Waste in the Household

In honor of Earth Day, I have been thinking recently about the waste in my house and how to reduce it.

Lean principles are about reducing waste, in all forms. In a household, as in a plant, reducing waste means saving money.

So what types of waste can we look to reduce?

Utilities- utilities are some of the easiest areas to see the impact of waste reduction. Reducing your usage has a direct correlation to your bill.
electricity/gas
- think about devices that are left on when not in use. Lights, computers, etc. Turn them off when you leave the room.
- set your heat/cool temperatures and time appropriately. The house can be cooler at night and when no one is home.
- efficient appliances are an investment, but should help save money in the long run. Same goes for good double paned windows.
Water
- do not leave the water running while brushing your teeth or prepping for the shower.
- there are a lot of good low usage toilets out on the market now

Trash - as I hear of companies driving to zero waste, I have become more conscious of my own household waste. A majority of the waste in our house is packaging. Plastic bags and baggies as well as individual portioned containers. I have been trying to buy in bulk and split snacks and yogurt into reusable containers.
Recycling - obviously a better option than trash, but it is still waste and requires sorting and processing.
Extra stuff - only buy what you really need and use. Extra stuff is not only a waste of time, but clutters up your living space. Think about simplifying your living spaces (like 5S).

Time - this is the area that is sometimes hard to identify what the waste is and how to reduce it.
First step is identifying your priorities for your time (family, work, personal growth).
Then identify what to say "no" to.

When you realize you have been sucked into a time wasting activity (Facebook, net surfing, etc), try to replace it with something more important (to do list or interacting with real people/family).

Here's to new earth friendly habits!

5S- Living Room

I recently conducted a root cause analysis, using the 5 Whys, to identify some 5S opportunities in my living room.

1. Sort
Toys - we use our living room as a play area in the evening. My son just had a birthday, so we have a lot of new toys added to the collection as well. Sometimes the number of toys and puzzles is overwhelming and he can not focus on one game. What can we do to limit the toys?
A. Designate one weekend a month for donations. Pick a toy or game to donate, especially as they grow out of them.
B. pack toys away for specific occasions. Example: paint set that you get out on rainy days; ball and bat set that you take to the park;
C. Rotate toys in and out on a weekly or monthly basis (example: this week is trains, next week is shapes)
D. Create seasonal boxes that you open every 2-3 months. They can include seasonal books, toys and decorations. Before you open the new box, pack away last "seasons" items. This month I opened a Spring box, with Easter and St. Patrick's day decorations. It also had books about baby animals and duck toys, as well as plastic eggs. Now we can start practicing Easter egg hunts (which rarely gets old).

Furniture - it is a good idea to re-evaluate your room layout at least once a year. Change sometimes gives a fresh look and perspective.
Pillows are good for accessorizing, but think about how many blankets and pillows you really need in the room.

Decorations- this is obviously about personal style, but I have been trying a new seasonal approach to decorating and displaying items in the house. I have a lot of keepsake type decorations that I am not ready to get rid of, but can not be displayed at once. It is common to have several boxes of Christmas decorations, so why not seasonal boxes for the rest of the year?

Books- this is a hard one for me. We have a lot of books. Actually, I do not read as much anymore and my husband has an ereader, but we still have amassed a collection of favorite books over the years. Some of them are leadership books that I like to revisit every couple years. Some of them are technical books, that we may have used for reference early in our careers. Some of them are favorite fiction, that I want to share with our kids someday.
If you do not think you will reference or read a book again, get rid of it. There are many used bookstores that give you credit for used books. Remember, the library and the Internet are always available for reference in the future.
If you want to save books for the future, be realistic about quantity. Keep only your absolute favorites. The library will be available if you want to share the Narnia series someday.
As I sorted through our books, I also made the pledge to read more. There are several inspirational and fiction books that I keep meaning to read.

2. Scrub
Once you have mantels and bookshelves cleared, it is easier to clean and dust. Start at the top with dusting and wiping, then vacuum. Make sure to get under cushions and furniture as well. Who knows what else you will find under there.
Start the next steps when everything smells fresh and clean.

3. Set
I have been working on a vision for what I want my living room to look. It is the main room where we spend family time, so it needs to be functional, but I would also like it to be a calming sanctuary. Part of the calming effect should come from eliminating clutter, so I need to ensure that everything has a place and that it gets back in place regularly.

You can use shelves and entertainment centers for common items. Baskets or decorative boxes also work well. Try to limit what you keep in the room to items used daily. Non frequent items should be put into the closet or play room. See my idea above about rotating toys into the living room. Only one box at a time.

I found some good ideas for arranging a bookcase (to stylishly display books, photos and keepsakes) here: http://www.sasinteriors.net/2012/02/how-to-achieve-a-well-styled-bookcase/

4. Standardize
What visuals can you put in place to help family members remember where to put things back. Labels, either with words or pictures, work well. Remotes are a good option to have color coded or in a specific basket.

The living room is also an ideal place for aesthetic visuals. If it is truly to be a family sanctuary and/or a place to entertain, it should have a color scheme and visuals that make you happy and relaxed. Display pillows and throws that support your color scheme. Otherwise put them in a basket or closet. Arrange the shelves by color or only display complimentary colors to your theme (see some of the ideas in the bookcase style link above).
I am still working on this, since I have a hard time focusing on details outside the functional.

5. Sustain
Since the living room is used daily, it should be picked up daily. Make it a habit of putting things away before going to be bed. It should be part of everyone's bedtime routine.

Weekly - dust shelves and vacuum/swiffer floors. (Remember, the less clutter you have, the easier this will be).

Monthly - vacuum couches, dust/wash blankets & pillows.

Quarterly - consider rotation of decorations/toys. Could be more frequent.

One last reminder, there is not enough space for things in the house you do not use, so Use it or Lose it.

Root Cause - 5 Whys of cluttered room

The idea of Root Cause Analysis is to drive to the root causes of your problems, so you can address and eliminate the sources, rather than bandaid symptoms of your problem. It's like getting rid of weeds...you have to get the roots out or the weed will grow back.

There are different methods/tools of root cause analysis, but my favorite is the 5 Whys.
The process always starts with a problem statement. The more specific the problem statement, the better.

Problem Statement example: The Living room is cluttered.

Then you ask "Why?" And list out potential reasons.

Why is the living room cluttered?
1. There is too much stuff in the room.
2. There is not enough space in the room.
3. There are items that do not belong in the room.
4. No one picks up anything in the room.

After creating a sufficient list, you break each of those reasons down even further by asking "Why?"
This process is repeated for at least 5 levels of "Why?" Or until you have listed your answers to a root cause.
You then review the potential root causes and test or validate if they are true or not. Once you confirm your main root causes, you put an action plan in place to eliminate or address those root causes.
Ideally, this process is done in a group so you get a variety of ideas and inputs. Doesn't it sound like a fun family activity?

Here is my attempt to flesh out my clutter problem:
Problem Statement example: The Living room is cluttered.

Why is the living room cluttered?
1. There is too much stuff in the room.
2. There is not enough space in the room.
3. There are items that do not belong in the room.
4. No one picks up anything in the room.

1. Why is there too much stuff in the room?
1a. We have too many toys.
1b. We have too many pictures.
1c. We have too many knick knacks
1d. We have too many books.
1aa. The root cause of most of these is that we are emotionally attached and we are afraid we need them someday.

2. Why is there not enough room?
2a. The house is too small.
2b. There is too much furniture in the room.
Neither of these is a viable root cause, at this time.

3. Why are there items that do not belong?
3a. Family members do not put things away.
3b. It is not clear what belongs in the room.
3c. There is extra storage space in the bookshelf.

3a. Why are Family Members not putting things away?
3aa. They do not know where they go?
3ab. They do not care about the clutter.
3ac. They do not understand the consequence of leaving things out.

3aa. Why do they not know where things go?
3aaa. There is not a designated location.
3aab. The items are not needed (extraneous).
3aac. The designated location is not marked.
3aad. The designated location is not logical to everyone.

In this example, I only got through 4 whys and have highlighted some key root causes for clutter in the living room. Based on this exercise, I can develop an action plan to work with my family to 5S the room.

Sustain - bedroom closet

It has been almost 20 days since I started simplifying my closet, how has it worked?

Even though I only have 33 items in my closet, I still have plenty of outfits to wear for over a week, without feeling like I am duplicating anything. I moved all my summer clothes to another closet and will most likely be rotating some short sleeves in soon, as it warms up.

Sustain: there are several key processes that are part of my daily/weekly routines in the bedroom.
Daily -
1. Make the bed
2. Clear all counters (we have bins in the bathroom cabinets for daily toiletries).
3. Put all dirty clothes in the hampers
4. Pick out clothes for next day

Weekly -
1. Laundry, including linens

So, the next step is to revisit the process quarterly and revise if needed.

Next area is the living room.

Use it or Lose it (Accessories)

When I am 5S-ing an area and trying to decide whether to keep something, I use the "use it or lose it" philosophy. If I own something, it should be useful and be used. It should be something I am proud to wear or display.

Sure, there are items you save for emergencies, but those should be planned and deliberate and have a specific location.
I am talking about items that tend to turn into clutter...product samples, free stuff, extras in colors you do not wear.

Now that I have minimized my closet to 33 items, I can see what colors I wear most. I used this pallet to sort my jewelry and scarves and identify items that do not match any of my favorite outfits.

1. Sort - first I cleared out my jewelry boxes (yes, multiple; I love jewelry, even though I do not wear it all).
2. Scrub - I dusted them and got rid of any trash or lost beads.
3. Set- I started by putting back my favorite pieces that match the newly organized outfits in the closet. In the bracelet section, I included the matching earrings.
Jewelry is also a great decoration. You may want to keep the pieces you love displayed prominently in your room. There are a ton of DIY ideas for hanging jewelry storage on Pinterest.
One of my favorites has strings across a picture frame to hang earrings and necklaces.
I also liked the idea of re-using pretty teacups to hold sets of jewelry.

4. Standardize - I tried to put each color in a unique drawer or location. I reviewed the outfits in the closet and made sure each color was represented in the jewelry.
Seasonal jewelry (holidays) I am keeping in a separate section, to rotate in 3 months.

The remainder of the jewelry I reviewed again. I chose a couple pieces to try wearing this week, to see if I want to keep them. If I am not proud to wear them, there is no use keeping them in rotation.

5. Sustain - I may not be willing to part with all the remnants right now, so I will put them away and revisit in 3 months. Maybe a trend will spark a renewed love of abalone. Or maybe I will be ready to let them go.

Resolutions, Goals, and Priorities

What is the difference between resolutions and goals?
In my opinion, resolutions can be goals, but are usually not as clearly defined and often lacking an action plan. Without defining your goals and action plan, the resolution gets lost in your everyday life.

Goals
I have talked about SMART goals before. The SMART represents criteria to help define a clear goal:
Specific
Measurable
Actionable
Realistic
Time-Based

Once you define a goal that follows these criteria, you develop an action plan to support it. By breaking it down into small steps, you can steadfastly work towards achieving the larger goal.

During January, I followed a 30-day challenge for goal setting, by Chalene Johnson. The key takeaways I had from that experience are helping me build habits for consistent goal setting and progress.
1. Keep your key goal listed in an area that you will see it frequently (at the top of your to do list, on your screen saver, etc).
2. In addition to an overall to do list, keep a "Due Today" list of things that MUST get done. The list should include several small things from your Key Goal action plan. By keeping it short and simple, you should be consistently checking things off the list and feeling accomplished. By having a daily list, it forces you to review and re prioritize it every day, so it is top of mind.

To try it yourself, check out the free 30-day program at http://www.30daypush.com

Priorities
Theses are habits (creating and reviewing goals regularly and keeping to do lists), but there are still a limited number of hours to get things done in a day. Another new habit I am trying to maintain is doing the most important and impactful things first. I often get sucked into the mindset that I have to do everything ...and I have to do it well.
I have to keep reminding myself that i can not do everything, and there are some tasks that will not get much notice, regardless of the time I spend on them. I should be focusing on tasks that provide the greatest impact and benefit. If I want to be noticed at my job, I need to focus my energy on the projects that are the most visible or save the most money. I can not attend every meeting and get all my work done. I have to learn to say no. At home, I should spend time focused on my family, rather than trying to multitask too much.

It is not too late to start setting goals for the year and creating new habits. Don't we all want to make this year better than the last?

5S - Clothes Closet

This month (February) I am focusing on the bedroom. The area that collects the most clutter in my bedroom is the closet.

As I was researching some ideas for closet cleanup, I ran across a challenge called Project 333. It is a 3 month challenge to narrow your wardrobe to 33 items. The 33 items include shoes, jewelry and accessories (scarves, etc). It does not include undergarments, workout clothes and lounging clothes (that you do not wear out and about). The intent is to simplify your wardrobe to what you really love. Sounds like the perfect project to clean out your closet.

But first, lets follow the 5S system...

1. Sort
Time to get realistic about what you want to keep in your closet. You can pull out what you definitely do not want, but I like to pull everything out and then decide what to put back in.
- create a donation pile for anything that you do not ever wear or are ready to get rid of.
- separate seasonal items and put them in a bin or suitcase for later in the year.
- for project 333, you should pick out what you want to wear over the next 3 months. Everything else should be packed in a bin and not accessed until the end of the challenge. You can decide at that point if you want to keep it or not. This challenge lends itself to really thinking hard about if you really "need" things.
I do not know if I am ready to include jewelry in my 33 items, so I will try to focus on the clothing items and leave accessories for next time.

2. Scrub
While everything is out of the closet, dust shelves and corners, as well as vacuum.

3. Set
I have heard of several suggestions for how to organize closets.
1. By function (pants, blouses, dresses)
2. By color (red blouses, etc)
3. Working mom shortcut - I usually identify and separate the outfits I will wear to work for the week. This gives me one less thing to worry about in the morning.
Once you have your wardrobe narrowed down to 33 pieces, it should be easier to see it all.

4. Standardize
What kind of tagging can you do to make sure items get back in the right place?
- I have seen some DIY tags for the hanging bar, to designate what goes where.
- I will be labeling my clothes hampers for lights and darks. Lets see if my husband notices.

5. Sustain
I will check back in later this month to let you know how my Project 333 is going.