The Five (5) "S" I Have Learned

When I entered the government service last November, I was surprised that there was so much space in the office that everywhere I looked, there seemed to be space. It was not the kind of environment I was looking forward to. In my previous office, everything just seemed too occupied. Papers here and there, folders, books, trash. There was a lot more of these stuffs, and our cubicle even seemed like one storeroom of trash. I was expecting the same scenario in the new office, even worst because it is the government, too many people, too many things to do, too many things to prioritize.

But I was dead wrong. seeing the new office was quite a relief, at the same time, a wonder to me. Where did all the papers go? Why do they have to keep everything? Less paper and files on desks when in my previous working table, everything was just heaps of manuscripts to read.

I finally learned that they were told to try practicing the 5 S, these are: Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu, Shitsuke. I learned that this 5S came from the Japanese way of organizing things, it originally came from an organization that started using these Japanese terms starting with the letter S, as even transliterated into the English language and mire so, into our very own language.

The Five S in Japanese - English - Filipino Translations

Seiri - Sort - Suriin ang paligid.	Tidiness	Throw away all rubbish and unrelated materials in the workplace
Seiton Systematize - Simutin ang dumi.	Orderliness	Set everything in proper place for quick retrieval and storage
Seiso -Sweep - Siguraduhin ang kalinisan at kaayusan.	Cleanliness	Clean the workplace; everyone should be a janitor
Seiketsu - Standardize - Sundin ang patakaran sa paglilinis.	Standardization	Standardize the way of maintaining cleanliness
Shitsuke - Self-discipline - Saring-kusa	Discipline	Practice 'Five S' daily - make it a way of life; this also means 'commitment'

This is what the office follows and I was told that every now and then, there are some people who are checking on them if they are following the same. It is actually cool! I wanted to follow this too since i learned it, and I think it can easily be followed if you want it too, the first thing you really need to do is de-clutter. This is probably why the Japanese homes look so minimalist as they are following this program.

Have you heard of this 5S? Do you want to try this too? What are your tips to having a clutter-free home?