What comes to mind when you hear the phrase ‘command center’? An imposing bank of computer terminals and monitoring screens? A group of 5-star generals planning strategy for an entire campaign? What about a space to organize your home? While the stakes might not be quite as high, the potential for everything to fall into chaos is still there if you let things get disorganized. Command centers are a brilliant way to organize your home to make sure the bills get paid, appointments are kept and you’ll never spend an afternoon hunting through stacks of papers looking for a permission slip again!
Storage Chores
At the heart of the command center is an idea: keep control by keeping organized! The best way to accomplish that is to have a place for everything. Every bill, every tax document, every coupon that comes into your home will have a place that it belongs. When you need to find it, you’ll know where it is, no problem! This all sounds very serious but with a dash of creativity, it can be a lot of fun. For bills and other mail that requires a reply, set up two hanging wire mesh folders on a free wall in your home. Label one as an ‘inbox’ and the other as an ‘outbox’. Sort your mail accordingly. This is also a good place for forms you need to fill out for work, the kids’ school or any other administrative paperwork. Sometimes you’ll have longer projects on the go. If you’re planning a home reno, a big anniversary party or a vacation, you may want to keep a whole folder of documents. Pick up a folder box and you can keep those plans in color-coded folders that make them easy on the eyes as well as simple to find. For the long term, high volume projects you might want to consider picking up a couple of wicker boxes. These are perfect for keeping receipts for your small business until tax time, for example.
Chair of the Boards
Once you’ve got your space organized, next up is your information. Running a household involves a heroic amount of planning and another key aspect of your command center is making it a place where it’s all on display. From a recipe board that shows what you’ll be cooking throughout the week to a calendar that lists every birthday party, bank holiday and dentist’s appointment, your command center can host a visual guide to everything you’ve got coming up in life. What better way to accomplish this than to hang up some surfaces to host your plans? The possibilities are limitless. Do you want to put up a chalkboard to host a to-do list? Don’t forget to pick up multi-colored chalk to bring it to life. A bit of decorative doodling around the edges can really brighten up a room. This goes for dry-erase whiteboards, too. With a fun selection of rainbow markers, you can lay out upcoming dates in style on a calendar that gets updated as you need it. For urgent items, you can also put up a cork board on which to pin receipts, coupons or cute family photos. It’s also a great place to show off kids’ art projects or vacation snapshots. If you’re worried about sticking pins in them you could opt for a magnetic board instead. Nothing’s cuter than a handful of souvenir magnets from the last time you went on vacation, right?
The Element of Supplies
Any good commander will tell you the key to stocking your command center is good supply lines. In a home, that means making sure that you have what it takes to get the job done. Are you going to be filling out forms? You’d better keep a jar full of pens and pencils ready. Stick the jar to the magnet board or screw it to a corkboard, or opt for a desk as a centerpiece. If you’ll be mailing letters then you’ll want to keep a few sheets of stamps handy. If you don’t want to go hunting for your phone in order to do some quick math, maybe keep a calculator on hand as well. Or better yet, make your command center your phone charge station so you don’t need to go searching around the house to figure out where you last plugged it in. Speaking of not wanting to go searching around, your command center is the perfect spot for a key rack. You won’t believe how much time it saves to have everything you need in one convenient spot. With your new command center, getting ready to leave the house will feel less like a scavenger hunt and more like a breeze!
