If you are new to 52 Weeks of Organizing, catch up here!
Hi all! Hope you have been enjoying your week. Did you get an area organized this week?
Here are some great quotes from two of last week’s participants:
It’s amazing how making one small change can make you feel like you’re actually making progress, even though there’s chaos surrounding this drawer, when I open it I know getting my act together is possible! ~ @ Birch in the Breeze
We are all excited to have the legos much more manageable! The new rule for getting more legos…. Does it fit in your drawer? We all know the boundaries, and this should be easy to maintain. ~ @ Gabe’s babes
Yay to that!
So today’s topic was inspired by another one of our participants last week. Jenn from Clean & Scentsible organized an awesome Command Center in her kitchen. I’ve just got to share a few of her pictures:
That’s just awesome!
I can’t stress enough how important a command center is to have in your home. It is a central location in your home or a “hub” if you will where you corral very important papers, your family calendar (you do have a family calendar don’t you?), organize mail and bills, etc… It doesn’t have to be expensive…I love that Jenn made her mail organizer, calendar and message board herself saving a ton of cash I’m sure. Very creative! The tutorial she used for the mail organizer is just excellent by the way.
I don’t really have any nooks or crannies in my kitchen so my command center is my fridge. I’ve got both my calendar and Fridgefile located there and I would be absolutely lost with both of these things. Nothing fancy at all just totally practical and functional and that is what is most important of all.
I don’t want to re-invent the wheel here as I’ve blogged before about creating a command center so if you are interested in more ideas please visit my post on Command Center Ideas.
Alternatively many woman find keeping a household notebook or family binder helpful for keeping things running smoothly. I don’t use one myself as I’m a visual girl so I need to have everything out and in front of me in order to remember what I’m doing and where I’m going 🙂
Questions to Ponder:
- Do you currently have an area in your home for a command center?
- Have you had any luck implementing any of the tips from my book, Clutter Rehab?
- Have you been able to maintain the spaces you have already organized?
Please feel free to share your organizing journey and encourage one another in the comments. You are also invited to link up to the linky below with any posts related to your 52 weeks of organizing participation or to any post of an organizing nature that you feel will inspire and encourage others in their quest to get organized. Please remember to link back to here though so we can reach out to as many people as possible in need of some inspiration.
One other thing to consider: by including your link below you, you are giving me permission to use parts of your post including pictures as a spotlight in future 52 Weeks of Organizing posts. Proper credit and links will of course be provided. If you are not okay with this please do not link up. Thanks!
Jenn says
Thanks so much for the feature! I really do get so much inspiration from your site – so much organizing awesomeness in one place! Thank-you for all you do! 🙂
Damsel says
We are preparing to move overseas in a few weeks, and my house is a WRECK. It’s driving me crazy!!! But one thing I’ve never had in this house is a command center like this. You can bet there will be one in our new house in Italy!
Thanks so much for the organizing tips – I’m loving the 52 weeks!
Linda Stoll says
I love the idea of a command center! No more wasted energy as we frantically paw through drawers and piles and closets looking for the tools that we need to function efficiently. No more frantic (read : EXPENSIVE!) trips to the store to pick up something that could easily have been in stock at home (envelopes, stamps, packing tape, gear for school projects, or supplies for simple home improvement tasks.)
We don’t need alot of stuff. We just need the right stuff! In a place that’s accessible!
Marsha Seiberling says
I just found you by chance. I really need some inspiration to get myself organized. Is it too late to start posting to my blog?
It’s really sad because we just bought our own home early March and already I’m back in my old habit of piling things here and there.
We moved from 3 rooms in a basement to a 3 bedroom house. In other words, we went from little room and little storage to plenty of room and plenty of storage areas. I’m not doing well!
Emma Jardine says
When we went from a four roomed flat to a seven roomed, two-storey house, I suddenly found my paper becoming chaotic. I realised that it was because all the bits that I needed to do my paper (stapler, filing system, shredder and recycling bin) were all too far away from each other in this new place, it had all got separated. Now, I have everything I need in one corner of my dining room, it’s much easier to corral.
Gabe says
Thanks for quoting me and the link! The legos have stayed organized so far, and I noticed another benefit— I can easily identify WHO left the mess out! YAY!!!!
I’ve never had a command center. I need one, but its something I’ve just never bothered to do. Moving every 2-3 years makes it hard to set things up sometimes. I never know what sort of area we will have. I feel like I spend all of my time trying to settle in, or get ready to move. My goal with this move is to be organized enough that we can settle in quickly. Maybe I’ll even be able to fine tune things this time before its time to pack up again?
Enjoy Birth says
We have a command center – though it is in 2 spots in the kitchen, but it works well for us.
I have read your book and enjoyed it. I am putting things into action from it. 🙂
I have been able to maintain most of the changes I have made. That table keeps getting messy, but it is just something I need to tackle every day.
Sinea Pies says
You are so right. Organizing even one small piece of our big worlds can make life seem better.
Mammadar says
Do you respond to emails? I sent you one a while back and never recieved a reply.
Thanks
Laura says
Hi Mammadar, I’m sorry your email hasn’t been answered. I’m so swamped and unfortunately email is the first thing to be neglected. I try hard but I only have so much time I can dedicate to computer work without neglecting my family. I hope you understand.
Forgetfulone says
I have been organizing. I don’t think I have 23 things done yet, but I’ve gotten quite a bit done, and I’m actually going to post my results of my most recent closet reorganization on the next 52 weeks post. I uncluttered my makeup drawer, and I’m about to post that. I’m doing pretty well keeping things organized, but my family… not so much. I’m especially having a hard time keeping our pots and pans in a decent state. Any suggestions?
Laura says
I keep mine in the drawer under the stove.
Deneice says
I have started a command center! We now have a calendar, 4 sturdy coat hooks, a mail holder, a little square mesh thingy I hung to hold sharpies, a key hook and a bench (with storage inside!) I am so excited! I found the two file mail holder at a thrift shop for a couple of bucks, too! The bench was on clearance so it was fairly reasonable, too. The little pencil doo-hickey I found at the dollar store. The most expensive part was the coat hooks. I found it at H.D. for about $25. (It was less expensive than making one.)
So….now I am just hunting for some bins that will fit under the bottom of the bench. The bins need to be kinda narrow (not so tall.)
Anyway…..THANKS for the super idea! I appreciate “stealing” your plans!
Miranda says
I have tried to set up a command station on the counter where we dump our stuff when we come in and it just doesn’t seem to be working due to space. It’s a counter in my kitchen next to my fridge that hs next to no wall space to hang a calendar. I’m considering using the front room which we always designated as an ‘office’ though we never really use it for that. I’m just worried that we won’t use it since it’s not where we come in at. Suggestesions?
Michele says
I know your post is really old, but I wanted to comment on the command center you have on a counter space next to your fridge. My sister and my mother both have these set-ups in their homes. My mother has hung her calendar on the side of the kitchen cabinet that is above the drop-zone countertop; and my sister has her calendar on a magnet on the side of her fridge that is right next to their drop-zone countertop. I bought a spice rack that is a white metal (really pretty design) that has 2 pocket shelves and 4 key hooks on it — I hung this on the wall beside the side door where we come and go. The top pocket is where I put my outgoing mail, the bottom is where I put my dog’s collar, and the hooks are where we hang our keys. Hope this gives you some ideas.
Sylvia says
I just entered! We have 9 kids! Without being organized, I can’t function!