put one's house in order
The phrase "put one's house in order" is often used to suggest organizing one's personal or professional matters, especially before addressing others' issues.
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Definition
B2Personal Affairs
(idiomatic, common)To organize and manage one's personal matters efficiently.
Example
- Before starting the new job, she decided to put her house in order by updating her resume and organizing her finances.
B2Professional Affairs
(idiomatic, common)To arrange and streamline one's professional responsibilities and tasks.
Example
- The manager advised the team to put their house in order before the annual review.
B2Self-Improvement
(idiomatic, advisory)To improve one's own situation or behavior before addressing others' issues.
Example
- He was told to put his house in order before criticizing his colleagues.
Similar
Terms that have similar or relatively close meanings to "put one's house in order":
sort oneself outclean housekeep housesort outsquare awaystraighten upstraighten outfix uptake care of businessclear the deckstrim one's sails