This means that the best way to stay well organized is to keep things in their correct positions.
The origin of this phrase is associated with many notable people in history including Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Smiles and Mrs. Isabella Beeton. It has been used in a story which was published in 1799 called ‘The Naughty Girl Won’ by the Religious Tract Society. In the Oxford Book of Quotations it is mentioned that the phrase has been in existence since the 17th Century.