37. A place for everything and everything in its place.

There are two kinds of people in the world. (How many times have you heard that wisdom before?) There is one group who is so organized that they can, within a minute, find their passport, their 2018 Income Tax file, and the transcript of their high school marks. They know where everything is located. Then there is the other 99% of us who can't find their car keys, their wallet, or their reading glasses! And the latter group hates the first group immensely.  

Perhaps it is time we took a few lessons from the organizers. I consider myself more of an organized, than a disorganized person. Over the years, I have established two critical areas in our house that are designated for certain things. Inside of our entry, there is a small decorative box with a lid that is the collection place for our sets of car keys, our wallets, and our phones. Developing the simple habit of ALWAYS dropping these three items into the box, will save you hours and maybe even days over your lifetime that you spend looking for misplaced keys or wallet or phone. Give it a try: it works like a charm.

I also have ONE designated drawer that I use for "important" things that I know that I will need soon or sometime in an emergency. I use it for appointment cards, or passports, or tickets for upcoming events or reminder notices or any other item that I want to put in a safe place. This ONE drawer IS the safe place that you will always use. Don't have two special storage spaces or you will have lost the game.

I am sure to many of you these simple examples are obvious and not really that wonderful. I just know that my two designated spots have saved my life on many occasions. I don't want to become a fanatical organizer. I don't have massive filing cabinets, dozens of labelled boxes in the basement or dry goods stacked alphabetically in the pantry. None of these are bad ideas, but they don't compare to the entryway box and the special drawer. Trust me, it works!