A place for everything, and everything in its place.

Meaning: Organized systems prevent chaos; knowing where things belong eliminates wasted time searching.

Origin: The earliest known printing is in a moral tale published by the Religious Tract Society in 1799, and it became a Victorian watchword for tidy housekeeping, repeated by the self-help writer Samuel Smiles and the cookery writer Isabella Beeton. It is often credited to Benjamin Franklin, but no such line has been found in his writings.

More proverbs about Wisdom

From our false friends

  • Mening — Actually means 'opinion'. Mijn mening = my opinion. The meaning of a word is its betekeni…
  • Puxe — Actually means 'pull' — the imperative of puxar. The door sign telling you to push says e…
  • Esquisito — Actually means 'strange', 'weird' or 'odd'. For exquisite, say requintado.

Browse all false friends →

← Back to Proverbs