A Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder Exposed

"Look At How Messy This Is!"

What is your reaction to that statement? Proud? Thankful? Gleeful?

Not likely!

You're much more likely to feel insulted, criticised, guilty or ashamed...

Until I picked up this book, I (like so many others) felt my natural tendency to "messy" was abnormal and in some way wrong. It was something to be fixed, changed, constantly battled with.

Then on impulse I bought  A Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder. How Crammed Closets, Cluttered Offices, and Off-the-Cuff Planning Make the World a Better Place by Eric Abrahamson and David H. Freeman.

I was intrigued by the title, but really did not expect to have the book convince me that messiness could ever be acceptable, even beneficial. It was outside the bounds of my belief system to comprehend how mess could ever be a virtue.

And so came the paradigm shift!

I have practised my new-found art of annotating a book, and this book now looks very well read - dog-ears, underlining, notes in margins, exclamation marks and questions... quite messy in fact  ;)

The authors don't set out to convince us we should be messy. They don't tell us that neat and organised is bad. Rather, the book is a "representative tour of the under-appreciated side of the world of mess and disorder... the goal is simply to explore and highlight some important truths about disorder that have mostly been overlooked."

In it's 'tour', A Perfect Mess wanders delightfully through examples from business, parenting, cooking, the war on terrorism, retail stores and even the meteoric career of Arnold Schwarzenegger. It explores jaywalking, musical improvisation and organisational charts. It takes an interesting look at the toll mess stress can take on relationships. The book shows that:

"moderately messy systems use resources more efficiently, spur creativity, yield better solutions and are harder to break than neat ones." 

Appealing?  Definitely! Intriguing? Absolutely!

Thought-provoking? You bet!

A Perfect Mess blasts open the paradigm that most of us are raised with - "when we see ourselves as failing in some way, we're quick to blame poor organisation. Our belief in the benefits of orderliness is as entrenched as the notion of the healthfulness of high-carbohydrate diets once was."

One 'hidden benefit' of mess: you save the time you would otherwise have spent neatening it. Things don't generally neaten themselves. Obvious, of course, once it is pointed out to us - and they are very convincing.

I highly recommend this book if you find yourself struggling constantly with mess in any area of your life. Anything from a messy wardrobe to a lack of strategic planning...

It may be that your current way of doing things is working fine for you, if you could put aside the guilt and shame about it. A Perfect Mess will open your eyes to the benefits of going with your natural tendencies. Check out their website here - (including extracts from the book).

I will leave you with this great quote - one for all those who struggle endlessly with their messy desks:

If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what then, is an empty desk?
~Albert Einstein

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Karen Wallace is eager to explore the notion of 'mess without guilt' further. You can find more of her writings at The Calm Space - an online magazine that's like a virtual day-spa for the senses; and at The Clearing Space.

Comments

[Steve Sherlock]

Karen, thanks for this one. I will be interested in seeinghow the discussion on this books spins out as there are neatniks amongst us.

I tend to try and walk the fine line between "a mess" and organization. I make connections aongst sometimes unrelated items and it helps to keep them handy so that they stay 'fresh in mind'. Of course, the more that is float like this, the more it may create a "mess".

The one item that I would really like to see cleaned up is some of our cable connections (USB cables for camera, iPod, headset, etc.). Why can't they automatically curl up for storage and unfurl without tangles when needed? This one item would help the clutter around my comfy blogging chair considerably.

[Joanna Young]

Karen

This one is definitely going on my list. You've shared enough here to pique my interest - and I guess it's a form of thinking that could apply to other situations (plans, thoughts, ideas, words) as well as 'stuff'.

Thanks for reviewing it and I look forward to seeing what added bursts of creativity emerge from your new love of disorder :-)

Joanna

[Rosa Say]

Love this book Karen! Like you, I picked it up on impulse while in a Barnes & Noble one day, and then I couldn't put it down --- after randomly reading a few sections I had to have it.

In one of those random picks was something about how making your bed every morning makes as much sense as tying your shoelaces after you take off your sneakers, and for some at-that-time reason, that made so much sense to me!

Joanna, your thought of how A Perfect Mess may be “a form of thinking that could apply to other situations (plans, thoughts, ideas, words) as well as ‘stuff’” is how the book began to get annotated for me in the last half of it... when I return for a second reading I am now sure that the first half will get marked up differently.

[David Zinger]

Thanks for reviewing this Karen. I have used the book as a guide and a rationale for why my office looks the way it does. I like the mess except when I can't find something. Yet when I can't find something and start looking I find something I forgot that may be even more important. Pretty soon I will say with glowing pride: "I'm all messed up!"
David

[Reg Adkins]

Talk about a growth experience! Even the concept of disorder stresses me. You've opened my eyes to a new idea.
Thanks!

[Tim Draayer]

Karen,

I'm so glad you pointed out this book. I have always struggled with the fact that I'm not a neat freak--figuring I needed to change. This book is going on my 'must read' list.

Thanks for the review!

Tim

[Chris Owen]

Well THIS one is going on the MUST HAVE list and right to the No 1 spot!
With all that innate Catholic Guilt in me I don't need much inspiration to think of myself as unacceptable. I actually am well known as an Organiser and love systems etc but...
My desk is endlessly messy and that line we always hear about what a messy desk says about your mind always sends the guilt off the Richter Scale.
I need this book just to ensure I reduce some of my anxiety and guilt let alone thinking laterally about my mess.
Thanks SO much for introducing this book into my world!

[dave]

I only have one request, that this book never fall into a teenager's hands. My life would forever change if Carla (very-soon to be 16yr old) got a hold of it. Knowing her, she'd mount a campaign and lobby school after school creating a new movement. Hmmmm, maybe she'd need a manager. Then we could BOTH get out of Momma Rothacker's dog house cause we would be practicing at home what we are preaching on the road.

Very intriguing book Karen!

[Dean Boyer]

Karen,

Is there any hope for a neat and orderly person like me? I do not function with a clutter of stuff around me - but, I can honestly say, that my mind is much more "messy" than my desk. I have a whirlwind of ideas and floating bits and pieces flying everywhere. Sometimes, they even form into something sensible! Thanks for the review - I am intrigued to learn how the other side lives (just kidding about the 'other side' - not kidding about being thankful)!

Dean

[Karen Wallace]

Hi Everyone - thanks for your comments, I will respond individually. Sorry it has taken me so long to reply to your wonderful, thoughtful comments - it's been a very busy, birthday weekend for my daughter, and I literally didn't have a minute to engage with you here.

@Steve - thanks as always for being first to comment and start off the conversation. I like how you talk about "walking the fine line between 'a mess' and organisation..." it IS a fine line, isn't it? Add one extra piece of paper and voila! It seems to be out of control.

Good luck with the cables - if you find a solution I am sure we'd all be interested. Maybe Ariane has a solution for us?

@Joanna - you're so right about it applying to more than just 'stuff'. In fact, a lot of the book talks about other sorts of mess, from musical improvisation to manufactured static so we can better understand each other when we talk on our mobile phones. I like how you added 'words' to your list... the authors talk about a search engine called BananaSlug that adds a random word to search terms (billed a Long Tail Search Engine). I'm looking forward to trying it!

And yes, thank you Joanna - I am looking forward to further stuff coming out of my exploration with this book... no longer tied to a paradigm that stiffles my natural instincts.

[Karen Wallace]

@Rosa - thank you, I am glad your experience of the book has been good. I had a similar experience of un-put-down-ability... which has been rare for me lately.

I am curious... did that make-your-bed quote help you change a habit, Rosa? Or just reduce the 'shoulds' around that particular chore?

@David - you definitely sound like a kindred spirit in the desk department. I know the frustration when I cannot find something oh too well. But it is amazing what I unearth when I start to rummage for something... this can be a problem if I'm on a deadline, but it's marvellously conducive to creativity! Let me know when you get to the stage where you can say that with pride - I'm sure all messies will join you in celebration!

@Reg - thank you for your comment! Isn't it interesting how we all come from our own place on the concept of organisation? The book doesn't set out to turn the 'neatniks' (thanks, Steve) into messies... far from it. It just seeks to possibly question some of those ingrained beliefs about mess and order, and help us to see that maybe, just maybe, there is some benefit in some forms of disorder. And it's not all about a messy desk, or a bulging wardrobe or having a clean sink. It's about our own reaction to mess. You may find it helps you to reduce that stress you feel... I'd be interested in knowing your reaction if you ever decide to read the book.

[Karen Wallace]

@Tim! Great! Another kindred spirit... I'm loving this conversation so much. For all of us who have struggled and known guilt and shame because we weren't as organised as we are 'supposed' to be, this book is truly a life-changer if you let it be. I think there is further work to do beyond the book, but it's a great start. Let me know what you think once you've read it - I'd really love to know.

@Chris - I know you like to be organised, or is that you like to 'feel' organised? And this book will assist with the guilt, although I am not sure if it's up to erasing years of ingrained Catholic guilt ;) Let me know what you think once you've read it!

@Dave - your comment made me laugh with glee! I have two teens and one teen-in-training in my house, and their mess is a sight to behold! My eldest lets his room get like a tip, then has a huge cleanup, regularly. I think innately he's actually fairly organised, or will be once he leaves his teens behind. My daughter, however, has all the hallmarks of a life-long messy. She turned 15 last week, so I can empathise about your Carla.

I hadn't thought about sharing the book with my kids (would they be interested?), but now I am intrigued by the notion, and alarmed by the idea of raising our children to have all the same hangups about mess that we have... oh, why don't we share the book with our teens? Maybe the world would be a better place without all that guilt and shame!

Let me know if you do decide to share and Carla starts her new movement, the idea really captures my imagination!

[Karen Wallace]

@Dean - "Is there any hope for a neat and orderly person like me?" You are what the rest of us have been trying to be like all our lives! As long as you are happy, there is nothing but hope! (And a good dose of envy from those of us who aren't).

Your mind sounds a lot like mine - and I'm guessing, most of the people reading here at JJL. We're all ideas people, and that jumble of thoughts and ideas and inspirations is what makes us who we are.

The authors of the book do not go into 'mind mess'... (that I can remember, anyway) but it seems to me that the wonderful writing and inspirational thoughts on teaching that you come up with are products of that 'mess'... so you must be doing something very right!

[Rosa Say]

Karen, that make-your-bed quote got me to stop caring and letting it annoy me when it wasn't fixed right away - which always happens when my husband has his days off from work. He is one who will take forever to get up on those mornings, and after he does he'll keep going back to read his paper there in between cups of coffee. While he will make the bed himself (when he is good and ready) and doesn't expect me to pick up after him, he has never understood why it being unmade annoys me so. I am a bit of a neat-freak, but more than that I am a morning person through and through, and so it is the thought of his completely wasted morning that gets to me... but then again, it's his morning and not mine!

Such is the dance of a long marriage I guess. Little things and minor quirks can make for long, silly conversations.