Care habits

Care Habits

Rituals of Maintenance

The acts of caring for our objects — polishing, oiling, mending, cleaning — are more than practical necessity. They are rituals that connect us to our possessions, moments of mindfulness in busy lives, and expressions of what we value enough to preserve.

Some care habits are inherited, passed down through families like recipes or stories. Others we develop ourselves through trial and error. All reveal our relationship with the material world and our stance toward consumption, sustainability, and longevity.

Types of Care

Preventive Care

Regular maintenance that prevents damage before it occurs. Oiling cutting boards, rotating mattresses, cleaning filters, and sharpening knives.

Restorative Care

Bringing worn objects back to functionality. Polishing tarnished silver, conditioning leather, refinishing wood surfaces.

Repair

Fixing what's broken rather than replacing. Mending torn fabric, gluing broken ceramics, replacing worn parts.

Cleaning

The most common form of care, performed daily. Understanding materials helps us clean effectively without causing damage.

Object care ritual

The Philosophy of Care

In a culture of planned obsolescence and constant upgrades, choosing to care for what we already have is a quiet act of resistance. It says that newness isn't always better, that patina has value, that our relationship with objects can deepen over time rather than expire at first imperfection.

This program explores care through both practical skill-building and philosophical reflection. We learn traditional maintenance techniques while examining why we choose to care for some objects and not others, what makes something worth preserving, and how our care practices reflect our values.

Program Components

Participants develop personal care routines tailored to their most valued objects. We explore material science — understanding how different materials age and what they need. We learn from craftspeople and conservators who have dedicated their lives to preservation. And we practice mindful care, using maintenance tasks as opportunities for meditation and presence.