Piles of paper all over the counter, pens everywhere except where I was looking, chaos reigned! My house was out of control! With a family of 7, that’s probably no surprise but I finally reached my limit on the chaos. I wanted my counter back! I LOVE to be organized and this was FAR from organized. Family Command Center to the rescue! Looking at a large empty wall in my kitchen I realized I had the perfect place for my own Family Command Center. Let the creating begin!
Getting Started
To get started, I made a list of the things my command center needed. I knew I wanted a calendar, inboxes, message board, pen/pencil storage, a way to help my kids keep track of their chores, and our family motto. From there I searched Pinterest for ideas on how to create just what I wanted.
Laying It All Out
After figuring out what I wanted, I used blue painters tape to lay it out on my wall. This gave me a great visual of where everything would go. Then came the fun part, creating each part of my command center.
Message Board
A quick trip to Home Depot for a marker board and trim and I was ready to get started on my message board. My wonderful husband cut the board to the dimensions I needed. While he cut the board, I painted the trim. Then, using a miter saw, I cut the corners for my trim and glued the trim to the marker board. From there I cut a sheet of metal to the size I wanted and glued it to the marker board.
Calendar
The chalk board calendar from Amazon is perfect for my board. It was super easy to stick onto the board and if I ever get tired of it, I can pull it off. A few colored chalk markers to add some excitement to my calendar and my message board and calendar are ready to go. One note, leaving chalk marker on the calendar for a month can be a little tough to get off with just water. I tried a magic eraser and it worked wonders.
Pen/Pencil Holder
Something to hold my markers, pencils, pens, scratch paper, and extra punch cards was a must. I couldn’t find exactly what I wanted in any store so I decided to build what I wanted instead. It was lots cheaper that way too, $10 of wood, nails, and paint was all it took. I used a miter saw to cut the wood to the dimensions I wanted, painted it, then used small finishing nails and glue to put it all together. The front piece is a leftover piece from the marker board, perfect for little messages!
Inboxes
With papers constantly on our counter, I needed somewhere better than my counter to keep track of it all. Going through the Power of Moms “Mind Organization for Moms” program was a HUGE help in getting my paper pile organized. It was totally worth the money I paid for it. Part of that process was creating an inbox for me. I realized I wasn’t the only one who needs an inbox, my husband and kids do as well. The wall was the perfect place for all our inboxes.
Plastic wall pockets at Walmart (like these on Amazon but Walmart was lots cheaper) were just what I needed. Using Mod Podge and fabric quilting squares, I added a little excitement and color to my plastic wall pockets.
Clipboards
Wood clipboards painted in the main colors of my wall are perfect for the kids chore charts and goal sheets. A little chalkboard spray paint on the metal clips at the top made a fun spot to write their names.
Family Motto
My command center wouldn’t be complete without our family motto at the top to remind us what life is truly all about: Find joy while preparing to meet God. The motto was just a piece of wood I cut, painted, and stapled together in strips. Then I designed my saying in Photoshop, printed it, covered the back of the printed paper with chalk and then traced the outline of the words onto the wood. From there it was easy to just paint the words using the acrylic paint I had used to paint everything else. I LOVE it!! The picture frames on either side were simple wood frames I painted to match the color theme. I then added pictures that remind us of our family motto.
Hanging it on the Wall
Once I had it all created, I wondered how I would hang it all on the wall and not put nail holes or screws everywhere. That’s when I discovered Command Picture Hanging strips, I LOVE them!! They can hold up the weight of my message board, motto, and pen holder without holes and are super easy to remove if I ever want them removed. Plus, I didn’t have to put my husband to work hanging it all for me. Hurray!
I LOVE our new command center! No more chaos!!