WHAT I'VE LEARNT ABOUT...

New Year's resolutions

- CHRISSIE SWAN

As I hunched over my cooktop, slurping my reheated pasta straight from the frypan, I thought... what can an (allegedly) deeply flawed and quite possibly (allegedly) unhinged woman like me possibly offer you by way of inspirational New Year's resolutions?

First, let me explain the frypan-dining. I share my home with three housemates: two teenaged and one almost-teenaged. Some may call them my children. I prefer to refer to them as housemates. It just feels ... fairer.

These housemates (and to be clear, there are literally no three people I'd rather live with) have an endearing habit of racking up an unfathomably large pile of glasses, cups, cutlery and plates every few hours. It really is a miraculous gift. They merely touch a glass and it's deemed unfit to be used. And as Head Housemate, it's in my best interest to minimise use of the dishwasher, because unstacking it seems also to be my responsibility and mine alone.