That's a solid move with the egg cartons. I have to admit my own system is a lot less organized. I just use a random shoebox full of receipts and sticky notes, which works about as well as you'd imagine. My "filing" is mostly me digging through a pile of paper while muttering to myself. It gets the job done, but it's not pretty.

But what if the dust is actually helping insulate it?

Man, I used to think you could talk clients out of it with enough logic. Then I had a silver maple job go exactly like this. The guy wanted it "cleaned up" and I caved. Two years later a storm ripped a huge watersprout right off, smashed his fence. Had to eat the cost and fix it all. Now I just walk away if they insist, pictures or not. Not worth the future headache.