I am frequently asked this question, about a variety of things in my life.

And I hate to say it, but there is no secret.  I think that most of the time we realize this and understand that there is no miracle.  Though we wish for a burning bush to magically speak to us and show us the way to clutter free home and a perfect body, without having to do any work of course.

The secret to losing weight?  Well moving more and eating less calories.  There is no secret pill going to make us all magically fit and trim.

The secret to a flat stomach?  Well, never having your stomach stretched out to accommodate a watermelon would be a start.  As would be doing sit ups.  I strike out on both accounts.  I have enough extra skin on my stomach to make a suit of skin for a whole ‘nother person.  Remember that serial killer in Silence of the Lambs?  He could have just had my stomach and never had to kill anyone, though I suppose that would not have been the point.

The secret to being wrinkle free at 40?  Genetics and a life spent living in cave without sunlight.

The secret to a clean house?  Uh, cleaning it?  Never letting it get to the point where it is too messy to clean up easily.

The same goes for cooking dinner, organizing things, and –the bane of my existence– keeping up with laundry…

But still it doesn’t stop all of us, me included, from searching for that miracle pill, the perfect system that will revolutionize our existence, a panacea that requires no expended effort. 

Today I have a real secret to share.

You know how in the winter when you wear a hat you are faced with hair that stands up like you are clutching an electric ball.  To prevent this I keep a dryer sheet in my coat pocket.  When I take off my hat I rub the dryer sheet surreptitiously on my head. 

Yes, I may look like a sweaty old bald man shining his head when I do this, but no fly away hair clinging to my face.  And that makes it worth it.