diff --git a/Makefile.inc1 b/Makefile.inc1
index 5fed30e057ff..ac10c2b1412d 100644
--- a/Makefile.inc1
+++ b/Makefile.inc1
@@ -1673,7 +1673,7 @@ delete-old-files:
 # the Makefile parser segfault.
 	@exec 3<&0; \
 	${MAKE} -f ${.CURDIR}/Makefile.inc1 ${.MAKEFLAGS} ${.TARGET} \
-	    -V OLD_FILES -V "OLD_FILES:Musr/share/*.gz:R" | xargs -n1 | sort -r | \
+	    -V OLD_FILES -V "OLD_FILES:Musr/share/*.gz:R" | xargs -n1 | \
 	while read file; do \
 		if [ -f "${DESTDIR}/$${file}" -o -L "${DESTDIR}/$${file}" ]; then \
 			chflags noschg "${DESTDIR}/$${file}" 2>/dev/null || true; \
@@ -1738,7 +1738,7 @@ check-old-libs:
 delete-old-dirs:
 	@echo ">>> Removing old directories"
 	@${MAKE} -f ${.CURDIR}/Makefile.inc1 ${.MAKEFLAGS} ${.TARGET} \
-	    -V OLD_DIRS | xargs -n1 | \
+	    -V OLD_DIRS | xargs -n1 | sort -r | \
 	while read dir; do \
 		if [ -d "${DESTDIR}/$${dir}" ]; then \
 			rmdir -v "${DESTDIR}/$${dir}" || true; \