I moved nine objects from my coffee table to clean a surface that took less than twenty seconds to wipe. That was when I realized the table was not creating the work — my idea of what a finished living room should display was creating it.

I am Eleanor Brooks. At 62, I tested seventeen living-room objects, from magazines and decorative bowls to organizers, small furniture, an extra chair and one respectable storage bench I had defended for years.

This is not a plan for an empty room. It is a practical test of whether an object is used where it stands, whether it justifies the cleaning around it, and whether removing it improves the route through the room.

Which living-room object makes you repeat the same unnecessary movement every time you clean?