Cleaning as systems design

Cleaning is very similar to system design. It's all about finding the right containers for put things in.

When tidying our homes, we might be tempted to stash things away in random places and move on. In the same way, we may find it easier to hard code edge cases into our program instead of addressing the broader issue.

Taking the time to think through the logical places to put our things usually makes it easier to find them again in the future. Similarly, by selecting the right levels of abstraction for our code, we enhance its readability and make it easier to understand for ourselves and others.