1. What’s cleaning got to do with the meaning of life?

Life is messy. So we need to find easy ways to clobber clutter and outwit the dirty work. Cleaning and the Meaning of Life shows how to break the stress-mess connection and create a sense of serenity and control in our lives. Master your surroundings, master your life.

2. Are you a clean freak?

I like clean. I just don’t like cleaning. So I take a preventative rather than a prescriptive approach. Paring possessions to a manageable level, for instance, can cut housework in half. Kicking off our shoes reduces up to 80% of the crud that hitchhikes inside. Using materials and finishes that repel dirt and colors and patterns that camouflage it, keep a place clean and pristine.

3. Camouflage? What colors and patterns conceal best?

That depends on the location and circumstances. Laying a richly patterned rug in the four major food group colors under the dining room table, for instance, disguises dribbles and spills beautifully. If you have a cat or dog, an animal print fabric on Rover or Kitty’s favorite perch hides pet hair with pizzazz. And using colorful, dense prints in a kid’s room is a fun way to mask a multitude of sins.

4. What makes you an expert?

I’m an interior designer who specializes in easy-care décor. Through my own trial and error I’ve found the easiest ways to pare down, lighten up, and make a home more comfortable, convenient and reflective of who we are.

5. What’s this new disease, TMS, that’s wreaking universal havoc?

TMS stands for Too Much Stuff syndrome, an affliction that messes up many of us. TMS symptoms are similar to PMS: bloating, fatigue and moodiness. TMS robs us of time and energy, and makes keeping home a hassle. But there’s hope! I offer a number of new ways to outwit clutter, prune without pain, and organize what’s important, so we’re not prisoners of our own possessions.

6. What’s the easiest, most cost-effective way to avoid TMS?

Shop less. Today’s marketplace is so vast and seductive, shopping has become our #1 pastime. Yet everything we buy needs space and maintenance –sometimes major maintenance. Shopping is like sex. The thrill is gone quickly and you don’t always like what you see in the morning.

7. Shopping may be seductive, but what’s the ultimate turn-on for most women?

Are you ready? It’s seeing her guy cook, clean, and play with the kids. In his book, Men Are From Mars, Woman Are From Venus, psychologist John Gray lists “101 Ways to Score Points With a Woman.” Twenty-one of those points involve household chores. “Doing chores is the best form of foreplay,” maintains Gray. I show how we can get the best from our men, and how men can be heroes without the hassle.

8. What’s the worst thing a woman can do when she wants help from her guy?

Bitch about it. We can’t expect anyone to pitch in willingly when we continually complain about what’s not being done. Instead, we need to find positive ways to motivate our men. Humorist Dave Barry tells how one of his readers gets her husband to do the laundry. “I tell him it gets me hot,” she said. Devious? Not really. Most of us find that kind of consideration highly seductive.

9. What motivated you to write this book?

My mother’s life. It was an endless circle of cleaning, cooking and laundry, yet our house was a cluttered, disordered mess. I loved my mom, but I wanted a different life. I found it by creating surroundings that boosted my mood, yet demanded little from me.

10. Sounds like you have a mission.

I do. My mission is to minimize the daily grind and maximize the feel good factors of home. Life may be messy, but make a home organized, inviting, and give it a sense of flow, and you’ll pave the way to a beautiful, life. As our surroundings flow, so do our lives.

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All Rights Reserved
Paula Jhung