Disorder often hides unnecessary ownership.

Clutter is frequently a record of things you agreed to own and never wanted. Gifts, purchases that did not work out, equipment for an abandoned interest, papers for obligations you no longer have. The disorder is a symptom; the underlying issue is holding on to things that were never really yours. Organizing them just arranges the problem.

Before sorting a space, ask of each item whether you would acquire it today. Let go of what fails that test rather than finding a home for it. Fewer possessions require considerably less order.