Live Lean | 5S your life

"sort", "straighten", "shine", "standardize", and "sustain".

5S was developed in Japan as part of the “Just in Time” manufacturing process. Its roots trace back to Henry Ford and the system is widely used today in manufacturing plants around the world. The plant I work in is no different with almost ritualistic practitioners preaching its virtue.

This mindset starts to bleed over into your personal life when you embrace the philosophy with lunchroom banter surrounding how far you can expand the reach of the mighty 5S into your personal life?

It was one such conversation with our plant manager and a lead concerning small houses, wasteful spending, excess and at what point the wife gets pissed off? For the record we don’t suggest reusing Ziploc bags.

 

Stop a moment and look around the room your in.

How much of the stuff in the room do you need? Do you really need the pile of magazines you have already read, the nick knacks, the hat you wore once, the 3 jackets, the 6 maps of Baja, Mexico or the 4 pair of shoes under the coffee table?

For the record I am a hypocrite when it comes to this stuff. My weakness is motorized vehicles. I have too many, but I can’t bring myself to selling them. I can only drive one of them at a time, and usually drive the same one. But it’s hard to replace a diesel eating 4WD F-350 with a camper. I need my F-250 for trips to the hardware store, the Harley I ride 12 times a year is a collectors item, the 2 dirt bikes, the UTV the ect ect ect. You see my point?

So its baby steps for me, I am starting with the 10 year old collection of race inspired T-Shirts and will slowly expand from there. After all I wear the same three pairs of jeans all week. Moving into a new house early next year gives me the opportunity to see how far I can push 5S Lean Living into my personal life.  

Buying A Home | Is Smaller, Smarter?

We almost did it, something I think we would have regretted, buying a big house.

My whole life I have lived in a small house, but for many years I built massive custom homes in neighborhoods like Fairbanks Ranch and Rancho Santé Fe California. I always wondered what was the perfect size home, and after many years I thought I had a handle on what I needed. 3000 square feet seemed the perfect size for a house. 10,000 square feet was ridiculous.

We raised our two kids in a 1500 square foot house, one bathroom, and two bedrooms. For years my wife and I slept in the living room so our daughter could have privacy. There is nowhere to hide when your house is small. Your kids can’t retreat to the far corner of the house, or hide in an upstairs room. You are together almost all of the time. Vacations with your spouse are a treat, even if its an over night stay at a convention.

Now as we approach the next chapter of our life as empty nesters we looked at houses in the 2500-3000 square foot range. We even went into escrow on an amazing 2300 square foot house that had an additional 1000-foot finished basement. Thankfully we fell out.  In the end we decided that location was the most important thing for us. For most of my adult life I have commuted at least an hour (sometimes three) each way to work, the California way. In addition we wanted an efficient home. I always wondered how much it cost to maintain a 10,000 square foot home?

A box on a postage stamp lot.

For years it seems the market has dictated a house design that works on square footage. Under utilized dining rooms, family rooms and extra bedrooms promoted consumerism at it’s finest. Every house looked the same in most neighborhoods we looked at. In addition the houses contribute to urban sprawl, and don’t encourage community.

After an exhaustive search we found a modest ranch style house built in 1962. The community is small and situated on one-acre lots with meandering streets that restrict access to the homes without a gate. Built in the 60’s the homes are just outside the city limits, but offer access to the entire city in minutes. The best part is that Angie works only one mile and I work only five miles from the doorstep. While it may sound extreme I have always wanted to work close to where I live so I can walk or bike to work. After spending most of my life sitting on the 91 freeway in Orange County, California I am happy to walk.

Oddly the house is on par with our last three homes coming in at 1500 square feet. I guess 1500 is the magic number for us?  Green building seems all the rage for new homes, but I have often wondered if a re-imagined older home is a more conservative approach? With that in mind the old Ranch home will receive a complete make over the next year. My Son said that the house was spectacularly boring, but he was confident I would be able to put lipstick on a pig.I invite you along as we re-imagine our Reno 60's Ranch home.