal, answered every message or arranged the following weekend. I had also stopped opening cupboards to see whether they contained a new obligation.

Monday included an inconvenient email and a bus that took longer than expected. I had my documents and a shirt. The towels had made no difference to either problem.

On Thursday we sorted the cupboard. It took two of us less time than I had spent discussing it on Sunday. We kept the disliked duvet cover as a spare, which was a disappointing conclusion for anyone expecting a dramatic transformation.