There's really no point to cleaning your place top to bottom right before guests arrive. If they're any fun at all, they're going to make a bit of a mess, right? But you want them to think your house is clean, even if you just shoved those yet-to-be-unpacked suitcases under the bed seconds before you opened the front door with a smile. This is how I clean my house in ten minutes or less.

Do you embroider, or have you ever thought about trying it? If you're up for giving it a go, then consider this pretty constellation table runner. It might look really hard and impressive, but the steps themselves are easy:

It's high time to start a garden, but what if you have almost no outdoor space or, as in the case of this reader, Jean, clumsy roommates? Sew a hanging herb garden, that's what. Read on for more about Jean's ingenious solution and smart small-space garden! 

Do you have entertaining anxiety? I did (and I still come down with a touch of it every now and then, especially if someone important is invited). How did I get over it? It dawned on me that I had never once resented being invited to someone's home. I never wondered, "Chips and dip? BYOB? Really? That's it?" or "Wow. Look at that stain on the sofa. These people are real slobs." Nope. I'm flattered and happy to be invited to mingle with old friends and meet new ones. Huge bash or intimate soiree, four course dinner or potluck — thank you for having me! This was even more clear on my recent trip to Cange, Haiti.

Here's what I do when things get rough, when I'm sad or troubled or upset.  I go to the kitchen and I make something and then I give it to somebody. I don't let it get it too complicated: I pull some ingredients together from whatever is at hand and make then soup, or cookies, or bread.  And then I give it to the first person I think of, usually the the one who is closest, like a neighbor, or a coworker, or sometimes even my mail carrier.

Punch is a fun-to-serve, often less expensive way to offer an adult beverage to your guests. And have you noticed? In the last few years, the cocktail bowl has made a comeback in bars, a festive way to share a drink with a table of friends. At the very least, punch will make your party memorable, even more so if you make a complementary ice ring. My favorite punch recipe has a secret ingredient, a really cheap one, that no one suspects.

Well, not really. But even if that wasn't the original design intention, it pretty much does just that. Have you ever seen a home bar that was quite so cool? It's a bar! No, it's a sculpture! No, it's a work of art! Gah. It's awesome. We rest our case.

All week long we've been helping ourselves to the liquor cabinet. It's Cocktail Week, after all, and we'd be remiss if we didn't try out some of these 3-ingredient cocktails or one of these party-friendly pitcher drinks. (All in a day's work, friends! Thank goodness we have a hangover cure.) But now we're taking a step back to revisit the basics. Tell us: if you were building a home bar from scratch, which bottles would you choose?

In our house we keep the liquor in a tall wood cabinet I found for a song at a thrift store in Manhattan. It stands against the wall near our dining table, which is between the kitchen and the living room. (I like the proximity to both places.) It works for us now, but we're moving soon, so I'm curious to see how other people store their spirits. Do they keep them out in the open on a bar cart? Grouped together on the countertop? Set up side by side on a shelf? Here are 10 examples culled from our Kitchen Tours for a little inspiration.

The under-the-sink area can be pretty dreadful. It's cramped and hard to keep tidy — which is also why it's the perfect spot to install a pull-out drawer.