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15 Minute Command Center

August 11, 2016 by Wifeeclectic 18 Comments

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MyGo2Pen  #CollectiveBias
Between homework, permission slips and papers for piano lessons and soccer, my kitchen counter usually looks my kids dropped a paper bomb on it every day after school. I didn’t want to go through another school year with the paper clutter following me around, so I came up with this quick, easy and cute command center.
When started looking around at command centers, I noticed that quite a few of them wouldn’t work for us and I came up with a list of must haves for our command center.
  • A large calendar- I wanted my husband and kids to be able to see at a glance what was coming up in the next little while.
  • a white board- I wanted to be able to have a central place where my kids could leave me a note if they needed and vice versa
  • a magnetic cup holder- I HATE having to wander around the house looking for a pen. So I wanted something right in the command center to keep track of them
  • a cork board- I didn’t want to take up my entire whiteboard with papers, so a separate corkboard holds most of the papers
  • a wall pocket- something to hold anything that was too thick or big to be pinned to the corkboard
  • color coded gel pens- I have found the easiest way for me to keep track of schedules is to use a different color pen for each person on the calendar. I love Pilot G2 Gel Pens because they have 15 different colors and I can color code to my hearts content.
  • some element that personalized it- I wanted to know that this was for my family

I found everything I needed in a quick trip to Walmart including the cute tin letter H for our last name. I hung everything with velcro strips and was able to get everything on the wall in just a few minutes. I love the way it turned out and almost everything was right in the office supplies aisle.  The cork came in a pack of four, so if you wanted to have more cork tiles or a cork tile for each child, it would be really easy to do.

I found a basic large paper calendar. The biggest thing I wanted out of a calendar was large blocks for each day, so I would have plenty of space. This one was just perfect.

The plastic file is called a wall pocket and right now holds folders for each kid. While the pocket has a place to screw it into the wall, it also has a spot to use hanging strips on it. I put it up with the hanging strips and it has held up great!

I kind of fell in love with this whiteboard and I love that it is also magnetic so it can hold the cup of  Pilot G2 Gel Pens for the calendar.

I found a cute frame and filled it will fun pictures of our family and bought a light box (kind of like a little marquee) to go just under the command center so we can change out the words to congratulate a child or celebrate a holiday. I added the Back to School with a smiley face and my 7-year-old came along and added the frowny face too.

I bought a couple of packs of Pilot G2 Pens, to color coordinate the calendar. My daughter loves the pens so much she has already stolen my turquoise one. I love these pens because they write so smooth, even when the calendar is up on the wall and not flat on a table. They are America’s #1 selling gel ink brand for a reason! They just came out with G2 Metallics and I can’t wait to grab a package of those for personalizing my planner. Since they have been proven to write longer than any other gel pen, I buy them knowing they are going to last a long time.

Right now you can save .75 cents on any one pack of pens 4-pack or lager, so you can get your command center off on the right foot. Download the coupon here.

Shonda Rhimes has partnered with G2 to give ordinary people who overachieve in their community, a way to extend their reach with the Overachiever’s Grant. The grant will recognize somebody who is going about their life in a selfless way! Learn a little more about the grant in the video below!
How do you stay organized for the school year?

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Filed Under: Organization, Tutorials Tagged With: Arts and Crafts, Back to school, Cleaning and Organization

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Masshole Mommy says

    August 11, 2016 at 3:16 pm

    I could totally use something like this in my life. Things would flow a lot smoother 🙂

    Reply
  2. Sheri @ A Busy Bees Life says

    August 11, 2016 at 7:20 pm

    A really great and creative idea. I love it. We are moving to a new place soon so I am thinking I just might make one of these. I have some ideas already! Glad I came across this today!

    Reply
  3. Author TP Keane says

    August 11, 2016 at 7:35 pm

    What a great command centre and so organised too. I def have to fix up my little corner of the house.

    Reply
  4. tiarastantrums says

    August 11, 2016 at 7:40 pm

    I have little small stations around my house and really, it just is not working. I need a more centralized command center like this

    Reply
  5. Kiwi says

    August 12, 2016 at 7:20 am

    This is the first time I heard about a command center. I love this idea and definitely keep things organized.

    Reply
  6. jillconyers says

    August 12, 2016 at 1:14 pm

    You're so organized. I have a similar set up at the desk in our kitchen. It's the family command center with a calendar, to-do lists, running grocery list, etc.

    Reply
  7. Amanda Love says

    August 12, 2016 at 2:38 pm

    I should set one up soon! I like the concept of having a "command center" for the kids especially since school is about to start. They can gather all the things that they need here for their homeworks and do some reading as well! Perfect!

    Reply
  8. Wendy says

    August 12, 2016 at 2:48 pm

    This is such a great thing to do. One of my goals is to get more organized and I so need to do something like this.

    Reply
  9. Laura - Eye Candy Creative Studio says

    August 12, 2016 at 5:14 pm

    your area looks great! I too agree that you HAVE to have something in place to keep everyone organized or it gets crazy!

    Reply
  10. Kimberly Stroh says

    August 12, 2016 at 6:29 pm

    Every house with kids needs a command center! I love having one spot for everything important too.

    Reply
  11. Lesley Carter says

    August 12, 2016 at 11:17 pm

    I could see using this for myself. I love having a whiteboard at the house and a cork board is perfect for photos and notes.

    Reply
  12. Dawn McAlexander says

    August 13, 2016 at 1:04 am

    I love your ideas. Organization and office supplies are two of my favorite things. I could really use a space like this in my house.

    Reply
  13. Leah @ Everyday Love says

    August 13, 2016 at 1:26 am

    Those are my favorite pens! I just did a family command center and it's been a lifesaver in our house!

    Reply
  14. Quezzo says

    August 13, 2016 at 2:31 am

    This is really cute. We have something like this in my house and it makes staying organized so much easier.

    Reply
  15. CourtneyLynne says

    August 14, 2016 at 9:54 pm

    Omg what a cute command center!! I made one this time last year and it was one of the best things I could of done!

    Reply
  16. Jessica Jones says

    August 15, 2016 at 3:28 pm

    OMG I can't agree more about the irritation of not being able to find a pen!!! Very cute design – thank you for sharing since I can totally see this one working in me house!

    Reply
  17. Julie @ Loggers Wife says

    August 17, 2016 at 4:40 pm

    1- I have a serious obsession with organizing.
    2- I have a serious obsession with command centers even though I can't find a good place in my house for one.
    3- I have a serious obsession with pens.

    You have just fed all my obsessions. 😉 I will printing that coupon off and will be pinning your post for when I finally figure out where my command center can go. (visiting from Welcome Home Wednesday)

    Reply
  18. Nicole B. says

    August 24, 2016 at 9:17 pm

    I keep needing to make one of these for our house. School just started and the papers are already rolling in. Time to get organized! I love your ideas, thank you for sharing them at the #HomeMattersParty

    Reply

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Welcome to Housewife Eclectic

Debra Hawkins - Housewife EclecticHi, I'm Debra. I am a craftaholic photographer married to a web-programming amateur chef with two sassy littles keeping it interesting. It gets crazy around here. Read More…

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