Mess-proof your home

Self-professed former slob Dana K. White shares the surprisingly simple secrets that transformed her house from sloppy to spotless

As she took a look at the piles of paper, baskets of laundry and other clutter dotted around her home, Dana K. White, author of How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind, remembers thinking, Ugh! It’s such a mess! But getting organized seemed impossible to the mom of three. “Cleaning became such a project, and when it becomes a project, it becomes overwhelming,” she says. “Then I realized my house is not a project, and the goal is preventing it from becoming a project through a series of repetitive tasks. When I broke it down like that, it didn’t seem so hard.” So she decided to tackle her home one tiny chore at a time until the messes were gone—for good. And you can do the same. Here’s how.