Green Child Magazine Back-to-School 2014 | Page 20
Taking Charge of the Chaos
Creating a Family Command Center
• Wall calendar – We use a personalized
calendar printed with family photos I make
each year for Christmas gifts. Freebie wall
calendars work easily too, or look online for
printable calendar pages customized to suit
your tastes. A white board or chalkboard
can be used to create a perpetual calendar
that can be updated with each new month.
• Incoming mail – A basket works well for
incoming mail, or you can hang in-boxes or
pocket bins on the wall to collect mail. Consider size carefully – you want something
big enough to hold a day or two of mail but
not much more to avoid it piling up.
• Bills to pay – A bin pocket on the wall works
well, or consider using a tickler file in a
pretty file box to place bills to be paid. We
have a DIY three-tiered board with document pockets and bills are placed in the top
pocket for easy access. Whichever method
you choose, make sure the bills are placed
somewhere together consistently and where
they won’t be forgotten.
• School papers – These typically need to be
dealt with in different ways: permission
slips, calendars and informational fliers for
reference, homework that needs to be done
and returned, finished work that comes
home from school. For us, the best way to
organize this was a pretty file basket on the
counter with file folders for schoolwork
brought home, information for reference,
and action items. The folders are colorcoded by child. If you prefer a wall-mounted
solution, consider hanging action items on
a message board and using wall pockets for
each child’s homework.
20
• Shopping lists, menus, notes and messages
– A white board or chalkboard is great for
scribbling notes, but also make sure to have
notepads handy for those grocery lists you
need to take with you to the store or mess ages you need to pass along. A corkboard
or magnetic strip can be handy for organizing those little pieces of paper that might
otherwise get lost in the shuffle.
• A box or cup for pens, pencils, stamps, envelopes and other frequently used office supplies is handy so you don’t have to search for
them when you’re in a hurry.
#4 Use it!
Once you’ve got your system, bring together
all those important pieces of information and
stock your command center.
• Label those folders and bins so everyone
knows where things belong.
• Fill in the calendar, and hang the meal plan.
• Personalize it with your favorite quotes or
family photos.
Make it a point to use your new command center every day, and direct other family members
to it when they come to you looking for something organized there. If something isn’t working, don’t abandon the whole system. Continually look for ways to improve your command
center and tweak it to fit the way your family
works. The best command centers are those that
are functional, organized and personalized so
they reflect your family’s activities and lifestyle.