The Place Where It Won’t Get Lost

One of my coworkers had a hilariously brilliant idea today.  She said she was thinking of making a file folder and calling it “Where It Won’t Get Lost.”  We were all talking about how setting something down somewhere so you won’t lose it is one of those thoughts that should be rewarded with an immediate electrical shock to jolt you to your senses– because what that typically means is putting the item in question somewhere off the beaten path and unlikely to get cluttered over.  In practice, that means somewhere strange that you won’t tend to look again.  It’s hardly effective organization or time management to end up spending hours looking for something later. The worst thing about putting something where it won’t get lost is that it always seems like such a good idea at the time.  Oh, well…

I can’t say I’ve field-tested this idea yet, but I think I might designate the shelf I currently use for “needs a good home” to also include “where it won’t get lost.”  Items there must either be used or put somewhere more thoughtful within relatively short order, but it would sure be better than following that dangerous yet seductive impulse of putting it somewhere guaranteed to get lost while intending just the opposite!