Bartlemy 2022 was the late-summer day I finally emptied the porch crate. Sunscreen, jump ropes, a cracked water bottle, and two left shoes had been living there since the first warm weekend. Camp season was over. I kept one tote for next July and let the rest go.

The sort took twenty minutes. The sweep took five. That threshold is the same catch-all you meet after a vacation or a move: bags land, grit stays, and the crate becomes a second junk drawer. Empty it before you mop, or you will mop around the problem.

I still use that one-tote rule when school starts again. If it does not earn a hook or a bin, it does not winter on the porch. A clear stoop is the first impression for guests and the first surface a move-in clean should be able to see.