More than 2,000 years ago Xenophen recorded a conversation between Socrates and Isomachus in chapter eight of his writing Oeconomicus . Isomachus told Socrates he asked his wife to organize the house by finding a place for everything and having everything in it’s place:

My dear, there is nothing so convenient or so good for human beings as order. An army in disorder is a confused mass. And so, my dear, if you do not want this confusion, and wish to know exactly how to manage our goods, and to find with ease whatever is wanted, and to satisfy me by giving me anything I ask for, let us choose the place that each portion should occupy; and, having put the things in their place, let us instruct the maid to take them from it and put them back again. Thus we shall know what is safe and sound and what is not; for the place itself will miss whatever is not in it, and a glance will reveal anything that wants attention, and the knowledge where each thing is will quickly bring it to hand, so that we can use it without trouble.

Clearly the advice from Socrates was written for a different audience at a different time, but the organizational advice remains strong today. When unpacked we are essentially getting two pieces of advice:

1. Don’t have more stuff than you can keep organized.
2. After you use something, put it back in it’s proper spot.

What great advice, and here is an example. As a parent, I know how frustrating it is when children leave their toys all over the house. But I also know that they learn from their parents. They will watch us use something and then toss it aside in a seemingly reasonable spot, such as a laptop computer, though not the item’s designated spot. Then they do the same, only they do not know what adults consider reasonable and unreasonable. It’s a problem easily solved through organizational habit.