We are creatures of habit,. whether or not those habits make sense. And nothing reveals the depth of habit like the location of commonplace objects.

I've known this for some time, ever since the vegetable peeler inexplicably got placed in the silverware drawer when we moved to a new house. It made no sense, being apart from all the other gadgets, yet inertia (and bigger fish to fry) enabled the peeler to remain there just long enough that it cannot be moved.

I know; I tried -- once.

This knowledge of habit, however, did not keep me from removing a wall clock from its longtime location near our dinner table.The clock had been there for years, but -- true confession time -- it was one of those bird clocks that tweeted with a different bird song every hour. Clever for the first several years, blithely ignored for the next several, and then, suddenly, quite annoying! Time for it to go.

I should have had another clock in hand as a replacement, but I rather liked changing up the space with a painting. Still, not a single day went by when I didn't glance there for the time -- even with the oven's digital clock at hand. Our son was most miffed at the change. I realized that clock had been there all his life. Hmmmm.

So, in the midst of post-holiday putting-the-house-back-together, I moved a cabinet on which our mantel clock sits into that location. Now our glances for the time are immediately satisfied -- except when we look to where this clock USED to be.

All of which has got me thinking about the degree of thought we put into where things end up in our houses. Logic guides most decisions, yet there are those wonderful options for things like clocks or lamps or coat hooks. Perhaps I should have changed things up more regularly, to keep habits from being formed. Although I suspect that may only have driven everyone a little crazy on an equally regular basis.

This came up again over the weekend when I moved my jewelry box from the shelf where it's been for 20 years. It's never fit quite right, yet remained -- 20 years, really? --because it was in the logical place. Maybe it's middle-aged "not gonna settle anymore," but I took the giant step of moving it into an adjoining room. Already, I know it's not going to work there, but I'm determined not to move it back to its old, not quite right place.

Wheels are spinning............where ELSE can I move it? What other habits can I thwart?

How about you? Have you changed the location of something for all the right reasons, and yet consternation follows? Do you reverse yourself and put things back where they were? How long before a new habit takes hold?