Friday Five: Where is its HOME?

Mary Beth writes:

As noted at my own blog, my word for the year is "clear."

One of the things to which this refers is clearing away clutter.

One of the best ways I have found to do this is to give everything that comes into my house a HOME. And I can easily tell that I have too many things when there are not enough homes for them all!

I gleaned the idea of items having homes  from my younger sister who used to say to her toddlers, "See that book on the floor there? Is that its home? No? Please put the book into its home." Often, I am saying the same words to myself that she said to her little ones.

Photo from Discountofficeitems.com

In my mother's house, the Marks-A-Lot marker always went in the cupboard next to the sink. I don't know why, I just know that's where the Marks-A-Lot goes, still and forever, in my house many miles away.  

So:  Tell us your favorite homes for five things, the places that you can always and reliably find them. 

Tell us about them; show us pictures if you want!  And definitely post a link in the comments, using the following formulation, so we can all come and see.

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In our house, we are not always good about putting things where they go!  It is a growing edge, especially for my boys (DH included)!  But I do have some things I "religiously " place in their home, because my sanity depends on it!

1)  KEYS

My keys go in a specific pocket on my purse.  If I don't put them there, I spend valuable time looking for them, and since I'm rarely early, that's not a good thing!  If they are not in my purse, the second place is a specific place on the kitchen counter.
 

2)  PENS

 With two school aged children, I am always having to sign something.  In addition, there are the requisite phone messages and numbers to write down.  So pens go in one of three places:  the junk drawer, the school supply/craft drawer, or my purse.  I can usually find one in one of the drawers, but for some reason, after a period of time the pen in my purse disappears.  I think the gremlin that lives in the dark bottom of my bag eats them.

 3)  READING GLASSES

Readers go by the computer because that is the only place I need them.  My regular glasses suffice for all other reading.  If my readers are not by the computer, I am frustrated, and I get a crick in my neck and/or a headache straining to read the screen.

4)  CELL PHONE 

Sadly, I am a willing participant in the addiction/dependency on our cellular devices.  My phone is in my purse or on my person at all times.  It is Murphy's Law that dictates that as soon as my phone is in another location, I receive that call/text/email that is so extremely important!




5)  KINDLE FIRE

As noted, I am firmly entrenched in the electronic age.  My Kindle goes with me wherever I go for two reasons:  1) my calendar is on it, and 2) you never know when you will need reading material!