4/16/18

Do you have a command center?

Lately I have been taking a hard look at the "problem" areas and systems in our home -

the major laundry back up that happens on weekends
the sock problem (need I explain?)
the breakfast crisis I face regularly because one of my kids loathes oatmeal

At the top of this list was the depressing level of paper clutter that lived on my kitchen counter. For a while, I embraced it. I declared that the counter-corner would be my command center and all school papers, bills, invitations, etc. could live there in a tidy pile. Why fight it?

But stuff attracts more stuff, so the pile would grow with kids' art, lists, pens, iPhone earbuds, cash, receipts, toys. Every day I would make a plan to tame the pile, but I could never completely eradicate it because the business side of household life is ongoing. I realize this now.

 

So after a year of living in madness, I came up with a solution. I moved it. I moved my command center. So simple. I found an unused corner in our home and set up an old, bedside table to serve as a desk. I bought a $9 bulletin board. Boom. Problem solved.

Last night at dinner I noticed how much lovelier the kitchen was because my "office" wasn't staring me in the face reminding me of the appointments I haven't made and the school projects we are behind on.

As much as moving the command center out of the kitchen has helped me, so has the bulletin board. Getting my important things vertical where I can SEE them has been a game changer. I feel less stressed and I'm taking action sooner rather than letting things sit there undone in a pile.

Do you have a command center?
Do you have any nagging problem areas in your home that need to be addressed?

Sometimes the solutions (or partial solutions) are simpler than we think!


8 comments:

  1. Well done! I try to think of my household as a business sometimes and apply the same solutions. My husband and I have literal meetings with minutes occasionally to deal with stuff that adults must deal with. My desk is currently a sewing space, so my real "desk" is a big drawer in the dining room. That plus my lists on the side of the fridge are my command center. I have an inbox and an outbox and once a week I go through the inbox down to the bottom - paying bills, signing up for events, putting soccer games on the calendar, etc. etc. The outbox is for things that need to go to church, to school, returns back to stores, items to return to people, etc. Of course if I need to deal with something before inbox day, I do, but at least I know that everything will get taken care of on a weekly basis (used to have to pay late fees on bills - not anymore!).

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  2. Yes! I have this exact issue. Right now there is a seashell on my pile?!?! I have a drawer in the dining room for longer term things and to store my laptop (in theory) but I need to look around for a vertical spot for my pile...

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  3. I had a child’s TOOTH sitting next to my pile of random junk.. why!!??

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  4. Have you tried baked oatmeal? It was a game changer at my house. I'd prep it while dinner cooked, put in the refrig and then bake in the morning.
    SJ in Vancouver BC

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  5. Why don't you wash socks in a lingerie bag? I only have one child but I have been doing this since he was in tiny baby socks and I don't think I have every lost one!

    ReplyDelete

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