As Promised: Chapter 2-Get Organized

Get Organized: Chapter 2-Economies of Scale




Chapter 2-Economies of Scale


Henry Ford had it right. It is more efficient to have all similar tasks grouped together in one time frame and assigned to one individual.

Thus all the welding of automobile door frames, for instance, are done in one spot on the assembly line by one specifically trained employee and with all tools right at hand. We could have, for example, all of the employees of Ford Motor Company EACH producing an individual car, EACH doing all the welding, assembling, and inspecting as required. Of course an automobile would cost easily four times as current and not likely to be nearly as well-constructed.

We should apply economies of scale to our own lives and mostly we do. I state "mostly" with a smile on my face because there are still plenty of places to apply these economies yet it seems to never cross some minds.

On some evenings, husband decides he wants some of his favorite packaged au gratin potatoes. He comes home from a busy day at work, pulls out an oven-proof bowl, obtains additional ingredients as required from wherever they are, then artfully prepares a small, one-meal only entree of this most beloved vegetable to accompany the rest of his meal. He prepares only a partial package as he cannot consume the entire contents of this family-sized side dish in one sitting. He has successfully calculated how to take the package and divide it into four separate servings.

Consider this: he dirties one oven-proof dish each time in addition to measuring cups and spoons as required. He spends however many minutes to do the pre-oven preparation, then must wait the thirty five or forty minutes for it to bake in the oven. The oven is set according to package instructions with no mind that there is one solitary dish in said oven the entire time span. Often he repeats this process two to three times a week.

Which, of course, makes me want to scream bejeesus to the gods of common sense that why doesn't this man prepare the entire package, or at the least that portion which he intends to consume within a one week time span, at one sitting and use the blessed microwave to heat up the already baked side dish, now refrigerated in the same oven-proof bowl? The man has absolutely no objection to the microwave re-heat which might give a good reason for the ritual repeat of these actions sometimes three times weekly.

He just hadn't thought of it is all. The package instructions instruct and he follows them religiously.


Every morning my daughter awakes and with sleepy eyes pulls underwear from dresser drawers, scans the closet for the day's attire, roots through jewelry cases for appropriate accessories, searches the containers for matching shoes and ponders where the heck the pantyhose done went. This whole exercise takes maybe fifteen or twenty minutes and between me and you, those sleepy eyes often do not do such a handsome job of matching outfits, shoes and accessories. This fifteen or twenty minutes on a five day basis add up to an hour and one half a work week and during precious limited morning hours at that.

"Why not prepare all five outfits for the work week at one setting?" I ask her.

She looks at me as if I'd sprouted two, maybe three heads.

"I don't know what I'm going to feel like on any given morning," she sniffs. "I might not feel like wearing a suit the day I'd prepared it for the wearing."

A plausible argument, I pondered.

A closer regard of her actions makes me reconsider. For she shows no aesthetic sensibility when she pulls something, anything, out of that closet. Plenty of times she attires herself in heavy wools when the weather is due to be mild.

My own self has to dress for the work day and based on child-observation, I consider there has to be a better way. First, I did an inventory of my entire wardrobe to include shoes, scarves and accessories. I entered them into a computer program, sorted by blouses, dresses, etc. Once a MONTH I co-ordinate my outfits, electronically as it were. With the entire descriptive contents of my wardrobe before me, I choose colors that do not clash, shoes that match, accessories that compliment and insure a variety that precludes boredom.

Then boom. In a two hour session, I combine the outfits from the computer printout, including necessary under-garments, shoes, belts and jewelry. At the same time I pull out the ironing board and give any clothes so requiring a quick pressing. The entire outfit is hung handily on a hanger with the shoes lined up in the same order on the floor below.

Twenty days worth of work outfits assembled handsomely within two hours and I consider that at the rate of twenty minutes per day to gather the pieces I'm saving around 4 and one half hours a month. Four and one half hours of precious morning minutes which are restricted due to work hours and commuting time. Plus I am attired in what I hope will be neatly pressed and pleasantly coordinated outfits as opposed to items pulled from messy closets and aided by sleepy eyes.

As stated prior, we do mostly employ economies of scale to some degree. Errands usually include all stops as pre-planned and most of us perform our job duties within one daily eight hour consecutive time frame. The concept is not alien to us, I'd argue.


Begin the creative process of saving time by documenting one typical work day. Note times arising, actions taken and time to complete. I'd assert that most of us arise, empty bladders as required, start morning coffee (which I sure HOPE is ready to go with a touch of a switch if not pre-programmed if coffee maker allows) and begin the process of dressing as appropriate. We probably perform morning ablutions to include brushing teeth and morning showers. Maybe we pull out something for a quick breakfast, awaken children, locate books and brief cases, dig for lunch money eventually heading off to school or work.
Upon arrival home, we might change into more comfortable attire, greet children and begin to prepare an evening meal. After dinner there might be errands or meetings ending with an hour or two of web-surfing or TV time.

Think of ways the daily activities can be combined into economies of scale. How about lunch money? Couldn't all lunch monies be placed into envelopes with each child's name written plainly upon? At one sitting and after thoughtfully obtaining needed coins as required, place the change in the envelopes for a whole week at a time. This is a good activity to do while watching TV, in fact.

Evening meals certainly could be planned in advance and any extraordinary efforts to prepare considered and completed in one thoughtful session. Scheduled errands could be documented and assigned at a similar TV session.

The point is that though we must perform similar actions on a daily basis and simply cannot do them in advance, for sure we can plan these routines in a manner to make it a bit less chaotic. Maybe we can't brush our teeth five times in one day to preclude these actions during the week, but we can make sure we have toothpaste and an orderly process in place to obtain sink time. Perhaps meal preparation must require some cooking immediately before consumption but how much can be done on a pre-planned basis? I've already illustrated how the daily act of dressing can be made simpler by employing economies of scale.

Maybe we all can't be Henry Fords with endless amounts of money and time to accomplish the task but with a bit of creativity we can use the lesson of economies of scale to make our own lives run as smooth as a brand new car.