Kitchen Command Center Organization

Well, I made it through the first week back after Christmas holidays!  That transition is always a hard one for me as I try to get back into our regular routines. I’m always a little sad to see Christmas go and, honestly, I still have most of my Christmas decorations up.  Baby steps though, right?

On a positive note, I have been working diligently on the Home Detox Diet this month.  You can follow along with some of my progress over on Instagram and it’s never too late to join in yourself!  I’ve also been working on getting rid of 10 items per day from our basement storage room and have a truckload of items ready to take down to our local thrift store.  That’s the one room left in our home that I still really need to tackle!

Today, I thought that I would show you some of my recent kitchen command center organization updates.  I’ve had this basic set up for a few years now and use it on a daily basis.  If you haven’t heard of the term “kitchen command center” before, it’s basically just a central area in your home {it doesn’t have to be the kitchen!} for you and your family to keep all of your paperwork and schedules.  It really doesn’t have to be anything fancy, but it can make a huge difference in controlling paper clutter and keeping your whole family on track.

What you want your command center to look like and have in it is totally up to you, but. You’ll want to design yours according to the space you choose – it could be a wall, desk, the inside of a cupboard or closet door – and your family’s needs.  Here’s what I have in mine…

File Folders

My file folders are probably the most helpful thing for me to keep all of my papers organized and I actually have two places that they’re stored.  One is in the wall mounted system {it’s from the Martha Stewart collection at Staples but is sadly discontinued} and the other is in the bottom drawer of the desk.  You can always use a portable file system or even mount one to the back of a cupboard door.  There’s always somewhere that it could go!

The kitchen command center should be where all of your paperwork arrives – bills and other mail, school papers, medical papers, etc.  Think of what type of papers you tend to collect and receive, and create a file folder for them.  In the wall unit, I have a file folder for bills to pay, things to do {such as a letter that needs to be mailed or a prescription that needs to be filled}, things to file in our long term filing cabinet, and a personal file for any miscellaneous items.  You can simplify it even more if you like into simply “file” and “to do”.

The bottom drawer in the desk was pretty much filled with items that I never used.  So I tossed them all out {after donating what I could}, and added a wood block so I could place some additional file folders there.  The vertical storage is so much more functional than stacking everything on top of each other especially in a really deep drawer like this.

There wasn’t quite enough room to use the label tabs on the file folders so I just used my label maker to print out some labels for the front of the files.

I have a separate file for every member of the family as well as one for coupons/gift cards that aren’t necessarily going to be used for a while.  The family files are more for short-term storage like school papers that need to be returned, medical forms or prescriptions that need to be dealt with, birthday party invites etc.   I also have our address book here and a few extra office supplies.

The most important thing to remember when using a system like this is to have a day of the week that you sort through everything.  Papers can quickly pile up!  I spend about 15 minutes per week going through the folders, completing what needs to be done and filing away those items that I need to keep.

Calendar

 I actually use more of a planner calendar than a typical wall calendar and it fits nicely into our bottom drawer with the file folders.  I like the portability of it and the fact that there’s lots of room to write notes on the other pages.  Use whatever works best for you though.  Some people really do better if the calendar is always right out in the open in front of them. You can color code your appointments but family member if you would like, but I try to keep things as simple as possible.  I’ll use a little washi tape to dress things up a but for important events or vacations, but otherwise it’s pretty basic {and unfortunately a lot more filled up now than when this photo was taken!}

By putting the additional file folders in the drawer, I was able to get rid of the bulky drawer unit that I was previously using {you can see it here} and create a lot more work space on the desk.  Less clutter on the desk also means, easier cleaning!

Basic Office Supplies

Keep your basic office supplies on hand that you use on a regular basis – pens, pencils, erasers, paper clips, stamps, elastic bands, tape, or whatever else you use.  Use drawer dividers, jars, or small bins and containers to keep everything separated with a specific home.

So there you go – my organization hub of the home!  Having some kind of command center in your home can truly make a big difference in your paper organization and planning.  You may need to tweak things every now and then as your family needs change, but get into the habit {and train your family!} now.  It really is worth it!

For more organization ideas, check out these posts…

Free Organization Printables

The 2017 Household Organization Diet

How to Organize Bills