"Experts" on "Hoarding" like to point out, in their speeches and their books, how "hoarders" organize by piles.
TLDR - Organizing By Piles isn't actually organizing, it's emergency dumping in the absence of time or containers or an organization system or a better idea or all of the above.
And even if experts don't say that "hoarders" *prefer* to organize by pile, they certainly make it sound that way, like it's characteristic of "hoarders", while completely glossing over any questions of *why* one might end up organizing by pile, while offering no alternatives other than discarding. On the other hand, "experts" themselves suggest using piles to organize - e.g. the laughable 3-pile method, which is all the more laugable because of this. While accidental or unintentional or very temporary piles happen and they may be necessary, coming from the very same "experts" who disparage person's own piles, this is just not good.
To quote the "experts" themselves - from BIT ch.2 -
( Section - Disorganization ) In addition to excessive acquiring and difficulty throwing things away, people with "hoarding" usually have trouble keeping their possessions organized. For most people, possessions are organized by categories - linens belong in the linen closet, canned food belongs in the cupboards, tax returns belong in a file drawer, and so forth. But many people with hoarding problems don't use categories to organize their possessions. For example, you might put the tax returns on top of the pile a little off to the left, where you can see them. This provides a memory cue, and gives you some confidence that you can find them when needed. Unfortunately though, the result is a mixture of important and unimportant things, randomly distributed throughout the pile. Over time, the new possessions cover the previous layer, and you're left with only a rough mental map of where things are located in the pile. When anyone else touches or moves things in the pile, your map is ruined. This method of organizing relies on visual and spatial memory, but makes it difficult to track and, much less, use your possessions for their intended purpose.
What exactly are you saying, you big scientists you, you who like everything explained, classified and justified ?
They describe this "Organizing by Piles" in vidid details ( with contempt apparent ), but what exactly is the point, what is the message ?
Are they saying people *prefer* to organize by piles, or that they don't know any better, or that they don't have a choice - what is their explanation for this ? They don't say, they just mock.
Also, the very iffy notion of organizing stuff "by importance" - I, who organized thousands of boxes worth of stuff, and yet I can find everything I need, I question how exactly organizing stuff by importance makes any sense for anyone, I certainly would never do that, I organize by topic.. tax returns are with tax returns, or whatever the system is.. Organizing stuff by importance gives you 2 categories, which is useless without further categories, and with further categories it doubles them, and is also useless..
I say, very few people in their right mind, if they have any other choice, choose to put things into a pile, especially a pile on the floor ( and I don't mean things like throwing socks on the floor or clothes on the bathroom floor, that's not organizing and enough people do it ). And the very few that do when given a choice, they probably learned to do it that way, they don't know how to do it differently.
( Of course, "experts" claim that persons concerned aren't quite in the right mind, at least on the subject of possessions - what with the "mental illness" framing - but, given everything else the "experts" got wrong, I'm going to question that point as well )
Simple thought experiment - give the person some of their things to organize, and give them a choice - here's a nice empty shelving unit, and here's a spot of empty floor space, your pick. Would they use the shelves, or would they throw stuff on the floor to start a new pile ? I'd very much like to see that.
I say, the "experts" didn't put any effort into figuring this one out.
How did I realize this ?
I was moving the other day, and I was out of immediately available space at the destination, and I had to unload and depart quickly.
So, I did the only thing available to me in the moment - I piled.
The pile of stuff started to look like a veritable city dump.
*That* is how piles happen. Out of space, out of time, maybe out of better ideas.
And then, what happens if I don't go back and sort this out ?
If time shortage persists, if life itself ( or job, or family, or fate ) keeps piling things on me ?
Piles stay piles, hello Dysfunction in Possessions.
And then, maybe a person gets resigned to it being doomed to stay that way, and they just keep throwing things in, piles grow.
Learned helplessness develops.
The "experts" didn't pay attention to exactly how this happened, and they didn't offer any better ideas.
They were busy fixating on discarding.
And, of course, they were busy discouraging the very idea of keeping, if only temporarily, and of additional containers or categories, which is exactly the wrong way to do it.
Well, I'm going to, again, do it for them.
Here's a crazy, wild idea -
Put stuff.. into boxes. Stackable boxes. Label them. Stack them as high as reasonable.
Boom! Piles are now neat, compact stacks, labelled, it's easy to move them, contents don't get damaged, etc.
And I can sort these further, time permitting. And if the time is not permitting, well, at least they stay decently stored.
How did the "experts" not think of that ?
Shocking failure of basic common sense.
See also my Thousand Box Method and How I Would Organize.