Philippa Widdas.Text and photos by Nico Macdonald.

Philippa lives in Seddon House, with her husband Tim. Since she stopped working she has taken to making lists of household chores. She does these chores every week, whether or not she feels that, for instance, the kitchen floor needs cleaning. In Excel she created a matrix with tasks on one axis and all the weeks for one year on the other. She ticks off tasks as they are completed. As she feels that she should be working even though she is at home she sometimes leaves out evidence of her work, perhaps ironing that she has done.

Philippa and Tim hail from the East Midlands, and their real home is near Derby, the former industrial city, where they spend most weekends. Philippa keeps a 'home' as well as a 'London' task list. The home list is kept in a notebook ("never opened it in London") and before they leave for London after the weekend she make a list for her return. "It's a way of not having to think about things while I am not there", she says. She also writes things down things for Tim in the notebook. "He has even started reading it", she observes wryly.

She has a 'travel' list, and a Post-It for shopping. To make sure she takes it back home she inserts it in a copy of one of her favourite magazines, Artists and Illustrators, which is kept on the coffee table. The magazine is kept at home, so she never forgets to take it - or the list - with her.

She spends time looking after her parents, but she does not have a list for them. "My parents are in the forefront of my mind, so I don't need a list", she explains. Similarly "big things like decorating the flat never get written down as they are important".

Objects are used as reminders, placed on the bench at the end of the kitchen table. Some DVDs to go back to the library and a card to be posted to a youngster. She used to have pile of things to do at home (an 'in tray' of sorts) that lived on the kitchen bench, but now the pile has been relegated to a drawer. Back in London bills and other documents are filed in a cupboard in the living room.