August -5S the kids rooms

Time to prep for school and make room for all the new clothes and supplies you are stocking up on. 

1. Sort

Clothes - starting with the closet is the first thing for me. I try to pare down my son's wardrobe at the end of each season, since he usually starts to grow out of things by then. As we near the end of summer, separate any clothes he/she will not be able to wear next year.  Keep a pile of shorts and short sleeves they may be able to wear in the next few warm weeks or month (these should be the favorites).  

Make sure you include the diaper bag or daycare stash. I usually have extra clothes in strategic locations and need to make sure they still fit. 

Re-evaluate the long pants and shirts to confirm they still fit, as we move into cooler weather.  Double check that you have enough coordinating outfits. 

Donate, sell or store (if you have younger children that may need them) anything that does not fit. This is the ideal time to trade in winter coats and holiday attire (including costumes) to used children/consignment shops. 

Toys - pull out all the toys and books.   Evaluate if they are still age appropriate. Depending on your child's age, involve them in the process to decide what items to give away or sell. 

Closet misc - I have used the upper shelves in my son's closet for storage of toys and books that he is not ready for yet. There is also a handful of baby items that I had not purged yet. Sort through it all and confirm what you want to keep for the future.

Changing table - I still have diapering to do, so I need to sort my changing table and make sure I have not cluttered it with items (such as old creams) that I no longer use. 

2. Scrub

Think spring cleaning. Get your kids involved to give them ownership of their space. 

Remember, everything should be pulled out of the room (except furniture) so you can get drawers and shelves clean. 

3. Set

Clothes - separate the clothes by season.  Put the summer clothes (that they will fit in next year) in a bin for storage. 

Some people organize by color. I usually organize by school clothes and play clothes. 

Toys- I have seen several other blog posts about rotating toys and games. I have also noticed that my son gets overwhelmed when he has too many toys out at once. So pack 3-4 boxes with a mix of toys, games and stuffed animals. Rotate one box out every week, to keep the choices interesting. You can even use the boxes as a toy box to put toys away daily. 

I have also tried this technique with seasonal decorations and activities. Every 3 months I bring out a fresh box of decorations and seasonal books and pack away the old. It gives the house a new feel to have changing decorations. Why wait until Christmas?

I have seen several ideas for corraling Stuffed animals, besides just a toy box.  Hanging nets seem to work well, positioned at child height. On Pinterest they have several ideas for "cages" that kids can pull stuffed animals out between slats, so they can reach the bottom and top of the pile. 

Future items -box up with a dated label

4.  Standardize

Clothes - I have not started it (my son does not care about picking out his clothes yet), but I love those days of the week organizers for clothes. It allows the children to be involved in outfit selection, but helps minimize the arguments in the morning getting dressed. At least that is what I assume. I will let you know when I get a pickier dresser. 

Start a household rule that something needs to go out when something new comes in. This could be clothes, shoes, toys or stuffed animals. This forces everyone to think about if a new item is worth getting rid of an old. 

5.  Sustain

Maintenance of the kids room is really a daily task. Kids should be involved in cleaning their rooms regularly. 

At least quarterly, you should work with your child to evaluate clothes and toys to see if there is anything they have grown out of or do not use anymore. This process sometimes entices them to use old toys again, so they may rediscover something. 

Any other ideas?

July - 5S the Pantry

My pantry is a set of cupboards near my kitchen. I use them for dry goods storage as well as non-daily appliances and reusable shopping bags. I have also started an emergency kit that I keep at the bottom. 

1. Sort

This is the fun part when you get to take everything out. 

Check dates and throw out expired food, vitamins, spices, etc. 

Start a donation pile for canned/dry goods that you never use. I know the intention was good when you bought them, but unless you decide to cook it this week, maybe it is better with someone else who needs it. 

If there are ingredients stored that you have been meaning to try, take the opportunity to plan a meal with them now. Leave them out and use them this week. 

If you store any appliances or extra kitchen gear, re evaluate if you still need them all. If you have not used them in over a year, it may be time to admit that you no longer need an espresso maker, etc. 

Misc-  I also store my reusable bags here, so I need to take them out and make sure they are all in good condition. It is easy enough to get new ones, so they should be tossed once they get holes. Luckily, that can be washed, if you use them regularly. 

2.  Scrub

Clean shelves and floor. If shelves tend to get sticky, use contac paper so they are easier to clean later. 

Wipe down appliances and wash, if you have not used recently. 

3. Set

Use bins for like items, especially those that do not stand up well on their own (soup, dry mixes, snacks). 

Store snacks and cereal at kid height, so they are easily accessible. 

Potato and onion storage

I have been having an awful time keeping potatoes and I do not have a cellar. Here are some tips I gleaned from the Internet: 

- Do not store potatoes with onions. 

- Potatoes do well when stored with an apple. 

- Potatoes should be stored dry. To help provide air circulation, put in a drawer or basket lined with newspapers. 

- Onions also need ventilation. They can be stored in a mesh bag or tied individually into stocking hose (check out this clever idea on Pinterest).

Move shopping bags to the car. Designate other uses for the bags (library books, etc). 

Wash shopping bags regularly (especially when used for dairy or meat).

4. Standardize

I have seen several suggestions for keeping an inventory list inside the pantry door. Take a count of your key consumables on a weekly basis. Designate a minimum quantity you want on hand before you buy more. 

Example:  minimum 4 cans diced tomatoes, 2 cans beans, 2 packets pasta. 

5.  Sustain

Since we all have items that we buy with great intentions, but get moved to the back of the cabinet, inspect your pantry monthly for any untried ingredients and try to make use of them. I have been attempting this with my freezer, as well. At the end of the month I pull out the meals or veggies I have stored up and plan meals around them. It saves money and keeps things in rotation. 

Your Emergency kit should be inspected quarterly to keep the water fresh and food within expiration. I will post more ideas on emergency kits in the future. 

June - 5S the office/study

For me, this means the desk, bookshelf and file cabinets where I work from home one or two days a week. 

1. Sort

Desk

Time to dump out the drawers and throw out the random trash that tends to clutter up. Get rid of old pens and other broken or unused supplies. You only really need a handful of pens, so consider donating the excess to a school or charity. 

File cabinet

The desk is probably the easy part;  sorting paperwork is much more daunting. Start by reviewing the recommendation for how long to keep documents. Then sort into general piles, like financial, health, work, personal, etc. (we can get more specific as we "Set" back in place). 

Save recommendations:

Tax documents and annual financial summaries - save for 7 years

Retirement planning, tax returns - save forever

Expired cards, credit card and bank statements - Shred

Keep in mind what you can access online.  No need to keep paper copies when you have soft copies online. 

Bookcase

This is also a difficult area for me, because our family loves books. Regardless of the fact that my husband has an e-reader that he uses daily and we go to the library every week. My son has so many kids books, I have started rotating them every week, so he feels like he is getting fresh books regularly.  So I have to really consider if the books we have will be read again (or ever), or if they are better in someone else's hands. You can test this by rotating some of your own books out for a month to see if you miss them. I have also tried bringing books to my bedside to see if I would still be interested in reading them. If I start them, but tire quickly, I will put them in the donation pile. 

Keep in mind, the library is always a great place to borrow books if you decide to read it later. Most timeless classics are also free on e-readers. 

2. Scrub

Clean out drawers and shelves.  Wipe down the top of your desk and work areas. 

While empty, move furniture and clean behind, if possible. These areas are often hard to reach and do not get attention. 

3. Set

Desk

Decide what you really need at hand at your desk and keep it on the desk or top drawer. There are plenty of desk caddies out there, but the top of the desk can get cluttered quickly. 

At my work, we have an open office environment and we do not have assigned workspaces. Besides a keyboard and mouse, I keep most of my supplies in my laptop bag (pen, notebook, etc). This forces me to be extra savvy about what I really need. 

If there are generic supplies that you use every once in awhile (stapler, tape, etc), those can go in a drawer, out of the way. 

Our other challenge is that we have small children that like to explore drawers. We use child locks, but have not found an effective device for the desk drawers yet, so we sometimes need to get more creative about where we place supplies (in closets or on high shelves).

File cabinet

Find a system that works for you. I used to separate my financial documents in multiple files, but have started simplifying, since so much of it is online now. 

A couple recommendations from justorganizeyourstuff.com

Everyday file - current year records and frequently accessed.

Reference file - accessed when needed.

Important file - previous tax records (accessed infrequently). 

Vital file - vital documents, keep in a safe place. 

Bookcase

I have seen examples of artistically organized book shelves. Putting books of similar colors or heights together, looks more pleasing to the eye. You can also arrange keepsakes and knic knacks strategically with groups of books for aesthetic value. 

Like I have said before, do what works for you. I like to organize my books by genre (leadership, organizing, travel, cooking). I put the kids books on low shelves that they an reach. I put the special books high, where they can not reach. 

4.  Standardize

Paper clutter can build up fast, so plan a system for sorting the paper (mail, receipts, etc) as soon as it comes in. 

When paper comes in, consider:

Do you need this? (tax paperwork, reimbursements, bills - take action or file).

Will you use this? (Reference docs or articles - take action, file or scan).

Does it make you smile? (Kids artwork - frame or scan).

5.  Sustain

Target clearing your work space weekly. 

The filing system should be reviewed monthly and fully cleared out after tax time. 

Good luck and let me know if there are other ideas that work for you. 

May - 5S Bathroom

Bathroom cabinets are a place I tend to build up clutter. I start stockpiling soap, random bath gifts and those mini shampoo and lotions from the hotel. When it comes down to it, how much of it do you use?  Plus the bathroom counters can get cluttered quickly. 

1.Sort - take everything out of cabinets and drawers. 

Throw away old toothpaste missing caps, expired medicines, old nail files and dried out makeup.  

Organize like items together. 

- Are you really going to use all those mini soaps and samples?

I put all my samples and mini toiletries together to create a visitor stash for the spare bathroom. Anything extra and unopened can be donated. 

- evaluate your makeup and hair accessories.  Do you use all of the colors and styles, or is some of it outdated. Makeup has a shelf life. It is suggested you only use eye pencils and mascara for 3 months. Everything else is about a year. If you are not using it up in that time, you probably don't need it. 

Stick to the motto of "use it or lose it."

- do you use all the appliances (razors, hair prep, etc)?

2. Scrub - wipe down the drawers and cabinets with a little baking soda and water. That will cut down odors and should not react with chemicals you have stored there. 

3.  Set - put together bins of items you use daily. 

Like items (haircare, travel. Etc) should be with like items. 

I have one bin for my morning routine (moisturizer, deodorant, brush) and one for night (face wash, moisturizers, toothpaste, toothbrush, floss).  I have a separate bin/organizer for makeup.

In the medicine cabinet, put together kits for specific needs (first aid, cold, pain, stomach). 

Other kits can be created for specific purposes, like nail care, shaving, feminine hygiene, cleaning. 

I also pack travel kits with duplicates and/or smaller versions of my daily use items so I am ready to pack quickly. 

These do not need to be as accessible as daily items, but organized in a way that you can find them.  

Your bathroom counter can remain uncluttered, if you use your storage wisely. If you do not have room in the bathroom cabinets for some of the extra kits that I do not use daily (nailcare, travel bags), consider using hallway or closet storage.  Extra consumables (soap, shampoo, toothpaste) can also be stored in the hallway or even garage.  I try to put my daily bins under the sink, still accessible, but tucked out of sight. 

4.  Standardize - visual cues for your consumables

You should always have a minimum amount of toilet paper within reach of every toilet. My mother still likes to tell the story about the time my guest bathroom ran out of toilet paper. 

Now, when I pull the second to last roll out, I refill the cabinet with another four rolls. Not everyone in my family is that diligent, so I could mark those last two rolls, to remind them. I could also make a weekly toilet paper check part of my bathroom cleaning process (Sustainment). 

Similar minimums should be identified for soap, shampoo and other things you do not want to runout of. 

5.  Sustain - re-evaluate what you are actually using every 3months. Replace your mascara and eyeliner at the same time. 

Make sure counter clutter is reduced when you clean your bathroom.  This is my regularly reminder to get back on track. 

April - 5S dining room

Looks like I missed a couple months of posts, so I will play a little catch up. 

April I focused on 5S in the dining room. Part of that process was evaluating how to reduce waste, particularly with paper napkins and towels. 

There are two areas I am working on:
1. Napkins
Eating with a toddler can be messy business, but I am trying out cloth bibs for baby and cloth napkins for the rest of the family. I went shopping after the holidays and found some cheap placemat/napkin sets to use for everyday meals. Since it is just my husband and I, we do not go through them very quickly. 
I have a stack of washcloths that I use for wiping up baby and messes after meals and throw them in a wash pile each day. I have enough to last me a week. You can use baby washcloths, cloth diapers or rags. 


2. Paper towels
I used to lean on paper towels because they are easy. You can wipe up spills and throw them away without another thought. 
The trick to create an easy to use system with cloth, is to make rags and/or towels accessible and plentiful. I realized I had a lot of kitchen towels around that I never used. Once you clean up a spill, hang the towel in the laundry room to dry. I rarely have more than half a load at the end of the week. 

Next step for cutting waste in the kitchen/dining areas is reducing packaging. I buy a lot of high use dry goods in bulk at Club stores, but that usually comes with a lot of extra boxes. Granted, most of it is recyclable, but another option would be to bring my own containers and fill them at the bulk bins of the grocery store. I have not made any changes yet, just thinking about it. 

What waste reduction ideas do you use at home?