The most important cleaning technique is prevention. Take steps to ensure your belongings don't become dirty or damaged in the first place.

These six daily habits will go a long way to preventing a major overhaul down the line. With just a few minutes of work, you'll easily be able to keep chaos at bay.

Tidiness begets tidiness. A crisply made bed makes the whole room seem more orderly, which makes it less likely that you'll let other things -- such as clothes and papers -- pile up around it.

Whenever you leave a room, take a quick look around for anything that isn't where it should be. Pick it up and put it where it belongs. Insist that everyone in the household do the same.

Take a few minutes to open, read, and sort mail as soon as you bring it inside. Keep a trash bin near your sorting area for junk mail. Drop other mail into one of four in-boxes: personal correspondence, bills, catalogs, and filing.

Instead of filling the sink with pots and dishes, wash them or put them in the dishwasher as you prepare a meal.

Whether it's tomato sauce on the cooktop or makeup on the bathroom counter, almost anything is faster and easier to remove if you attend to it immediately.

Every evening, once you've finished washing up after dinner, sweep the floor. This will keep tough-to-clean dirt and grime from building up, which will make the weekly mopping much quicker.

The following simple changes can also translate into fewer big cleanups later. For instance, place doormats inside and outside of each door that leads outside or into the garage. Use coarse coir mats outside to trap mud and grit, and cotton indoors to absorb water.

Institute a no-shoes policy. Shoes track in all kinds of grime and abrade hard surfaces. Wear slippers instead indoors, or go barefoot.

To prevent scratches, attach self-adhesive felt pads to the bottoms of furniture legs and always lift, rather than drag or roll, furniture when moving it.

To protect carpet from dents, support heavy furniture on plastic or rubber floor protectors that are at least an inch in diameter. The heavier the piece of furniture, the larger the floor protector should be.

If you do end up with carpet ghosts, or indentations left by furniture in pile carpet, place ice cubes on the divots. The fibers will swell as they absorb the water. Vacuum carpet thoroughly to pull up wet fibers.

Apply weather stripping to draft doors and windows.

Use high-efficiency furnace filters and room air filters.

Install window screens to keep out large particles and flying insects.

Draw blinds when windows get direct sun to protect furniture, carpeting, and artwork.

Use trivets, cutting boards, and coasters to prevent scratches and burn marks on kitchen surfaces and furniture.

Attach rubber disks or felt to the bottoms of vases, candlesticks, and collectibles to protect furniture from scratches.

Add felt glides to the bottoms of small countertop appliances like coffeemakers and blenders.

Seal stone surfaces and grout to guard against stains.

Install doorstops to prevent doors from denting walls.