in Home & Garden

The most effective Japanese method for keeping your house tidy and tidy easily

A tidy house is synonymous with harmony and well-being. However, it’s not always easy to keep things tidy when you’re away from home all day. Yesterday’s dishes are piled up in the sink, dirty laundry is everywhere and many other things are lying around and not found when we need them.

There are many methods to help us ensure that this mission is not impossible. One of the best known is that of the Japanese writer Marie Kondo, who became famous around the world for her tips for tidying up every corner of the house. But it is not the only one, Japan is the origin of many philosophies and organizational methods, such as the famous Feng Shui or the Dan Sha Ri system.

This time we are going to talk about the 5S method, which consists of five steps to keep our home away from the chaos of clutter, which affects not only our eyesight, but also our mental balance. The five “S” are the words Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu and Shitsuke and each of them corresponds to a step in the process. We see it below.

  • SEIRI (sort and throw away): it involves identifying and separating the things that we cannot do without from those that are not essential to our life. To do this, we must determine the function of each object in our home. What is not used or of no use is thrown away, either to be donated, to be recycled, to be sold, or to be thrown away.
  • SEITON (order and organization): once we have the objects we need, it is time to organize them in a logical and accessible way, finding a specific place for each of them. Those that are used the least will be placed in the least accessible places, while those that are used the most will occupy the most privileged places in the house.
  • SEISO (Cleaning): This is a continuous process aimed at removing dust and dirt from the house and achieving a clean, pleasant and safe environment. This is why it is essential to create a routine that helps us maintain this goal. While general cleaning can be done from time to time, cleaning the bathroom and kitchen, dusting or washing bedding and linens require greater regularity.
  • SEIKETSU (process standardization): This step includes creating checklists or scheduling weekly cleaning tasks. If several people live together in the household, each of them must take care of a task on a given day. This way everyone is involved and order is maintained.
  • SHITSUKE (consistency): it’s about encouraging discipline to maintain the 5S and this involves creating habits, whether daily, weekly or long-term. Maintaining order over time will ensure that tasks do not require great effort and that we will avoid laziness in carrying them out. The objective is to obtain a harmonious space that allows us to get rid of what we need. we do not need. Just file, tidy, clean and organize. And this, of course, constantly. In this way we will ensure that our home is always perfect.