Remember that PSA that ran every night? A stern, deep voice warned: “It’s 10 pm. Do you know where your children are?”

10 pm is a great time to know where your children are, but let’s not stop there. It’s 10 pm, do you know where your car keys are? How about the water bill that came in the mail today? The bag of drycleaning you need to drop off first thing in the morning? Your kid’s lunchbox?

I love Amanda Sullivan’s idea of “The Last Sweep.” Her idea is that we should all take a minute to put our house in order before bed so our mornings are less frantic and frazzled. The Last Sweep is quick and mindless, because you’re using the systems you’ve already designed when you had time and energy to do so.

Decide what feels orderly enough to you. Maybe you can’t stand dirty dishes on the counter, but in the sink is okay. Maybe dirty dishes in any spot is unacceptable, but leaving clean dishes in the dish rack is okay. Maybe dishes need to be cleaned, dried, and returned to their assigned shelf before you can drift off to sleep.

Whatever level of order feels right, don’t let your possessions break curfew. Before you head to bed for the night, know where things are. Because they're where you’ve assigned them to be.