A Place for Everything

I strongly believe that there is "a place for everything" and "everything should be in its place".

Most people do not follow this mainly because of their laziness and at times because of lack of attention. A well organised person will always ensure that there is a place for everything and everything is in its place.

I was taught this when i was very young. When I was a small boy studying in school my father purchased a cotton mattress for me, my two brothers and sister. Each of us had a mattress, one pillow, two bedsheets and we were told how to fold the mattress and where it should be kept in the morning. My father created a nice shelf where the four mattresses could be neatly arranged.

In 1976 we purchased a Television set and even before we took delivery of the television set my father created a nice shelf in the corner of our living room for keeping the Television. He also purchased six colours of satin cloth and made my sister to stitch a nice curtain for the TV stand. It used to make us feel we are in a Cinema Hall. The multi colour screen will be pushed on both sides and then the door of the TV will be opened and foled to the sides. We were also taught how to switch on the TV. The space above the TV stand was used for keeping the Radio. He also created a small corner shelf below the TV stand for keeping the Stabilizer.

There was a shelf in which we were keeping our clothes. There was another shelf in which each of us had one large compartment for keeping our books. The house was kept very neat and tidy all the time.

There was a separate tub for keeping all the soiled/used clothes. When the clothes are dried my grandmother will fold all the clothes and keep it in our respective shelves. When we drink juice or coffee or tea we were taught to immediately take the tumbler or cup and put them in the kitchen sink.

My parents, grandmother and the four of us - altogether seven of us were staying in a very small house of 930 square feet. We used to play cricket inside the house and we felt that there was so much of moving space available for us within that house. There was a verandah, toilet, bathroom, two small bedrooms, one large kitchen, one pooja room and a large living room. We always ate in the Kitchen where my father had designed a nice Dining Table which could be folded to the wall when not in use. There was a place for Everything and everything was kept in its place at all times. Hence in a 930 square feet house (where the actual living area - living room plus bed rooms was 400 square feet)we were all very comfortable and felt there was still plenty of space. We even had the luxury of a two seater sofa converted into a swing in the middle of the living room.

Thanks to the meticulous planning of my father - Shri.T.R.Parthasarathy Iyengar. He chose the right type of furniture and fixtures (all of them were made by a Carpenter under my father's direct supervision) and taught us all the importance of "A place for everything" and "Everything in its place".

I attended a lecture in 2008 by T.T.Rangarajan and he was saying that he gave the work of designing a house and the Architect came up with a plan. When TTR asked the Architect whether he has provided space for keeping the broom stick, the Architect was totally bowled over. An Architect who planned so many things for the house with several bedrooms, kitchen, living room, wardrobes, etc., did not plan space for a simple thing like broom stick. In order to save his face the Architect has said in all houses broom stick is kept behind the door or under the staircase. It is a shame that a huge sum of money is spent on designing and constructing a house where we do not assign a proper place for a broom stick.

Every Friday morning I clean my entire house. After the cleaning is completed I clean up the cleaning gadgets like broom stick, mop, bucket, etc. so that they are ready for use the next time. My house is kept very clean and neat at all times and I follow the same even at work. My work area is always kept clean and my files, documents and papers are always kept properly. I also attend to only one task at a time and only that relevant paper or documents will be on my work table.

My children are modern and they feel it is always better to follow the convenient way of life. They throw the clothes on the Chair or table. They remove their shoes without removing the shoe lace. The shoes are kept outside the shoe stand. Books are left on the bed and coffee mugs are left on the study table. They say "only when it looks disorganised it is a home otherwise it is a hotel". I totally disagree with this as I feel everything should be organised properly so that when we need, we get the things in no time. I have seen my children searching for things when they need because they do not follow "everything in its place".

It is very simple to assign "a place for everything" and also ensure that "everything is in its place" at all times. If this is followed we will not have any difficulty in retrieving things when we need them. My generation and the generations before me have known the importance of this and followed this very carefully. The next generation does not have the discipline to follow this and hence ends up giving smart answers.........

8th February 2011
Dubai, U.A.E.