Emma Beddington embarks on a week-long journey to rediscover sensory pleasures in everyday life, inspired by Ian Bogost's book The Small Stuff: The Sensory Enchantment of Everyday Life. Bogost, an interdisciplinary academic at Washington University and video game designer, argues that modern life has become dematerialised and urges people to tune into small physical gratifications.
Day 1: The Daily Grind
Beddington begins with the morning coffee ritual, using a manual grinder and stovetop espresso pot. Despite initial struggles, she finds haptic satisfaction in grinding beans and the smell of fresh coffee. However, she notes that her electric machine makes better coffee, questioning whether analogue experiences are inherently superior.
Day 2: Spreading the Joy
At a local repair cafe, fixers share their sensory pleasures: Catherine Djimramadji enjoys knitting coarse wool, and Catherine Heinemeyer loves textured textiles. Beddington discovers the joy of touching plants, especially roses, and resolves to do so more often. She also experiments with food textures, enjoying crunchy peanut butter on charred sourdough.
Day 3: The Tools of the Trade
Beddington explores tool-related gratifications, including her husband's drill and writer Tim Hayward's bespoke keyboards. She finds satisfaction in the key bounce of her MacBook and the hori hori knife for weeding. The bone-deep satisfaction of removing deep roots is a highlight.
Day 4: A Mug’s Game
Inspired by Japanese ceramics, Beddington uses a sea-green cup with ridges, finding her thumb exploring its texture for ages. She recalls sensory pleasures from her late whippet Oscar and finds comfort in petting spaniels' ears.
Day 5: Grab That Little Moment of Gratification
On a stressful day, Beddington struggles to find joy but finds solace in the greenhouse, pinching tomato side shoots. She notes the neat pincer movement, hairy stems, and heady smell of crushed tomato leaves. Bogost reassures her that even fleeting moments of pleasure are valuable.
Day 6: Sharpening Kitchen Skills
Beddington visits a friend who demonstrates expert knifework, finding satisfaction in the weight and sharpness of a chef's knife. Back home, she uses her son's heavy knife to slice tomatoes, adding enjoyment to food prep.
Day 7: Drinking It All In
To celebrate, Beddington makes a dry martini using a technique described by Hayward: smashing ice cubes, stirring with booze, and adding lemon zest. While enjoyable, she deems it too fussy for regular use. She concludes that discussing others' gratifications has helped her tune into her own, from teasing apart seedlings to the click of a scent bottle lid.
Beddington reflects that the small stuff, though strange and trivial, offers profound recognition of bodily existence. She keeps a dentist's paper cup as a reminder of ongoing practice, even as she trips over her computer cable. As Bogost writes, the key is to allow sensory experiences to happen.
