a place for everything, and everything in its place
proverb One ought to have a place set aside in which everything can be stored, and everything should be stored in that place when it is not being used. Come now, kids, put your toys back where they belong. Remember—a place for everything, and everything in its place! I think you'll find that you just feel better overall once we clean out and organize your closet. "A place for everything, and everything in its place" is my mantra! A: "Wow, I love that you have all these labeled baskets and bins!" B: "Of course! A place for everything, and everything in its place."
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
place for everything, and everything in its place
Prov. Everything in order and put away where it belongs. (Used to describe a very orderly thing or place.) I like to put my books in alphabetical order by author. She has a place for everything, and everything in its place. Barbara's room is so tidy. A place for everything, and everything in its place.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
place for everything (and everything in its place), a
An old maxim for neatness. The earliest citation for it is a naval novel of 1842, but it continues to be used, both in the sense of tidiness and by extension, appropriateness. The second, more figurative sense is meant in P. Dickinson’s Skin Deep (1968), “Do you run your whole life like that? . . . A place for everything and everything in its place, and all in easy reach.”
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer