Why I’m Putting My Messy Kitchen on Zoom

“42c — Tiny Messy Kitchen” by TheBrownMike is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

For the first few months after the pandemic forced the whole world onto Zoom, I tried to look “presentable.” In the frantic minutes before a video call, I’d change my shirt, put on mascara, prop my laptop up on a stack of books to get the perspective right, and wedge myself into the far corner of my kitchen. It was not a comfortable place to sit, but it meant the background didn’t include the dishes in the sink, or the…