I wish I could say I won this battle, but the CHFPC (Coalition of House, Furnishings, Possessions and a Cat) had the upper hand from the start. It knew I couldn't hold out forever. And so my demands, for the house to produce less "old house dust", the rugs to tuft-up less wool, the cat to stop shedding and leaving paw prints on the bathroom sink, incoming mail to sort itself, boxes to break down and recycle on their own, and belongings to put themselves away, were not met. Not a single one. In fact, the CHFPC issued the following statement:
Screw you!
So there you have it.