I don’t know how it applies to cutlery drawers, but my parents taught me that when setting the table, the silverware should be in alphabetical order.
Alphabetical order based on what language? Assuming English, since your comment is in English, but I’m curious if the rule would “translate” to other languages.
Indeed. Though my mother was quadrilingual and attempted to help me be at least bilingual, the only language in which I know more than a few words - written or spoken - is American English. As such, I’m not qualified to answer how diverse this system is, though I would be interested in hearing from someone who is.
Not to say etiquette isn’t arbitrary, but the two top results (all I bothered to check) for my search about silverware placement suggests that the “correct” order is fork on the left, knife first on the right, then spoon furthest right. This is, indeed, alphabetical order.
So while it may be arbitrary, it isn’t arbitrary on an individual level.
