Lean Living: Using the 5-S Method to Organize Your Home (HyFlex: Zoom)
Fall (4-8 hours) | Registration opens 7/29/2025 12:00 AM EDT
This is the Zoom attendance option for this course!
Are you downsizing or just hoping to simplify your life? This course will present an overview of the lean principles that have helped many businesses reduce waste and add value and how they can be applied by individuals in their daily lives. The emphasis will be on using the 5-S method to identify ways to reduce wasted space, store items so they can be found easily, part with unnecessary possessions, save time, and error-proof your daily activities. Participants will be encouraged to each undertake a simple 5-S project and share their experiences and lessons learned with other participants.
Class sessions will consist of presentations with examples, pictures, and video clips alternating with class discussions. Interesting issues arise when we try to apply lean principles outside a business context, especially in a home environment. Discussion topics include: How does organization add value in the context of daily life? How do we value our time? How do we incorporate aesthetics and emotional pleasure? How can we compare different kinds of waste i.e. time, money, storage space, or stress? How do we responsibly rehome or dispose of items we no longer need? How can we include others?
This course will combine lecture with class discussions.
Margaret Cunningham
Marge Cunningham retired in 2020 after a 35-year career teaching Operations Management at Xavier University in Cincinnati. She also served a term as Department Chair and another as Director of Xavier’s Sedler Center for Experiential Learning. Her main areas of focus are lean principles, process improvement, supply chains, and experiential learning. She is an avid horsewoman and also enjoys reading and crafts and outdoor activities with her grandchildren and traveling with her husband Dan.