For me, the key to Standardizing is visuals. You want to make it clear and consistent where things are and where they should return. This is especially critical when an area has multiple users (hopefully someone else in your house uses your kitchen too).
In a manufacturing plant, this means "discipline squares." Areas specifically marked and labeled for specific items. There is no question what belongs in that square and when it is missing, it is obvious.
So how do we reapply to a household? There are actually a lot of organizational tools on the market that serve this purpose. Think of labeled spice racks, labeled potato and onion sacks, etc. I believe in using the right tool for the job, but I also support making use of what you have. I certainly believe that you should make sure the organization tool you plan to use will work consistently for you before you go out and buy new stuff.
As I work through my examples, I will consider some DIY techniques.
Another tool of Standardizing is Min/max. This is useful for items you stock up on, like toilet paper, paper towels, tomato sauce, canned goods. If you shop at Costco or club stores, you are bound to have staple items like this. The idea of Min/Max is that you decide what is the Minimum and Maximum quantity you want on hand at any one time. When your stock goes below the Minimum, that should trigger a signal to buy more. Ideally, you would buy just enough to get to the maximum. With this system, you should not run out of the item, but you also keep from overstocking it.
The first step is identifying what your triggers will be.
For toilet paper, my min is 2 rolls in every bathroom. My max is that plus a bag from Costco.
For pasta sauce, my min is one bottle and my max is 4.
The next step is making it visual, so that other members of the family recognize when they are going below the min. One idea is marking the 3rd to last roll in the bathroom with a "time to replenish tp" sign.
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