Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Command Center

A project that has been on my list for a while has been making over our kitchen desk area into a more usable space.  Looking for ideas online, I see that one name for the type of area I want is a "Command Center" which I like because it makes it sound exciting and not just like a place for school papers and calendars.  I can say things like "meet me at the Command Center, stat!" and "The Command Center compels you to fill out this form by Tuesday."

Here is a jealousy-inducing photo of one I used as inspiration, and also a great blog:
Command Center

I don't have a real mud room or good entry space that isn't crammed full of coats so I am setting it up with a desk instead of a bench.  Mostly I need a place to keep track of the kids' school and daycare paperwork, but I also want Eric and I to each have our own spot for that odd paperwork that you need to keep for a while but not permanently.  Right now it kind of floats from the fridge to the desk to the entryway and I like consistency.  So I did some online shopping at The Container Store (on my 'wish list' of stores I wish would come to Grand Rapids, along with Ikea and Trader Joe's...someday I may compose a whole love post about Ikea, but also a rant about their terrible online store). I really recommend their folders for heavy use, they seem sturdier and just a little nicer than your standard issue ones.  Target provided a cheap bulletin board.  Eric had wonderful plans to build a cord organizer/charging station to mount on the wall, but I was concerned it would take away focus from the Lego Storage Project (he has now drawn up starting plans for!) so we compromised, by which I mean I bought one from Overstock.com.

I am not a crafty person but my plan was to cover the bulletin board with some cool looking fabric I found on eBay.  I even bought spray adhesive and batting.  That is about as crafty as I get, folks.  I debated also covering it with ribbon like I have seen on some other people's, but  I liked the fabric pattern too much to criss-cross over it with ribbon, and it seemed like work.  Eric suggested sewing pockets into it but I don't have a sewing machine, and although I could get access to one as my mom is a terrific sewer, it was just another added step that I wasn't sure I wanted.  So using his concept I figured out a way to just put one pocket in the bottom by folding it tight and ironing the creases in.



Here is the 'before' picture I took of the whole area:

 And here is the 'after':


 

It has been set up for a few days now and seems to be working pretty well, but I am sure it will get tweaked a bit as we figure out what works about it and what doesn't.  I thought about adding a calendar but we pretty much rely on Google Calendar to keep track of everything now.  I could write a whole post about my love for Google.  We do have a dry erase board on the fridge also that shows one week at a time - partly for Lucas now that he is starting to read, he can keep track of his homework and events, and partly because I still like to see the whole week laid out in front of me.

Maybe I should take another picture in a month so we can see how it will really look when it is being used!

5 comments:

  1. Nice work! If you feel you need more organization options, think about clipboards (see http://www.desiretoinspire.net/blog/2010/1/10/flickr-finds-clipboards.html). They just scream "command center!"

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  2. Good for you! Sitting at my desk, surrounded by piles...I'm very envious. I had good intentions with several organizers, but it hasn't worked out as well as I'd hoped.

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  3. Ok - so I love the IDEA of a command center...but my problem is that I don't know how to simplify enough to make a "command center." Do I need separate containers for pens and pencils and markers and highlighters or do they all go in one together? Do I need separate files for everyone in my house? Do I need a calendar? A weekly planner? A monthly planner?
    Yes, I over-think these things and as a result, I don't do them OR I over-do them and then quit because they are too tiresome and complicated to maintain.
    What are your suggestions for a basic command center? I went through the link you posted but mostly I just found more products that I would love to over-do my command center with....
    suggestions?

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  4. Amy - start with your process, not products. When I come up with ideas, it is in response to how I personally want to separate/simplify things, not response to containers. Like, "I need to know where these papers are and what is due when" then I work from the desired result and find things that seem to fit with that. The idea is to see how you want your daily life to work and then look for products, not to try to fit your life around containers. The products work for you, not you around them, if that makes sense.

    My advice would be to spend a week or 2 noticing how your current system fails and how it works. If you like to look for paperwork by person, by date, by type, etc. What is your first instinct when you look for something and what do you have trouble with.
    But also, things change...a monthly planner worked for us for a while, then we needed a more detailed week so we switched. Nothing is permanent.

    I like to set up a starter system and then tweak it as I find out what works and what doesn't. It never works perfect the first time...I find myself looking for Lucas' homework, or wondering when I need to turn in Hot Lunch money and think about what would help remind me. Or sometimes I miss something completely (hello preschool valentines fiasco of 2009) and that forces me to make a system.

    Ok - I sound like a total dork now :)

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