Lean Manufacturing

"Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated."

--Confucius

That Confucius...a durn smurt man, no?

Maybe it's the recent happenings in my life (a minor mental breakdown (speaking of which--sorry, y'all, for those downer posts) and an ill grandmammy (she's better now, thank the little baby Jesus!)) or maybe I've just got the spring cleaning bug, but for one reason or another, I have an irresistible urge to clean house, declutter, move things around, and simplify...

...also known as lean manufacturing--a neato term I learned from my freelance writing projects. it means "optimizing flow; increasing efficiency, decreasing waste, and deciding what matters..." (Wikipedia).



http://pinterest.com/pin/6060230/


I've been humbled a few times already this year, with multiple events telling me to prioritize what really matters. So I'm starting the prioritization process at home!

As Dr. Ann Gatty says, "By keeping things in their places, there is a sense of order that can have a calming effect on a person. It also helps you develop a sense of control over your environment."


http://9gag.com/gag/89871/


As Tina Su of http://thinksimplenow.com/ says, "There is beauty in space, but we fail to recognize it because we can’t see through the stuff we own. When we open up physical space in our environment, a tremendous feeling of peace can dwell within us." Like opening a window! She continues, "Because everything carries energy, the mess in our environment can affect how we feel subconsciously. We might suddenly feel very irritable without knowing why. Your closet and the surface spaces of your home are good places to start this cleaning process. This will result in a deeply therapeutic and fulfilling experience." (Also check out Tina Su's suggestions on how to declutter our minds!)

It was therapeutic to clean out my closet and my jewelry! And it is a fulfilling experience, collecting unwanted household items/objects for donation! Not to mention, I've begun placing our favorite items front and center and the items we use everyday in better reach...

An efficient household, folks--let's hope it wears off on me ;-)

What practices keep your house (and mind!) in order???