Secrets of Life #2

The second Secret of Life (that actually isn't a secret at all) that I learned the hard way, is this: Put Things Away.

What is the result of leaving things out till you get around to putting them away? Maybe your house looks like this after a while.


I cant say our place was ever that bad, but I have to admit that I just never jumped at the chance to carry an item to where it belongs.

I used to blame it on the kids...since kids, you know, will be kids...leaving messes after themselves. After 30 years of that I guess I just came to accept that things are never quite where you put them. So I would just put my item on the steps and wait till I was going that way...after all who's going to notice?

The truth is, I like to think of myself as kind of an efficiency expert, always looking for the most streamlined way of doing something. If I can take a few less steps I usually go for it, expecting that I'll pass that way again, and when I do I'll carry that item to the proper destination.

But a lot of bad things happen when you make a habit of not putting things in their place...For one, you don't really know where or if you will find them when you need them. Like a pair of glasses, or a screwdriver, or maybe it's your to-do list (if you actually have one, that is). Just think of the number of times you had to look for your car keys...if you put them where you really should know to look for them every time, they would...well, be there.



Then there is the cumulative clutter that comes from many such items...the keys and a roll of tape on the kitchen counter, a box that is headed for your car in the hallway, I leave my vitamins on the counter so I won't forget to take them before I go to bed. This is to say nothing for all the electronic gadgets we each own (cell phone, iPod, laptop). If each of these goodies is left in some 'convenient" spot, the end result is chaos.

So recently I have come to appreciate a picked-up house, an organized workspace, a clear floor. Things like that never seemed in reach before, but now I have a chance to see everything that I leave out someplace, since no one else could have left it there!


Well, there is a better way....just bring the item to it's proper destination NOW...don't wait till you have the time, or when you go that way later. The end result of this will be a neat house, and all things in their proper place!

Seems so simple, right? Well it turns out to be very profound, and makes a big difference in your quality of life. No, it's not up there with world peace, but is it a good example of what I call a "cumulative dissatisfier".

My mother always said, "a place for everything and everything in its place". And I thought, well, she is just OCD, I'll find a better way. Unfortunately for me, she was right! The unfortunate part is that it took me so long to learn this simple, yet elegant truth. hope you find out it is true for you!





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Location:S Cardinal St,Gilbert,United States