Line your ducks up in a row?

It means to be ready for something.

For example, you want to make a cake and you want to make sure that you have everything before you make it so you get out everything but you find out you have no rising flour so you go to the shop, buy it, go back home and make your cake. Now that's the right thing to do but the wrong way is to get your things on the way. You find out that you have no flour an have to abandon it.