Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Creating a Family Command Center

January is "Get Organized Month," or "GO Month" for those of you who like snazzy titles.


Almost every time I help a mom organize her home, I hear, "Oh man, this is so embarrassing! Your house must be immaculate. It doesn't always look like this, I swear!" Now before we had a child, our house was almost always tidy. Sure, a few things were left on the counter or a bag in the doorway, but it was for the most part lookin' pretty good. Then came Cubscout and the exponential amount of baby gear, little dishes, toys {If I step on one more piece of fake food...}, doctors appointment info, and just stuff that comes along with these adorable little treasures to keep them warm, plump, and cheerful. Now I choke over my stifled snorts and giggles when I think of those moms! I want to call them all and say, "I get it now!!! Totally get it." The truth is, life sometimes just gets in the way. We get lazy. Choose an excuse; there are lots to go around.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and show you what my counter looked like on December 31st and then how I used a few organizing tools to create our new and improved Family Command Center.

















File Box // The Alpha-Omega Collection
Phone Tray // Red Envelope


First things first. I threw away all of the magazines in the pile to the left that I haven't or will not read. I kept my cooking mags and stored them in a magazine holder alongside my other gazillion cooking magazines. We sorted through all the papers, receipts, gift cards, and business cards. Some papers took a fun trip down the shredder, and others were filed in our new file box. Business cards found themselves on the wheel of our little yellow Rolodex. Receipts and gift cards were placed in the file box as well for quick reach as we leave the house. Everything else was put away or tossed.

My company, KC Streamline Concepts, designed and produced the file box. We offer a line of organizing tools and systems at www.alphaomegacollection.com. Stay tuned for my next post about our new website and products!

Filertek Dry-Erase Tabs
I labeled our hanging file folders with Filertek Dry-Erase Folder Tabs. I love that I can reuse these tabs and relabel them as needed without having to bring out my label maker.

Create folders that are specific to your family's daily life. {Clearly stickers are important in our house.} Here are some suggested tabs: To Do, Menu Planning, Take-out Menus, Coupons, Gift Cards, Medical, Dental, Babysitter, To File, and To Pay.

Gift Card Storage
Easily store your gift cards in your hanging file folder by taping an envelope to the inside. This way, they won't shift or slip out of the folder.

Phone Tray


One of our new years resolutions as a couple is to put our phones and iPads down when Brian comes home from work. From the time he walks in the door until the time Cubscout goes to bed, it is family time. Brian bought this sweet valet tray on Red Envelope, which unfortunately is no longer available. Since Cubs is too little to use it yet, we chose to use it as a dedicated place to put our phones during family time.

I hope this motivates you to create a fun and organized Family Command Center. Life is so much better when it's stress-free and simple.








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