Houseworks: Cut the Clutter, Speed Your Cleaning and Calm the Chaos [Paperback]

Cynthia Townley Ewer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 20, 2006

America's leading housekeeping expert shows you how to de-clutter, organize, and clean your home, with easy-to-remember tips for every job, from keeping your bathroom clean and doing the laundry to sorting out paperwork and organizing the family photo album. Where there is hope, there is help. You can win the chore wars!

• Author, founder, and editor of the top-ranked website OrganizedHome.com
• Introduces easy-to-remember tips for organizing the home
• Step-by-step photographs throughout show how easy it is to reach your goal

Editorial Reviews

Review

"... a thorough, readable and helpfully illustrated guide to cleaning and organizing." -- San Diego Union

"... you will definitely improve the cleanliness and functionality of your household." -- Seattle Times

"The information is presented in manageable chunks, so it's easy to read about and tackle one task at a time." -- The Times

"[Houseworks] is so complete that even the very tidy will learn something about how to run an ultra-organized household." -- Fort Worth Star-Telegram

About the Author

Cynthia Townley Ewer is the creator of OrganizedHome.com, an award-winning home organization and management website.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: DK ADULT (March 20, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0756613612
• ISBN-13: 978-0756613617
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #647,827 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

At 50-something, life is rich. Eight years after founding OrganizedHome.Com, I've just published my first book, "Houseworks"--and four more titles are in the hopper for the coming years.

OrganizedHome.Com and sister sites track a midlife journey of growth and discovery. The site network has a mission: to create an online space where members help one another get organized at home. We're focused on resources, information and self-help for better home management and organization. I'm proud that hundreds of thousands of families have found help and hope for chaotic lives through this work.

Running the computer side of the OH network has been a labor of love. A webmaster of the old school, I handle systems administration for our servers, code the pages, create the (admittedly-lame) graphics and write the content. I'm ably assisted by a cadre of moderators and admins, all of whom are learning and growing toward their own Web sites. It's exciting to watch the growth of an abundant crop of woman-powered online resources for better lives.

None of this would be possible without a happy home of my own. I live a rich life in eastern Washington state with husband Steve and cherished dogs Dicksie and Lindsey. Our hometown boasts wineries and agriculture, good friends and great quality of life, and we're proud to be active members of our community.

Two adult children, our daughter-in-law, and two small grandsons are frequent visitors, along with relatives, friends and guests from all corners of the globe.

Life is good.

Cynthia Townley Ewer
Editor, OrganizedHome.Com
Author, Houseworks

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

89 of 93 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for clutter busting, April 7, 2006

By 

Cluttered Mom - See all my reviews

This review is from: Houseworks: Cut the Clutter, Speed Your Cleaning and Calm the Chaos (Paperback)

I have a lot of trouble with clutter, so I read a lot of these books--and this one is the best I've ever seen. It doesnt just tell you how to get organized, but all the photos are so beautiful and show you how to do it.

This book is so funny, too. My husband kept asking me why I was laughing. He wanted to know why I was cracking up at a book about cleaning the house.

This would be a great wedding gift or for a sister or a friend.

55 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous book!!, September 7, 2006

By 

A reader (Traverse City, MI USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Houseworks: Cut the Clutter, Speed Your Cleaning and Calm the Chaos (Paperback)

This is the best book I have ever seen (and I have seen many) on household organizing. Beautifully presented with clear instructions and photos on folding fitted sheets and towels, organizing children's rooms, information on how long you can safely freeze foods and keep foods on the pantry shelf, cleaning products and tools, and many other tips on how to make life run more smoothly. I liked it so much I ordered one for my daughter as she moves into a new home -- off to the right start. A wonderful resource for any home.

107 of 119 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the best book on household organization and cleaning routines I've ever seen, March 27, 2006

By 

overtakenbyanap "overtakenbyanap" (BC in Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Houseworks: Cut the Clutter, Speed Your Cleaning and Calm the Chaos (Paperback)

Cynthia, I've long admired your excellent site, Organized Home, but this book is in a class by itself. I think it's excellent, like you I taught myself organization from scratch.

Along the way I learned from great books by Don Aslett (Clutter's Last Stand), Bonnie McCullough (Totally Organized), Jeff Campbell's Speed Cleaning trio of books, and the classic by Peg Bracken, The I Hate To Housekeep book.

Yours outranks all of them. They are still permanent residents on my shelf of household organization books, but yours has just become the book I want to give as a gift to young couples, new parents, new homeowners and anyone I really care about.

Way to GO girl! you really rocked my socks off today! Wow what a book!