Where has this year gone?

It's quite a frightening thought that almost a whole year has gone by since I first started this Blog - where has that year gone?

As we approach the run up to Christmas, many people are probably anticipating having friends and relatives to visit or stay over and some may well be thinking "The house is in a mess! What will they think?" etc. At Christmas, with more people in the house and new possessions to accommodate, our houses often seem more untidy and much fuller than usual anyway. My advice is to concentrate on trying to make your main rooms look comfortable and inviting. I am not usually an advocate of just hiding things away rather than sorting them and getting rid of the clutter but at times like this, when there is so much preparation, this is probably the best way to tackle the problem. Unless you can enlist a lot of help from the family, this is not the best time to get the kids to sort out their rooms or clear the loft etc. but if the main areas which will be on display are welcoming and tidy, then you can resolve to tackle other more time consuming tasks in the new year.