Favorable home environments are not always easy to develop.  People “feel” the effectiveness of an environment rather than really see it.  You want to foster a “positive energy” which will ultimately have a positive impact on everything and everybody!  It may not be easy if you’re not used to doing it.  You may not even be able to tell where it is in your home and where it doesn’t exist.  It goes beyond how well an area is organized and cleaned.  Every family and household is going to be different, but there are a few key characteristics that successful families posses.  Look for ways to develop these common traits to make home organization and cleaning effective and effortless.

• No blame environment
• Highly effective communication
• Clear leadership and direction
• Creative idea sharing
• Trust and respect
• Ongoing learning and training
• Mixed teams
• Extensive leadership involvement and support

Throughout the next few days we will provide brief tips on how we effectively foster the above characteristics.  While we provide these tips, use the checklist below to determine just how favorable and effective your home environment is.  It will give you a good idea of how effective your organization and housekeeping activities will be.

Stay tuned for tips and tricks on how to foster these characteristics!

In addition to Nova’s new bedroom, we have had a playroom since moving into our new house.  The lower level of the house is taken up by the master bedroom, Nova’s bedroom, the playroom, a full bathroom, and a laundry room. 

Our goal with the playroom is to store all of Nova’s toys in one centralized location.  In the past, lots of toys accumulated upstairs in the living room or in the master bedroom.  And we are talking LOTS of toys. 

Toys on the floor eventually become a safety hazard if you are walking over them or tripping over them.  In our play room there are no closets, but there is a fireplace – this was initially designed as a downtairs family room. 

We also have bookshelves which we use to store most of our family owned books.

The primary purpose of the playroom is…..to PLAY!  More importantly it is a central depository and storage location for all the necessary items required to play.  Families are all different, but we like all different types of toys – games, stuffed animals, dolls, hot wheels, make believe toys, books, musical instruments, and pretty much anything else we find and like from local thrift store.  Nova also has some pretty amazing grandparents who dote on and spoil her.

We do use the local thrift store to donate at least a bag of household items and toys every time we go to the local thrift store and we also get a 20% discount coupon for our next purchase!  The point is, try to manage the amount of necessary items in a particular area.  Figure out a time frame, say a month, and determine the types and quantity of items you think you will use during that time.  Organize those things and temporarily store all the other stuff until next month.  Reduce clutter by identifying activities you want to complete over a month or season and remove and store all the things that aren’d needed during that time.

We encourage and facilitate all types of fun activities in the playroom.  Our daughter Nova is two and a half years old and has a near unlimited supply of energy.  We play boardgames like Candyland and Chutes and Ladders.  Nova has a cool circuit building kit that she uses to build FM radios and LED messages.  She has a great riding horse she named Bella.  She has a keyboard to play music and a little chair where she flips through her hundreds of books.  Too many activities to comfortably manage all the items!

Our biggest issue upon auditing the area was that we had a  lot of unnecessary and unrelated storage containers in every corner and hidden along an entire wall.  We also had two closet doors that were removed from an adjacent bedroom.  We had to get all that unrelated stuff out ASAP!

For the playroom we know that toys, books, musical instruments, and games are necessary items, but how many should be out and about in the area?  How much is too much and considered clutter?

We wanted to start fresh and reinvent this area to Nova’s needs, so we decided to remove EVERYTHING from the room.  If you decide to take this extreme measure, make sure you have enough boxes to temporarily store everything in the area.  Also, if it’s trash throw it away immediately.  If it’s something you are willing to donate on your next visit to the thrift store put it in the donate box.  It it’s necessary, put it in the temporary storage box with the intent to get it back into the target area.

We have some before pictures of our messy playroom as well as some pictures of the room emptied out.  I will include them soon.

PLAYROOM BEFORE PICTURES COMING SOON

EMPTY PLAYROOM PICTURES COMING SOON

We used our iPhone 6S application prototype to quickly assess the playroom and it worked out very well.  The results weren’t great, but the application worked great.  There is no way for me to output the data yet, so I will recreate the results below.

6S Success Playroom Audit

The biggest issues encountered during the audit were the massive quantities of toys strewn across the floor and the boxes storing all types of unneeded stuff – from computer cables to Christmas decorations and everything in between.  We also had some broken glass in the back of the playroom – a safety issue that needed to be addressed immediately.

We vacuumed the empty room thoroughly.  We ended up with six large plastic boxes full of toys.  We also have some pretty large kids toys and furniture.  We decided to first move in the furniture and large toys and then figure out a storage strategy for all the toys.

We decided to only bring half the toys back into the playroom.  We brought in a colorful shelf of bins.  We will store another two boxes and donate another box to the local thrift store.

We are still working on the  “Ideal State” of the playroom and trying to master our storage opportunities.  We’ll provide more information on standardize and sustain activities when we get a better layout of the playroom and finish storage and labeling.

Stay tuned!

Here is the final video blog from 6ssuccess.com Quick cleaning method.  This is a simple technique for cleaning a toilet quickly. Lift the seat and lid up. Put some cleanser in the bowl and thoroughly scrub the inside with a toilet brush. Spray all purpose cleaner around the rim of the bowl, then spray the bottom of seat and lower seat. Next spray bottom of lid and top of lid. Quickly spray the back of toilet and near the hinges and then wipe in reverse – back of toilet, hindges, top of lid, raise lid, wipe bottom of lid and seat, lift seat, wipe bottom of seat and rim. Quickly spray and wipe the outside of bowl and near the floor area. This can easily be completed every week in less than 90 seconds if you have the cleaning supplies handy!

I would like to share a method for implementing improvements that I use as a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt in a variety of different industries.  I think this may assist families in scoping out achievable organization and housekeeping goals in the home as well as making it easy to sustain the gains realized during 6S events.  Try modifying this technique to help your family scope out opportunities identified during your 6S audit and documentation of the target area’s current conditions.  You can find more information on the 6S audit or documenting current conditions via the links below:

0.02 Complete 6S Audit of Target Area

2.01 Document Current Conditions of Target Area

Now on to the technique!

Yesterday I met with a team at work to discuss the prioritized recommended actions developed through a continuous improvement project using the DMAIC methodology.  DMAIC (Pronounced Duh-May-Ick) is a best in class improvement model that provides organizations with a data driven strategy for improving processes and empowers teams with the necessary roadmap and tools to succeed at sustainable process improvement. 

During the Improve phase of the project, project team members participate in “Improvement Sprints.”  During these Improvement Sprints, the project team meets to plan improvements based on how much time each team member can commit to implementing improvements.  The team actually calculates the exact hours each team member will spend over a 14 day period in the implementation of improvements.  An example might look like this:

Improvement Sprint Start Date: 04/01/2010

Improvement Sprint End Date: 04/15/2010

So we know the team has committed to 10 hours of improvement activities during the 14 day improvement cycle.  We can now try to scope some prioritized improvements to be accomplished during that time.

I use an Improvement Backlog to develop the activities and deliverables for the Improvement Sprint.  An improvement backlog will help you quickly identify the improvement opportunity and sketch out a description of what the improvement looks like when completed.  You will also be able to identify the different tasks and time estimates for the improvement opportunity and get a very clear picture of how much effort is involved and whether the team agrees they can complete it.

Here is an example of an improvement backlog from a Living Room 6S event.

So after that quick planning session for improving our living room bookshelf, we estimated it would take approximately two hours.  We would still have 8 more hours of activities we could plan for our two week improvement sprint.  Just copy and paste the improvement backlog and keep going until the team thinks there is enough work for the two weeks!

If you like this technique, please let me know and I can provide you with the next steps in this effort, which include daily team meetings, how to deal with issues, when and how to review and celebrate improvements, and capturing lessons learned.

Happy organizing!

For one of the smallest rooms in the house, the bathroom sure can be difficult to organize and clean.  Bathrooms are also used fairly frequently.  The most commonly used fixtures are the toilet, sink, and bath/shower.  Cabinets and closets for storage are also commonly used.

As in most 6S Events, before you start your event you should try to assess the true level of cleaning required to get the area to the minimum acceptable level of cleanliness.  If you are walking into a cleaning war zone, the quick and efficient steps in 6S Success quick cleaning will not yield to desired results.  So, take a quick assessment of the area to determine if you can quick clean or whether you will have to break out the big guns and do a deep cleaning of the target area.

You area may require extreme cleaning if:

• Ceilings and walls are dirty and in need of cleaning
• Air vents and fans are clogged with dust and dirt
• All furniture is dirty and dusty
• Sink is beyond easy cleaning
• Toilet is beyond easy cleaning
• Cabinets are dirty and in need of relining
• Trashcans are dirty and in need of washing
• Rugs are in need of laundering
• Floor is beyond easy cleaning

You should be able to quick clean the area if:

• Clothing and towels need to be gathered and laundered
• Mirrors and counters need wipe down
• Sink and tub need wiped own
• Toilet bowl needs disinfecting and wipe down
• Floor needs sweeping and mopping

Whether you have chosen to complete an extreme cleaning or a quick cleaning activity, you will want to remove all items from the area before starting your cleaning activities.  Make sure you have a container for recycling, a container for trash, and at least a big plastic box to temporarily place items while you clean. 

So, once you’ve removed ALL items from the bathroom, and we mean all items, you will be ready to complete either the quick cleaning procedures or the extreme cleaning procedures.  One thing to remember as you remove items from the bathroom is what to do with clothing – both dirty and clean – which tends to accumulate in most bathrooms.

1. Gather all dirty clothing

                                 i.            Turn clothing right side out

                               ii.            Check the pockets for loot!

                              iii.            Check for needed repairs

                             iv.            Check for stains that need addressing

                               v.            Sort (whites, reds and/or bright colors, towels, specialty items)

                             vi.            Store for laundry

1. Identify and store clean clothing

You should now be ready to shine the bathroom!  We’ve created a baseline of the procedures for each level of cleaning which you may find helpful.  Feel free to modify these procedures for your personal use based on the layout and needs of your bathroom.

6S Success Bathroom – Quick Cleaning Procedures

1. Locate and gather cleaning supplies.

Recommended Supplies for Quick Cleaning:

• Sponge
• Gloves
• Surface Cleaner
• Glass Cleaner
• Toilet Brush
• Toilet Cleaner
• Broom, mop, vacuum cleaner
• Trash containers

1. Clean mirrors
2. Wipe down counters, sink and tub with surface cleaner and sponge
3. Scrub inside of toilet with brush and toilet cleaner
4. Wipe down outside of toilet with surface cleaner and sponge
5. Sweep, mop and/or vacuum
6. Congratulate yourself and your cleaning team!

6S Success Bathroom – Extreme Cleaning Procedures

1. Dust ceilings and walls
2. Clean air vents and fans
3. Dust hanging art
4. Clean light fixtures and ceiling fans
5. Clean blinds and curtains
6. Deep clean and reline cabinets and drawers
7. Deep clean horizontal counter space
8. Deep clean sink
9. Deep clean shower and tub
10. Wipe down and clean small appliances
11. Washout trashcans
12. Launder bathroom rugs
13. Sweep, mop and/or vacuum
14. Congratulate yourself and your cleaning team!

Remember to store your bathroom cleaning supplies in a convenient, safe place.  Try to make it obvious where these items are and how to use them to quickly clean the bathroom.  Printing these lists and a checklist of who is responsible for which activity is a great way to post information in a cabinet of the bathroom.  You can also do what we did and put it in your Home Organization Guide Binder.  We have tabs for each room in the house with little plastic sheet protectors to hold before and after pictures, organization and cleaning standards, responsibility matrices, and other handy information.

We’ll discuss other aspects of organization and cleaning the bathroom, like safe alternatives to harsh cleaning chemicals and how to plan the frequency of cleaning activities, in future posts.  We’re still learning ourselves so if you have any tips or comments please let us know!

In our case, the word document refers to all the papers, bills, books, files, drawings, coupons, and any other kind of paper or media.  We classify our documents into three types of storage needs: ready access storage, intermediate storage, remote storage.  We also apply this strategy with our electronic files.

Ready access storage is reserved for documents that are used more than once a week.  We make these documents easily accessible and keep them close at hand in the kitchen.  If you use coupons on a weekly basis, put them in this storage system.  If you review and pay bills or expenses once a week, put them in this system.  Any kind of document that is used at least once a week should be stored in the Ready access storage area.  We use a simple plastic accordion folder and store it on a shelf near our family calendar.  Make sure you have an appropriately sized storage container for the amount of weekly documents you need to store.  Don’t make it too big and certainly don’t make it too small.  Here are some suggestions for differing volumes of stored documents.

Small Volume (1-10 Documents)

These awesome plastic expanding file folders are great for storing ready access items.  They sit nicely on shelves and counters.  Several color coded file folders can be purchased and stored based on family needs.

Medium Volume (11-25 Documents)

This ultimate file box is a great solution if you have a closet or cabinet to place it in.

Large Volume (25+ Documents)

Clear Plastic boxes are great to store your clear plastic expanding file folders.

You can use these suggestions for intermediate and remote storage options as well.  Each of these storage options work well together and can be nested.

Now that you have selected some storage solutions, complete the following activity and

2.03 Store Necessary Items Based on Frequency of Use

Overview

During the 2.02 Straighten Necessary Items activity you placed the necessary items for the target area in the best possible place based on the intended primary function of the area and the order and frequency of use.  You will most likely have identified items that are necessary for the area but are used less frequently that once a week.  For those necessary items it is important to establish a storage strategy for items requiring storage.  Using your previous analysis of frequency of use you will determine with household members how to store, find, use, and return necessary items.

Objectives

• Make it easy to locate and get items
• Make it easy to know where items belong after use
• Make it easy to put items away

Time to Complete

30 – 60 Minutes (Concurrent with Documenting Current Conditions)

Steps to Complete

1. Select problems or problem areas to improve
2. Determine criteria and guidelines from which to store necessary items
3. Determine frequency of use for necessary items
4. Move items to where they belong based on frequency of use and order or use
5. Label frequently used common item locations to ensure that they are returned to proper place
6. Establish ready access storage in target area for items used at least once a week
7. Establish intermediate storage in the target area or an area adjacent to the target area for items regularly used but not as frequently as once a week
8. Establish long term remote storage area somewhere in the house that can be a common shared storage area for the household

Did you know there is something known as chronic disorganization?  The parameters of clutter can be as simple as a few unnecessary items on the floor and as complex a large scale hoarding.  6S Success activities are designed for the everyday house, not to address issues that are now unfortunately the stuff of reality television.

The National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization (NSGCD) has established five levels to indicate the degree of household clutter and hoarding from a professional organizer’s and related professional’s perspective: Level I is low; Level IV is high. Within each level there are four specific categories which define the severity of clutter and hoarding potential:

• Structure and zoning

• Pets and rodents

• Household functions

• Sanitation and cleanliness

One problem found in any of these four categories may indicate the need for further investigation regarding the whole level.

Level I. Household is considered standard. No special knowledge in working with the Chronically Disorganized is necessary.

Level II. Household requires professional organizers or related professionals to have additional knowledge and understanding of Chronic Disorganization.

Level III. Household may require services in addition to those a professional organizer and related professional can provide. Professional organizers and related professionals working with Level III households should have significant training in Chronic Disorganization and have developed a helpful community network of resources, especially mental health providers.

Level IV. Household needs the help of a professional organizer and a coordinated team of service providers. Psychological, medical issues or financial hardships are generally involved. Resources will be necessary to bring a household to a functional level. These services may include pest control services, “crime scene cleaners,” financial counseling and licensed contractors and handypersons.

Level V. Household will require intervention from a wide range of agencies. Professional organizers should not venture directly into working solo with this type of household. The Level V household may be under the care of a conservator or be an inherited estate of a mentally ill individual. Assistance is needed from many sources. A team needs to be assembled. Members of the team should be identified before beginning additional work.

These members may include social services and psychological/mental health representative (not applicable if inherited estate), conservator/trustee, building and zoning, fire and safety, landlord, legal aid and/or legal representatives. A written strategy needs to be outlined and contractual agreements made before proceeding.

6S Success is designed for Level I and Level II households.  Other households may require more services and work than is capable through self-instruction

We’ve discussed several times how to determine what is necessary in a target area.

Once you’ve determined the primary function of the target area and the corresponding necessary items, apply the 6S Sort activity.

1.01 Sort Necessary Items from Unnecessary Items

Overview

Applying the Sort activity to the home means that you will sort through everything in the target area, separate the items that are unnecessary or in the wrong location, and remove those items from the target area.

Even if you have done some level of sorting in your life, the Sort task may not be quite as easy as it seems.  Ultimately, you want everyone performing this step in the same way – the best way.  This step is a way to educate participants about the power of the Sort activity.

Objectives

• Sort through…sort out
• Reinvent the target area
• Decide on how things “should” be organized
• When in doubt, throw it out
• Get to the bare essentials based on the intended function of the target area

Time to Complete

60 – 120 Minutes

Steps to Complete

1. Review 6S Sort procedure
2. Adapt Sort procedure to target area
3. Prepare boxes and temporary holding area
4. Identify unnecessary items
5. Remove unnecessary items to temporary holding area

Tips and Tricks

1. Make red tagging and sorting items easy.  Trying to figure out how to do something while trying to do it is not typically a pleasant experience for most people.  Also, if they have to try to figure out a whole new process and procedure while still trying to complete their regular day to day activities, they may resist or give up easily.
2. Keep in mind that anything that can hide things – like drawers, cabinets and closets – is the enemy.  Things are always “hidden” in these areas and are ripe with opportunities for improvement.
3. Understand that some people may go through “sorter’s remorse.”  Sorter’s remorse occurs when people have established some kind of rational or irrational attachment to unneeded items.  Pack rat’s often will go through Sorter’s remorse.  People with a “Just in Case” habit of keeping things may also go through Sorter’s remorse.
4. Look at EVERY item in the target area with new eyes.  No matter how large or small an item is, reevaluate it based on the intended primary function of the target area and leverage the Item Disposition List.

The 6S Audit is incredibly handy for families trying to quickly organize and clean together.  You can use the 6S Success Audit Form to:

• Communicate 6S standards
• Quickly assess any area of the home
• Get a better understanding of each 6S activity
• Document the current conditions of the home
• Understand key organization and cleaning issues in an area
• Identify areas of improvement

Always try to start your 6S activities with a group assessment of the target area.  You can facilitate the audit on one sheet or pass out a sheet for each family member to complete.  Either way, make sure you go down each assessment item on the 6S Audit.  Also, clearly communicate how to score.  There have been different scoring methods in the past for this, but we like to keep it simple.  Here is the current scoring legend we use for all of our 6S Audits.

Breaking down each activity and communicating some key concepts for each major activity will help the household to understand the expectations for organization and cleanliness. 

Here are a few tips for each activity and audit area.

SORT Audit and Activity Concepts

• Get down to bare essentials
• When in doubt, throw it out!
• Make room for what we really need
• Remove problems, annoyances, and waste
• What’s really necessary for this area?

STRAIGHTEN Audit and Activity Concepts

• A place for everything  and everything in its place
• Place items based on frequency and order of use
• Label all storage locations if possible and appropriate
• Implement visual controls

SHINE Audit and Activity Concepts

• Use cleaning as inspection
• Create a like new environment and reinvent the area
• Understand the importance of keeping things clean

STANDARDIZE Audit and Activity Concepts

• How can we prevent reversion back to the old way?
• Establish repetitive and consistent actions
• Reinforce standard practices – the best, least waste, way to do it

SUSTAIN Audit and Activity Concepts

• Commit to future audits
• Commit to future 6S Events
• Commit to doing something when the area is messy

SAFETY Audit and Activity Concepts

• Identify and immediately eliminate hazards
• Discuss emergency practices
• Discuss potentially hazardous items in the area

We’ve developed several 6S Audit forms over the past five years and have come to use a pretty simple one for the home that also allows us to schedule three different dates for auditing the target area.  Our current 6S Audit form looks like this.

Don’t take more than 15 minutes completing the 6S Audit.  Quickly discuss the form with the family and begin by identifying the activity, commenting on the activity concepts, and then scoring each line item.  You can also get family members involved by taking before pictures of the identified issues during the 6S Audit.

Print out this 6S Audit Form now and go try it on any area of your home.