The bottom of a bag has a remarkable ability to turn five perfectly normal belongings into an archaeological dig. Keeping smaller things together means less time wondering where the charger went, which pocket has the lip balm, or how the pen managed to get underneath absolutely everything. It’s not a complicated system, but knowing where to look is half the battle.

Packing brings out a completely different level of organization. Suddenly there are things that need to stay together, things that should absolutely not leak on anything else, and things that need to be easy to find without unpacking the entire suitcase. A few designated places can make the difference between opening a bag and finding what you need or immediately regretting every packing decision that led to this moment.

Then there’s the everyday stuff that simply deserves somewhere decent to live. The things carried back and forth to work, pulled out during the morning routine, kept close while traveling, or reached for several times a day tend to stick around for a while. Giving them their own place makes daily life a little less scattered — and makes “I know exactly where it is” considerably more likely to be true.