Practical home systems built on lean and 5S thinking – decluttering, organising, resets, and the small adjustments that make everyday life run with less friction. Less effort, quieter spaces, and designs that actually stick.
Getting the drums ready Today was about getting my winter drums ready. This time I cut them into thirds instead of halves. These ones are for vegetables, not trees, so they don’t need the same soil volume. Cutting them smaller should still give me enough room for the crops I want to grow, while using…
It started with one practical fix I changed one small thing in my house, and it set off a chain reaction. It wasn’t a big makeover. It was just a few practical changes that made the place easier to use. None of it was expensive, and none of it was complicated. It mostly came down…
Starting with the plan I didn’t have the drums yet for the winter garden, but it was still time to work out what I wanted the setup to look like. Before I start building anything, I wanted to get clear on the numbers, the layout, and the limits I’m working with. The numbers The plan…
Keeping it simple This batch was meant to stay simple. I used the same base beer I already know works, then changed one small part of it to see what difference it made. This time the change was Simcoe and Lemon Drop hops. Not enough to dominate the beer. Just enough to change it slightly….
Making room for the next trees It was time to get the feijoas into planters of their own. I had two drums to cut down, which would make four pots for the trees. I’d also end up with a spare planter for either my Lemonicious lemon or the Valencia orange later on. Cutting the drums…
The first thing people notice When people come to my place, the first thing they usually ask is, “Where do I sleep?” Not long after that, they usually say how spacious it feels. That probably sounds strange for a small one-bedroom unit, but that’s the whole point of how I’ve set it up. It’s simple,…
Building My Little Orchard, One Drum at a Time How it started This orchard started for a simple reason. My kids and I like blueberries, and I wanted a way to grow some ourselves instead of always buying them. I also liked the idea of being able to walk outside and pick some when they…
The plan was simple This strawberry tower was supposed to be an easy setup. The idea was to get it running, head off to work, and come home to strawberries ready to pick. Instead, within the first few days, a heatwave hit, the black drum held too much heat, and the olla flooded the bottom…
Some parts of this garden are doing really well, and some parts are definitely testing me. Three months in, the cherry tomatoes have been the clear highlight. They’re the kind of thing you can just pick straight off the vine and eat on the spot, which is exactly the sort of garden win I was…