{Organization} Family Command Center

Life is busy.  Between kids’ events, work schedules, activities, parties, and the rest of the social calendar, it can sometimes be hard to keep everything straight.  Today I’m sharing our Family Command Center, which has really helped us organize our schedules and keep our family running smoothly.

The Command Center is located in the hallway between our laundry room and kitchen.  It’s an area we pass through multiple times throughout the day so it’s perfect as far as convenience.  It’s also an area that doesn’t get a lot of natural light, so bear with me on the photos…

The wall calendar is the Daily System from Pottery Barn.  I tried finding separate pieces to put together this same type of unit, but I really liked the look and versatility of the Daily System so I ultimately decided to purchase it.  I waited until these were on sale and then used a 15% off coupon and was able to get these for a great price.  Right now I have the corkboard, wall pocket, and magnetic dry erase calendar and I’ll probably add more pieces soon in place of the chalkboards.

The small chalkboards are the plain slate kind that you can get at any crafts store.  The larger chalkboard was a magnetic memo board that I painted with chalk paint; I painted all of the borders with Duck Egg Blue chalk paint so they would coordinate.

The small chalkboards are my girls’ list of daily chores.  I’ve recently had them start sweeping their rooms weekly so my youngest added “swiffer” to her list.  A girl after my own heart…

The corkboard holds school menus and announcements and the pockets hold my and Mr. home.made.’s mail until we have a chance to look at it.

And the piece de resistance… the color-coded family calendar.

Yes, you read that correctly.  For all you doubters… try it and see what a difference it makes.  Once everyone gets used to their designated color (it will take a little bit of training), it’s so easy for them to look at the calendar and see what’s happening that week for them.

Now we all know when daddy works, what time practices and games are scheduled, and of course… when there is a holiday or school break.  (Illustrations are optional :))

I fill out this calendar at the beginning of every month and then double check the coming week each Sunday just in case something has changed or was added to our schedule.  Since implementing this, our little party of four is pretty much on the same page every week and heck, we even manage to be on time too!

---

Have you implemented a Family Command Center or something similar and had success with it?  I don’t know what I’d do without mine!

If Family Heirlooms Could Talk…

I recently paid a visit to my childhood home after my father broke the news that he is planning on selling it.  The visit was the first of what will be many trips back and forth, removing treasured items that belonged to my mother and have been sitting there, untouched, for the past nearly thirteen years since her death.

Just typing that sentence makes me miss her so much I can hardly breathe…

I’ll be quite honest and tell you that I’ve hardly set foot in that house since she died.  In the time after her death, it was just too painful.  Every room, every wall was a memory and a painful reminder that she was gone.  I was 23 years old and didn’t want to be reminded that I was motherless, that my mom wouldn’t be at my wedding or see my children be born or get to be a grandmother.

So fast forward thirteen years.

I’m 36 and it still took every ounce of courage I have to walk in that house and gather her things and remember…

And I find, as I look at each heirloom, that I’m suddenly trying to remember more… like the stories she used to tell us about her grandparents, whose well-loved silverware and china was passed on to her.

Didn’t they own a store?  Isn’t that what she told me?

They had two children, but I think they also adopted two who later separated from the family… right?

If only the silverware and the china and the glassware could fill in the rest of the story…

As I was unpacking these items and washing them, ever so carefully, my oldest daughter came up and grabbed a punch glass and admired it, asking “Wow! Was this fancy stuff your mom’s?!”.  After a brief panic (Don’t drop it!), I laughed and said no and began to tell her the story (what I remember) of my great-grandparents.

I imagine that, as I make more trips and bring home more treasures that more stories will be told to my daughters.  I’ll be sure to include all the extra details that they won’t want to know now, but that they will want to know someday, and I’ll be sure to tell them everything I can about my mother so they feel like they knew her.

I’ll remember her.

I’ll miss her.

I’ll tell her story, so that they may someday tell it too.

And I’ll remember to soak up the memories from my own story along the way…