Would you like to make housework less of a chore? A new book by organizing expert and author Cynthia Townley Ewer provides fast, simple and effective cleaning strategies that readers can use to navigate the "perils and pitfalls of modern life." The book, called "Houseworks" (DK Publishing, $16.95), shares the style of tips that have made Ewer's own Web site, OrganizedHome.com, so popular. It gives suggestions for smart scheduling and planning and mastering to-do lists, and it emphasizes what it calls the "four housekeeping arts": cutting clutter, organizing your space, using the most effective cleaning tools and methods and creating time- and energy-saving routines. It also explains the following:

? How being aware of the natural cycles of everything from clothes (planning, buying, cleaning, storing) to food (planning, selecting, buying, storing) could lead to a hassle-free life;

? How simple and inexpensive organizational tools can turn messy kitchen counters and medicine cabinets into havens of organization;

? How a cleaning schedule can take some of the pain out of such tasks as doing the laundry and cleaning the bathroom.