# Orderliness Over Time

[Nov 17, 2025] A Technical Description of Mess and its Solution

Everything you *do* creates a change. If nothing changed, then you couldn't say you *did* anything. If you *did* something, then there is a *difference* between *before* and *after* states.

Some changes generate unorganized byproducts. To prevent mess, these byproducts need to be dealt with, or categorized. Mess is made of changes.

There are two ways to keep the state of a structure the same (by *structure* I mean a filesystem, a room, a desk, etc.). One is to **not touch it**. This is what uncreative people do, which is why they have an easy time staying organized. The other way is to **revert every change**. If a tool is used, leaving it out creates mess. If a new sheet of paper is not grouped with other papers, it becomes mess.

If you are a creative person, it is best to create a moderate system of organization. Without it, mess hinders productivity. If it's too strict, retrieval will take too long. An upper limit does exist.

If you don't know where to start, **group similar items** and **keep common items accessible**. An example would be, "all of the screwdrivers go here, except for this one I use all the time." These categories nest as well, which creates tree-like conceptual indexing: "Mechanical > Hand Tools > Screwdrivers."