have all (of) (one's) ducks in a row

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have all (of) (one's) ducks in a row

To be well organized, prepared, and up to date; to have everything ready or in order. We need to have all our ducks in a row to ensure that there are no problems at home while we're gone on our trip. Before you make those accusations, you better have all of your ducks in a row.

all one's ducks in a row, get/have

Be completely prepared and well organized. This colloquialism from the second half of the 1900s alludes to lining up target ducks in a shooting gallery. Sue Grafton used it in R Is for Ricochet (2004): “The trick is not to alert him until we have all our ducks in a row.”