I have always had a bottle opener keychain [1]. When grabbing it from my pocket it is easy to tell by feel which way is "up" (flat side for me) so they keys are always oriented correctly. The keys can't "loop" around, either, so the order is guaranteed. It's also a useful tool.

[1] https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0D8MM4FQT/

Ha, I do all of this already. (My "trinket" is a Yubikey, though I just added a 3D printed MIT Flea tag an enterprising child was handing out at the last Flea.)

I propose that the reason for clockwise ordering is: door locks are on the right, and also most people are right-handed. So looking at the keychain as you would hold it to insert the key into a lock, the first visible key is the first in clockwise order. The others are "stacked" beneath it.

The article says "That's why I've spent way too long thinking about the optimal arrangement of keys on a keychain, to reduce egress time to a minimum.

If you need to find your keys to get out of your house, that's not ideal in an emergency. I think the author is talking about ingress, getting into one's home.

Size of keys is also important when you've got a growing number of keys. To me it's more important than ordering based on key function. Because most keyrings are circular, they sit better if your put larger keys together in the center with smaller keys on each side.

My trick:

Car key is obvious.

Other keys are house front, house side, someone elses house (family).

Get some nail polish and paint the top of the house key, the one thay gets used 90% of the time.

Or you can get the coloured covers from key cutter shops but they do seem to break up eventually.

I already do this out of OCD. Now I can say I’m am just being more efficient ;)

I don't carry keys anymore, except for my bike lock, parents house, car, and work bike lock. Hmm I guess I still carry a lot of keys. But I'm still happy I replaced my house key with a code.

Here's a trick of mine: choose a key hat with a colour matching the door. It's easier to tell them apart, especially when you hand the key-chain to a friend.

I haven’t regularly carried around keys in three years (unless I’m driving, which I try to avoid). Keyless entry is a delight and I recommend it highly.