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.