A perfect mess

I've been reading, with a grain of salt, the book "A Perfect Mess." It's a critique of North America's organization/ purging/ cleaning obsession, our mental equation of neat with good, our assumptions that streamlined works better. In contrast, they offer ideas and stories illustrating their main thesis that every system has an optimal degree of mess.

They equate mess with flexibility. Mess = abundance, variety, unpredictable mixing of elements, mental stimulation, and the ability to draw on diverse resources to drive creative thinking. I would not choose the word "mess" for this - I would focus on an enriched, diversified environment and the ability to be flexible, which I think can work just as well within an ordered environment. I can see, however, how rigid plans and goals, particularly at the larger organizational level, can make it hard to shift gears and respond rapidly. Building in flexibility at the bigger level now seems like an important thing to me.

They also emphasize the cost of organization. Organizing takes TIME. It also often takes money. And the organized structures often do not add any value, and in fact, may impede creativity and speed of reactions. This is an important point for me to keep in mind.

They pay less attention to the costs of mess. I know I've discovered I think more clearly in an organized, cleaned-out environment. Mess creates stress for me, and for many others I know. When I have to search for documents, it takes precious time, whereas upfront organization makes it much easier. In short, I am not sold on mess as a good thing. But my brain is now stretched and I am considering, first, that certain levels of organization may simply not be needed; and second, that keeping things around that I might want or need later is a perfectly legitimate thing to do.