How do you organize tiny kit parts without sorting everything to death?

[u/BendCreepy6297]

Miniature kits create a weird organization problem because perfectly sorting every tiny piece can take almost as much mental energy as the build itself. Sorting by color looks neat, but it can separate parts that belong to the same step. Sorting by size can make similar looking pieces harder to tell apart. Keeping everything in the original bags preserves the manufacturer’s grouping, but it usually gets messy once several bags are open. A more practical system seems to be organizing around whatever makes it easiest to restart after a break, especially if the table has to be cleared between sessions. That could mean one tray for the active step and leaving unopened parts alone until they’re needed. So those, who actually work on small-part projects over several sessions, what sorting rule makes things easy to find without creating a second hobby called organizing?