| Acknowledgments | 7 |
| Do You Need This Book? | 9 |
| Introduction: How to Read This Book | 12 |
| Part 1 | Cleaning With the Right Side of Your Brain | |
| 1. | It's All in Your Mind: The Right-Brained Messie | 17 |
| 2. | Messies, Creativity, and the Inner Child | 27 |
| Part 2 | The Real World of the Messie | |
| 3. | "Say, Honey ..." How Men Fit In | 49 |
| 4. | "Hey, Mom ..." How Kids Fit In | 53 |
| 5. | Not That Convenient: The Stress of Modern Technology | 58 |
| Part 3 | from the Inside out | |
| 6. | Hidden Beauty: Very Hidden | 71 |
| 7. | A New Vision: See Yourself a Successful Housekeeper | 80 |
| 8. | Games We Play: And How to Win | 88 |
| 9. | Messie Burnout: Rediscovering Perspective | 97 |
| Part 4 | Nots and Bolts for Messies | |
| 10. | Actually Cleaning the House | 111 |
| 11. | Things I Did When Sanity Began to Return | 126 |
| 12. | If You Want to Dance, You Have to Pay the Piper | 135 |
| 13. | More Dancing, More Pipers, More Payment | 141 |
| 14. | Room by Room | 149 |
| Part 5 | Interior Design for the Messie | |
| 15. | What? A Messie Decorator? | 165 |
| 16. | Making Your Own MAGIC ROOM | 180 |
| 17. | Decorating for a Cleaner Lifestyle | 189 |
| Part 6 | Help Yourself | |
| 18. | Dear Family: A Letter to the Family of a Messie | 201 |
| 19. | Dear Husband: A Letter to the Husband of a Messie | 207 |
| 20. | Warming Your Coals: Starting Your Own Self-Help Group | 214 |
| More Reading | 219 |
| Mail Order Sources | 221 |