The empty shelf is useful before you find something to fill it.

Space reads as waste, so it gets filled almost automatically. The empty shelf, the free evening, the clear surface all attract contents within a week, and then the room, the week, and your head go back to being full. Emptiness is doing something while it stays empty: it is where the next thing will go, and it is what makes the rest visible.

Keep one shelf, one drawer, or one evening deliberately empty this month and resist the first three things that want it. Notice how much easier it is to put something down when there is somewhere obvious to put it.