One year ago, I penned a column outlining my New Year’s resolution to implement Kaizan principles of continuous improvement in my home. The idea behind Kaizan is that small, daily improvements carried out in every job or function eventually accumulate into large gains.
For me, I wanted to gain time and lose frustration and stress by improving the functionality of our home and family.
Throughout the year I have read a few books for ideas. I’ve quizzed my friends. I’ve held rummage sales, passed things down, and worn a path to the drop-off window at Seeds of Hope to purge our “gently” used treasures.
I have lost my way and given up hope many times, usually in the morning when homework papers, permission slips, filling water bottles, finding library books, packing backpacks and securing healthy, portable snacks turns our kitchen into a mini-monsoon of barking bodies.
Despite the strong forces against my little resolution, I kept at it. Sometime this fall I realized I was making progress. So with only two squares remaining on the 2009 calendar, I thought I’d share some of my most effective changes and discoveries with other homemakers who might be swimming in their own sea of chaos.
1. Letting go: I’ve given up on perfection. I can clean the bathroom sink and toilet in two minutes every day, but it might take me a month to find 45 minutes to scrub the room until it shines. I now opt for the two minutes and call it good. Who needs a spotless house? Functional, tidy and peaceful can be achieved with a little dust under the rugs.
2. De-clutter: One of the best concepts I embraced is that you can’t organize clutter. So, I am constantly (daily) removing clutter from the places it loves to collect: our kitchen desk, kitchen table, back entry, laundry room and bedside tables. I put it away, throw it away or send it to the storage room.
For big projects like closets, play rooms or storage rooms, I grab a box, set the timer for 15 minutes and find 27 items to eliminate. Doing this a few times really beats ignoring your family for a whole day while you empty, sort and reorganize a room full of mostly unnecessary stuff.
3. Spread the Work: A couple times a month we do a “Family Clean.” The first person picks everything off the floors and puts misplaced items in a box. The next one dusts. The third vacuums. And the last person puts everything back in its place. Our team goes from room-to-room and is able to clean the entire house in 2 hours.
4. Routines: By far, the most important, small change for me has been the creation of some daily and weekly routines: morning and bedtime routines, regular times for laundry, watering plants, changing sheets, planning meals, paying bills, running errands, preparing for school, reading homework, taking vitamins. Making time for all of these necessary tasks eliminates surprises, reduces stress and makes a lot more time for fun.
The source for the best of these ideas, especially techniques for de-cluttering and establishing routines, is The Flylady. Her book, “Sink Reflections” is full of ideas as is her blog at flylady.net.
This remains a work in progress, but that’s as it should be. Afterall, it’s called continuous improvement. So I have a rather dramatic new challenge for 2010 that promises even bigger gains on my modest beginnings. Stay tuned!
Monday, December 28, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
A Little Tiger and Britney in All of Us
My kids were captivated recently by a TV show featuring Connie Talbot. She’s the “Britain’s Got Talent” superstar who, as a darling, six year old won over the crowd and judges with her angelic version of “Over the Rainbow.”
Today, at the seasoned age of 8, Connie’s mom and an army of marketers have capitalized on her talent - and innocence. She has recorded several CDs, her own PBS holiday special, a jewelry line, video games and more.
Watching this child’s performance I couldn’t hold back my cynicism. “Hmm,” I said loudly. “I wonder where we’ll be seeing this little girl in 10 years.”
I hate to be a naysayer, but I’m tired of watching kids skyrocket to fame when they should be focused on growing up, and then struggling through adulthood with life-threatening addictions because they didn’t.
I envisioned Britney Spears, dripping with money, spoiled beyond imagine, and utterly miserable.
She had the means to go anywhere, do anything and buy whatever pleased her at any moment. When she was on tour, Spears was known to send her jet across country to secure coffee from her favorite L.A. coffee shop.
Her money could buy her a beautiful body, clothes, hair and toys, but it couldn’t deliver the one thing she needed most: peace.
Tiger Woods is the most recent childhood superstar whose life built on a seemingly indestructible fortress of sporting excellence is crumbling. I have been a Tiger fan for years, so learning the truth about the man behind the image has been a real disappointment.
To be fair, Tiger earned his reputation by being the best golfer on Earth not for his insights on character, family or values. Fans like me inferred, with the help of sponsors and promoters, the all-around “good guy” image we wanted to believe was part of the package.
What’s most disturbing about Tiger is the commentary he offers on human nature. All the respect, admiration, goodwill, trophies, praise and money he earned were somehow not enough. He had a gorgeous wife, two adorable kids and still sought to fulfill the unmet needs of his ego or sex drive with random female acquaintances.
It’s tempting to condemn the likes of Tiger and Britney for their failures and extravagances, and I have. Yet it occurs to me we are all a bit like them.
In many of our families, we juggle two careers or multiple jobs to afford bigger homes, nicer furniture, fancier cars. We invest heavily in ourselves and search for more toys or gifts or activities to make our kids happy. We strive for promotions and awards, often climbing the professional ladder on the backs of our family and friends.
Rarely do we say, “Now we have enough.” Like Tiger and Britney, there always seems to be more to have or desire. And the ongoing quest for it blinds us from the peace we could experience with a simpler life, from the joy found not in possessions but in relationships with the people who fill our lives.
Christmas is a just one week away. This season, more than any, offers the promise of peace and joy. May we refrain from the last minute activities that will prevent us from receiving it and stop long enough to soak it in.
Merry Christmas!
Today, at the seasoned age of 8, Connie’s mom and an army of marketers have capitalized on her talent - and innocence. She has recorded several CDs, her own PBS holiday special, a jewelry line, video games and more.
Watching this child’s performance I couldn’t hold back my cynicism. “Hmm,” I said loudly. “I wonder where we’ll be seeing this little girl in 10 years.”
I hate to be a naysayer, but I’m tired of watching kids skyrocket to fame when they should be focused on growing up, and then struggling through adulthood with life-threatening addictions because they didn’t.
I envisioned Britney Spears, dripping with money, spoiled beyond imagine, and utterly miserable.
She had the means to go anywhere, do anything and buy whatever pleased her at any moment. When she was on tour, Spears was known to send her jet across country to secure coffee from her favorite L.A. coffee shop.
Her money could buy her a beautiful body, clothes, hair and toys, but it couldn’t deliver the one thing she needed most: peace.
Tiger Woods is the most recent childhood superstar whose life built on a seemingly indestructible fortress of sporting excellence is crumbling. I have been a Tiger fan for years, so learning the truth about the man behind the image has been a real disappointment.
To be fair, Tiger earned his reputation by being the best golfer on Earth not for his insights on character, family or values. Fans like me inferred, with the help of sponsors and promoters, the all-around “good guy” image we wanted to believe was part of the package.
What’s most disturbing about Tiger is the commentary he offers on human nature. All the respect, admiration, goodwill, trophies, praise and money he earned were somehow not enough. He had a gorgeous wife, two adorable kids and still sought to fulfill the unmet needs of his ego or sex drive with random female acquaintances.
It’s tempting to condemn the likes of Tiger and Britney for their failures and extravagances, and I have. Yet it occurs to me we are all a bit like them.
In many of our families, we juggle two careers or multiple jobs to afford bigger homes, nicer furniture, fancier cars. We invest heavily in ourselves and search for more toys or gifts or activities to make our kids happy. We strive for promotions and awards, often climbing the professional ladder on the backs of our family and friends.
Rarely do we say, “Now we have enough.” Like Tiger and Britney, there always seems to be more to have or desire. And the ongoing quest for it blinds us from the peace we could experience with a simpler life, from the joy found not in possessions but in relationships with the people who fill our lives.
Christmas is a just one week away. This season, more than any, offers the promise of peace and joy. May we refrain from the last minute activities that will prevent us from receiving it and stop long enough to soak it in.
Merry Christmas!
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