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ATTLEBORO - Not long ago, Kristen Rounseville felt all but cornered. Her husband, Glenn, a part-time minister, had been laid off from his manufacturing job. Chores piled up and health problems - including a ruptured achilles tendon suffered by Glenn while pushing a vehicle - seemed to have ganged up on the family.

"It just seemed like we were going through a series of major crises," said the Attleboro mother of three. "I felt I could manage a lot, but I needed help."

That was when Rounseville e-mailed Hannah Keeley, a 41-year-old "supermom" who's written books on motherhood survival skills and is trying to launch a network television reality show. Before she knew it, Rounseville and her entire family were filming a pilot episode of "Hannah Help Me" in which the Richmond, Va., author spent two days helping the Rounsevilles get back on track.

The pilot could eventually end up on PBS, where Keeley and her communications company are pitching the program.

Rounseville describes the filming, which occurred over the summer, as something resembling a cross between self-help shows like "Clean House," "Doctor Phil" and "Super Nanny," where Keeley helped the family banish clutter, get organized and lay out schedules and responsibilities for each member of the household. "She was like a drill sergeant but a helpful, loving sister at the same time," said Rounseville. "We really hit it off."

A series of nagging events over the past few years contributed to Rounseville feeling overwhelmed. She lost her brother unexpectedly two years ago; her mother suffers from MS and her father from a gastrointestinal condition; her 9-year-old son began experiencing breathing problems. In addition to family responsibilities, she also works as a preschool teacher.

So when Rounseville, who had read one of Keeley's books and uses her interactive Web site, got an e-mail from Keeley seeking subjects for the pilot, she responded.

"We got about 20 times the response we expected," Keeley said from her Virginia home. "We had initially specified moms in the Richmond area, but Kristen was perfect."

Rounseville was chosen on the basis of a screening video in which she came across as bright and committed but in need of inspiration.

During the course of the filming, Keeley worked with Rounseville and her family on banishing clutter from their 980-square-foot home, making schedules, assigning responsibility for chores and menu planning. There was a lot of emphasis on time management.

"Hannah gave me a digital watch that beeps softly every hour," Rounseville said. "It's a tool that helps me think about where I am in my day. Am I feeling calm? Am I frustrated? It's a reminder, and it really works."

Keeley didn't just work with mom. A master calendar was laid out with each member's activities marked in color code; each child's responsibilities were laid out with "chore cards" set up to tally tasks as they are accomplished; the Rounsevilles began planning dinners a month in advance to make shopping and budgeting easier.

Rounseville says her two days with Hannah really helped.

"I feel my family's life has completely changed," said Rounseville. Clutter is gone, children are eagerly pitching in at home and life - though full of challenges - now seems less chaotic. "Even if things are crazy, it feels like I have a plan." Keeley's publishing and television aspirations are the result of a lifelong drive by the perky but disciplined Virginia mom, who first went into business writing and peddling her own "positive attitudes" newsletter around her neighborhood when she was 9.

"You could say I've always been an entrepreneur," said Keeley, who also has a background in psychology and behavioral therapy.

Even without the books, Web site and a proposed TV show, Keeley's life is a full one. She and her husband, Blair, an advertising executive, have seven children ages 2-15. All the children are homeschooled. Keeley's time alternates between mediating toddler disputes, teaching children and keeping up with mundane household chores like laundry and dishes. She also wears a watch that beeps hourly - she calls it her "attitude check."

Despite it all, Keeley feels driven to pass on what she's learned.

"I wanted to be able to share with moms practical things they could apply to their own lives," said Keeley, who started writing a newsletter for moms 12 years ago. Along the way she's also made appearances on the NBC's "Today Show" and "Fox and Friends" and been the subject of articles in major magazines.

The Virginia resident advocates simple but effective steps that can cut mountains of chores and weighty responsibilities down to size, like dividing major tasks into manageable chunks, planning meals in advance, making and keeping schedules, and setting priorities.

"One of the pitfalls moms face is that we try to do everything," said Keeley. She said it's more important to do the right things at the right times, from reading to her 4-year-old to teaching math and making sure the kids' chores are done.

"There's a reason I have unfolded laundry around here," she laughs.

Keeley says moms also underestimate themselves.

"Mom's don't realize the power they have," she said. "We set the climate emotionally, physically, spiritually for what's going on in our homes."

Keeley, who worked with producer Matt Hightower of Distillery Pictures to record the Attleboro pilot, said copies are in the hands of PBS screeners. She expects to hear within three weeks whether the program will be picked up nationally.

Rounseville, for her part, says she doesn't feel as rushed as she once did and is far more self-assured.

"It's just made amazing changes," she said, adding that her family is enjoying simple pleasures like walking and reading together and "spa time" that she created for her two daughters. While the family still faces economic challenges, Rounseville says it's easier for her to see light at the end of the tunnel.

"I know it's all going to work out."

RICK FOSTER can be reached at 508-236-0360 or at rfoster@thesunchronicle.com.