This sounds very reminiscent. My son would do the same at a young age. It didn't seem to improve much over the years although he did stop crying. At one point I found myself highly annoyed with my own child not doing what the others could and would do when asked to tidy. I tried coxing, making a game out of it, food, ultimatums, demonstrating and yes, loosing my temper. Nothing seemed to work for long if at all. I felt defeated and didn't understand why this was so difficult on us both. What would cause such behaviour at such a young age? Was this intentional defiance? The more questions I asked myself the more I began to understand. He was overwhelmed. Not all children have a sense of organization a feel quite overwhelmed by organizational tasks. I then started to talk to others about it an found ways to help him organize his thoughts, things, day, you name it. He is 14 now and we still need to guide him regarding organization.
All I'm saying is that we have moments in our day where we assume all children are capable of all things. Most of the time that is the case but sometimes things elude them.

I'm sure your situation will adjust with time and he'll respond positively.