and yes i realize this is just a displacement thing, and it's my REAL life that is the real mess...

Changing jobs three times in 4 years can really make a mess of your hard drive. I have whole categories of documents with no folder to put them in. I have a folder marked "Current Projects" full of projects that aren't current. I have a Downloads folder packed with everything from journal articles to NY Times stories to porn. Yesterday I decided to go organization-crazy on my Mac's ass. Sample...



And yeah... I know all the REALLY organized geeks say you're not supposed to put ANY files or folders on your Desktop, but they are a wrong. You just need to give them cool custom icons.