This family has been in need of some serious organizing! It's been my desire to have some sort of command center for our family - which I sort of did a few years ago when I created this entry organizing dresser that I transformed.
What IS a command center? Well, it sort of depends on what you need. It's mainly an area, generally where you "land", that has a schedule, clock, and important papers all in one organized area. At least this is MY definition! The organized part is essential!
I have been working on this command center for a couple of months and my Instagram followers have been patiently watching me put it together, one tedious piece at a time!
There is no right or wrong way to put together a family command center. I decided to fix the area that I was sort of using, that we use as an area to gather our stuff. It was a mess, though, as you can see above. I wasn't maximizing the FULL height of the wall. I can't put things too high because I can't see or reach them, but I could use the higher part for personalizing and putting the pictures. And use the "picture area" for more important things and papers instead of cluttering up the dresser. And, that's why I did what I did.
I bought this framed, chalkboard weekly schedule from Zulily. We've been using it and it's been quite helpful to have a that visual up there of the week. The kids love it too!
I also put a clock as part of this command center - big help! BIG! Having a clock here keeps things right on schedule! I purchased the file baskets from Marshall's - I had to choose between these horizontal ones or a set of vertical file baskets. These worked best and are really unique. I've not seen these anywhere else and love them. They are attached to this piece of stained wood that was just that - so I used my Cricut machine and cut out the phrase "Always pray and never give up" adapted from Luke 18:1.
The kids have their school papers in there - the ones that are important, need to be signed, etc. I have a striped "family binder" behind the file folders {I got them all at Target} and it holds the school, church, and activity calendars and rules for everything in there to use as a reference.
I got rid of my bulletin board, and made my favorite magnetic board for the pictures. If you want to know how to make one, go HERE - it's easy. I got these tiny, super-strong, magnets to use to hold the pictures on from Zulily, also.
I ordered a California print from Groopdealz and framed it. And, last, my "B" marquee! My husband and I made this! Isn't it neat? I love it! I really wanted to add some personality to this command center, so I chose to the marquee to light up the area, too. I'll have a tutorial on how we made it next week - it would not all fit into this post! It was not as easy as we expected, but we did it!
That's it! My amazing command center is doing it's job now, too. It's keeping us more organized. I've eliminated a couple of other things like the cell phone charging station {no one was using it anymore}, added a new key holder that's bigger, and added some leather-like file boxes with hidden storage on the top of the dresser and it's working well and helping to keep the clutter away! What do you think? What is your favorite part?
Resources:
Clock - Target
California Print - Groopdealz
Oval Frame - Marshall's
Vinyl File boxes - Home Goods
Six Hooks - Home Goods
Weekly Schedule Chalkboard - Zulily
Hanging basket file - Marshall's
Fabric for Magnetic Board - Joann's
File Folders and Family Binder - Target
Dresser - Craig's List
What IS a command center? Well, it sort of depends on what you need. It's mainly an area, generally where you "land", that has a schedule, clock, and important papers all in one organized area. At least this is MY definition! The organized part is essential!
I have been working on this command center for a couple of months and my Instagram followers have been patiently watching me put it together, one tedious piece at a time!
There is no right or wrong way to put together a family command center. I decided to fix the area that I was sort of using, that we use as an area to gather our stuff. It was a mess, though, as you can see above. I wasn't maximizing the FULL height of the wall. I can't put things too high because I can't see or reach them, but I could use the higher part for personalizing and putting the pictures. And use the "picture area" for more important things and papers instead of cluttering up the dresser. And, that's why I did what I did.
I bought this framed, chalkboard weekly schedule from Zulily. We've been using it and it's been quite helpful to have a that visual up there of the week. The kids love it too!
I also put a clock as part of this command center - big help! BIG! Having a clock here keeps things right on schedule! I purchased the file baskets from Marshall's - I had to choose between these horizontal ones or a set of vertical file baskets. These worked best and are really unique. I've not seen these anywhere else and love them. They are attached to this piece of stained wood that was just that - so I used my Cricut machine and cut out the phrase "Always pray and never give up" adapted from Luke 18:1.
The kids have their school papers in there - the ones that are important, need to be signed, etc. I have a striped "family binder" behind the file folders {I got them all at Target} and it holds the school, church, and activity calendars and rules for everything in there to use as a reference.
I got rid of my bulletin board, and made my favorite magnetic board for the pictures. If you want to know how to make one, go HERE - it's easy. I got these tiny, super-strong, magnets to use to hold the pictures on from Zulily, also.
I ordered a California print from Groopdealz and framed it. And, last, my "B" marquee! My husband and I made this! Isn't it neat? I love it! I really wanted to add some personality to this command center, so I chose to the marquee to light up the area, too. I'll have a tutorial on how we made it next week - it would not all fit into this post! It was not as easy as we expected, but we did it!
That's it! My amazing command center is doing it's job now, too. It's keeping us more organized. I've eliminated a couple of other things like the cell phone charging station {no one was using it anymore}, added a new key holder that's bigger, and added some leather-like file boxes with hidden storage on the top of the dresser and it's working well and helping to keep the clutter away! What do you think? What is your favorite part?
Resources:
Clock - Target
California Print - Groopdealz
Oval Frame - Marshall's
Vinyl File boxes - Home Goods
Six Hooks - Home Goods
Weekly Schedule Chalkboard - Zulily
Hanging basket file - Marshall's
Fabric for Magnetic Board - Joann's
File Folders and Family Binder - Target
Dresser - Craig's List
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