Al knows exactly where everything is in that pile :) There is a subset of the population that has both very good spatial memory, and has the ability to "tune out" messes that they create -- they become part of the landscape.

I'm in this subset, and I'm count myself lucky that my girlfriend understands that even though my place looks messy to her, I can find anything in a heartbeat so long as no-one has moved it since I last placed it somewhere. She has an innate urge to organize so I don't know how she resists :)