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Order with method: The 5S principle – Minimalism for your pantry organization

Kira Zabe

July 17, 2025

What is the 5S system?

The 5S principle originally comes from Japan and was used in manufacturing to organize workplaces efficiently and cleanly. The five 'S' stand for:

Seiri (Sort) – Eliminate all unnecessary items.

Seiton (Systematize) – Everything should have a designated place.

Seiso (Cleaning) – Clean regularly.

Seiketsu (Standardize) – Turn orderliness into a habit.

Shitsuke (Self-discipline) – Persist and improve.

Why is this perfect for your pantry management? Because it helps you keep track, reduce food waste and shop more efficiently.

How the 5S principle works at home

🔍 1. Sorting: What do you really need?

Go through your supplies and get rid of anything that has expired or that you have been ignoring for months. This is where the Speisekammer App comes into play: It shows you at a glance what should be used up soon.

🗃 2. Organize: A place for everything

Define categories: canned goods, pasta, breakfast, baking ingredients, etc. Label drawers or boxes – or use the digital storage locations in the app, to maintain order both virtually and physically.

✨ 3. Cleanliness: Hygiene is of utmost importance

If you've already taken everything out – seize the moment and clean the shelves or boxes. Clean storage containers not only look good, but also protect against pests.

🧩 4. Standardize: Develop routines

Once you've tidied up – what's next? To prevent it from descending into chaos again, develop small routines: e.g., a weekly check in the app to see if anything needs to be repurchased or is about to expire.

⏳ 5. Keep it up!

Order is not a one-time action. But with small, regular tasks and the support of your digital assistant – the Speisekammer App – everything stays in flow.

💡 Conclusion: 5S = Efficiency + Sustainability

The 5S principle may sound technical at first – but in reality, it's a surprisingly simple and effective organizational system for everyday life. It helps you to handle food more consciously, save money, and regain control.

And the best part? You don't have to do everything on your own. The Pantry App assists you digitally – with individual storage locations, expiration warnings, and soon even recipe suggestions from your leftovers!

Try it now:
Organize your inventory for good.
📲 Test the Smantry App for free

Would you also like to read about other clever organizing systems or share your experiences? Write to us or comment on social media – we look forward to the exchange! 🌱

Smantry: Not perfect – but made with a lot of heart

Many of our users write to us that theyhave been looking for exactly this kind of app for a long time. At the same time, we also read reviews that say:“Good idea, but …”
And that’s exactly what we want to talk about openly today.

An app for everyday life – not for perfection

Smantry is designed to make everyday life easier: manage groceries, stay on top of things, waste less.
Your feedback shows us that this is already working well for many of you:

  • Inputs are quick and straightforward
  • The scanner reliably detects most products
  • Editing and making changes is easy
  • Our support is perceived as fast, friendly, and solution-oriented

We’re really glad to hear that – because that’s exactly what we’re building Smantry for.

Why some things are (still) not perfect

What you often don’t see from the outside: Smantry is developed by a very small team.
Right now we are 5 people, and none of us works full-time on the app. We do this alongside other projects, jobs, and commitments – with a lot of passion, but limited resources.

That doesn’t explain everything, but it provides context:

  • Some functions take longer
  • Technical issues (e.g. with premium activations) unfortunately happen sometimes
  • Not every idea can be implemented right away

Frequently asked questions from your reviews

Why a subscription?
The subscription allows us to cover server costs, ongoing development, updates, and support in the first place. Without continuous revenue, Smantry would not be able to exist in the long term.

"Why isn’t the bug I reported being fixed?"
Sometimes there are several bugs at the same time and we have to prioritize the ones that affect core functions. That can mean that a different bug gets fixed first. We always try to resolve everything quickly – but unfortunately we can only do it step by step.

Why doesn’t Premium sometimes work right away?
Subscriptions are managed through the app stores. In rare cases, synchronization issues can occur. That’s annoying, but not intentional – our support team will always help you with this personally.

Where we want to go

Smantry is meant to get better – not just on paper, but in real everyday life.
This includes:

  • more features from the web app
  • better stability
  • more flexibility with categories
  • clearer communication

Your feedback plays a central role in this.

In conclusion

We’re not a corporation.
We’re a small team that believes in a good idea and is putting it into practice step by step.

If Smantry is helping you – even if everything isn’t perfect yet – we really appreciate your trust, your feedback, and of course a fair rating in the App Store 💛

Thank you for being part of this development.

January 22, 2026
2 min read

Power outage in Berlin: Why preparation and prepping are more important today than ever

An unexpected power outage in Berlin has recently shown how quickly our daily life can become unbalanced. Traffic lights went out, card payments stopped working, and many households were suddenly without light, internet, or cooking facilities. Such events highlight: emergency preparedness and prepping are not about spreading panic, but rather a sensible and responsible preparation for real risks.

Power Outage – A Real Risk for Major Cities

Whether it's technical malfunctions, construction work, or extreme weather conditions: A Blackout or regional power outage can occur at any time. Especially in large cities like Berlin, the effects are immediately noticeable. Without electricity, many basic systems no longer function – from supermarkets to ATMs to communication.

The most important question is:

Am I prepared for this?

Prepping: Preparedness instead of fear

Prepping does not mean preparing for apocalyptic scenarios. Rather, it's about everyday readiness:

  • remain capable of acting
  • be able to provide for the family
  • Reduce stress and uncertainty
  • not be immediately dependent on external help

The power outage in Berlin demonstrates: Just a few hours without electricity can cause major problems.

Stockpiling food as a key to emergency preparedness

A well-thought-out food supply is the foundation of any emergency preparedness. Experts recommend having supplies for at least 7 to 14 days. These include:

  • non-perishable food items such as rice, pasta, canned goods
  • Drinking water
  • long shelf-life snacks
  • Baby food or special diet
  • off-grid cooking options (e.g., gas stoves)

Yet many households quickly lose track: What's available? What's missing? What's about to expire?

Digital preparation with the Smantry App

Here comes the Smantry App into play – your digital companion for prepping, preparation, and stockpiling. The app helps you to plan your supplies in a structured way and to keep track at all times.

With the Smantry App you can:

  • Easily capture food supplies digitally
  • Define minimum quantities for emergencies
  • Monitor expiration dates and prevent food waste
  • prepare specifically for power outages, blackouts, and crises
  • Integrating prepping step by step into daily life

This makes emergency preparedness simple, transparent, and efficient.

Prepare now instead of improvising later:
👉 Download the Smantry App and start your digital emergency preparedness today.

Power outage in Berlin as a wake-up call

The power outage in Berlin was an eye-opener for many people. It demonstrates how quickly familiar structures can collapse – and how important it is to be prepared. Those who take precautions in time remain calm, safe, and independent.

Conclusion: Take precautions now instead of reacting later

Power outages, supply shortages, and crises are part of the reality of our time. With a well-thought-out food stockpiling and digital tools like the Smantry App you can make your emergency preparedness simple and effective.

👉 Start your preparation now

Download the Smantry App and gradually build up your personal emergency preparedness – before the next power outage occurs.

Discover the app now and be prepared.

January 15, 2026
2 min read

🍂 Cozy Autumn Leftover Cooking – Comfort dishes made from what's available

When the rain taps on the window and the tea cup becomes a permanent guest, the most beautiful kitchen time of the year begins: autumn. And what could be a better match than stylish leftover cooking – dishes that are not only sustainable but also truly exciting.

Autumn leftover cooking means: use instead of waste, but with a touch of sophistication. Here are some more unusual ideas to turn leftovers into small culinary highlights.

🧀 1. Pumpkin Gnocchi from leftover roasted vegetables

Do you have some leftover roasted pumpkin or sweet potato from the day before? Perfect!
Mash the vegetables, mix them with some flour, salt, and grated Parmesan, shape them into small gnocchi, and briefly cook them in salted water until they float to the surface. Then toss them in sage butter and top with chopped walnuts.
→ Tastes like Italy, looks like fine dining – and it's all made from leftovers!

🥖 2. Rustic bread salad with grapes and goat cheese

Tear stale bread into pieces, toast in olive oil until golden brown.
Add a few grapes (wrinkled ones are especially sweet), arugula or lamb's lettuce, crumbled goat cheese, and roasted hazelnuts. Mix with a dressing of balsamic vinegar, honey, and mustard.
→ A fall twist on the classic Panzanella – sweet, salty, crunchy, perfect!

🧅 3. French onion tart with leftover vegetables and puff pastry

Got some leftover puff pastry in the fridge? Make a tart out of it!
Caramelize onions in butter, add some leftover vegetables (e.g., leeks, mushrooms, or spinach). Spread on the pastry, top with a dollop of sour cream or cream cheese, and bake until golden brown.
→ Wonderfully aromatic, especially with thyme or rosemary.

🍎 4. Apple Sourdough French Toast with Vanilla Rum Butter

A piece of stale sourdough bread is soaked in a mixture of milk, egg, vanilla, and a dash of rum, fried in a pan, and served with fried apple slices and a rum butter.
→ Luxurious, yet made entirely from leftovers – perfect for a Sunday breakfast in pajamas.

🥬 5. Risotto made from leftover vegetables with lemon and herb oil

Chop the vegetable scraps finely and cook with a handful of rice into a creamy risotto.
A dash of lemon juice and some leftover herbs (parsley, basil, arugula) blended with oil make a fresh herb oil as a topping.
→ The acidity of the lemon beautifully enhances the earthy autumnal notes.

☕️ Bonus Tip: Using leftovers in a dessert glass

A few spoons of leftover compote?
Some leftover cake or cookies?
Layer it all with yogurt or mascarpone in a glass – and you have an autumnal "trifle" that looks like it came straight from a café in Copenhagen.

🍁 Conclusion

Autumnal leftover cooking is not a last resort, but a playground for creativity. When you look at ingredients with open eyes – not as leftovers, but as opportunities – small, exquisite dishes full of soul and flavor emerge.

October 21, 2025
2 min read

Why we never stop refining Smantry ✨

At Smantry, we don't believe in 'finished'.
An app that is meant to accompany people in their daily lives is never complete – it grows, changes, and evolves. Just like the people who use it. 💛

We regularly pay attention to every detail:
How does a click feel? Is the path to a function clear enough? Does the idea behind a new view come across intuitively?
Sometimes it's just tiny things that make the difference – a better-placed button, a simplified overview, or a sentence that suddenly becomes clearer.

What drives us is the idea that Smantry should feel easy, familiar, and meaningful.
We want you to open the app and feel: "Ah, this is exactly how it should work."

Of course, not everything always goes perfectly. But that's exactly the point: We take the time to listen, to observe, to reconsider. Every piece of feedback, every use case, every new idea helps us to understand a little better what really matters.

Smantry is not a rigid product for us – it's a living process. A collaborative project that grows step by step.
And every update, every small improvement is a sign that we are on the right track:
A path to an app that doesn't feel like technology, but like support.
Towards a daily life that becomes simpler. Towards clarity, structure – and maybe even a bit of ease. 🌿

We're staying on it.
Because we are convinced that good things take time – and that it's worth creating them with heart.

Your
Smantry-Team

October 16, 2025
1 min read