Put a $6 magnetic strip above my workbench and now I can't find anything

I hung one of those cheap magnetic tool strips from the hardware store over my workbench about two months ago because my screwdrivers kept rolling off the edge and landing behind the water heater. The first week it was great, everything right there, grab and go. Then I started sticking anything metal to it, pliers, the tape measure, a random hinge I found in a drawer. Now I have to scan this whole row of stuff to find the one hex key I need, which takes longer than digging in my old coffee can ever did. My neighbor Ray came over Sunday and asked why my wall looked like a caught fish. So the strip didn't fix the mess, it just moved the mess up where I can see it. I am thinking the real answer is fewer places to put things down, not more. Anyone else made a storage upgrade that somehow made the clutter worse?