There’s an article in a December 2002 issue of The Economist entitled “In Praise of Clutter,” or “Leave my desk alone. It works.”
I’m reminded that my grandfather used to have a coffee mug which read, “A cluttered desk is a sign of genius.” It was just a novelty mug made for messy office desks, not homely kitchen tables, but to my little-kid mind, the sentence seemed to have a kind of wisdom just beyond my mind’s reach. My grandfather was always telling me old proverbs, so I took this as another truth, albeit vague and mysterious. “Ah yes,” I would think, “messy is good.” Of course, at the time I didn’t see the intended humor (or rather, corniness) of this misplaced mug, but still I believe: clutter (in neat, easily accessible piles, at least) is all right.