In defense of the chronically messy

Re “Messy is as messy does,” Opinion, Jan. 29

Thank you, David Freedman, for sticking up for the chronically messy. Although my desk might look like random piles of paper, and my home office even more so, ask me for anything you need and I can pull it out for you, generally much quicker than my neat-freak brother with his carefully labeled and ordered file cabinets.

As a matter of fact, the only time things go missing is when the chronically neat straighten things up for me.

CHARLES J. POMERANTZ

Moorpark

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Increasingly, messiness is being near-criminalized, along with obesity, laziness and smoking. The lifestyle police are going overboard in imposing neatness on many. It needs to be emphasized that a lot of successful people are somewhat messy.

For some people, the way to solve their messiness is by throwing away everything that is not of immediate importance. However, if everyone operated that way, a lot of people might never possess personal archives that they may need later. Organization is good as long as what is being thrown away is verified properly.

I suffer from the fear of inadvertently throwing something out that is valuable. Hence, I check my trashcan twice before emptying out.

MANISH PATWARI

Montreal

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Something like 65 years ago, an Associated Press columnist wrote a line that defended me against critics for my entire working career: “A clean desk is the sign of a frightened mind.”

HARRISON STEPHENS

Claremont