Taking the Command

The people who know me really well know that I love to organize, I like to do-it-myself, and I LOVE to make lists. The organization thing really crumbled after having kids. The cupboards no longer stay in order, labels don't face out, kids make cities with boxes and can towers, and somehow the syrup is on the same shelf as the pasta sauces and canned vegies; the DVDs are not only not in alphabetical order but they are also non-existent to the prying hands and slobbery mouths of babies and toddlers. My books are hidden, terribly saddening, and the photo albums are stored away too. Nothing is safe when you have little hands running around at knee to hip height. I can only control what is stored at a certain height. Dishes and the closets... thats about it.

Last year I officially became a stay at home mom and I am really thankful for it. There are so many positives with staying at home but there are some negatives as well. One of those negatives is the lack of daily structure and routine. I have struggled this past year in trying to find the right way to really help me structure my day. I need to know what I'm doing, have a game-plan. I need to SEE it written down, to see myself writing it down. Doing so almost engraves it in my mind and I am less likely to forget. I sort of home-schooled my then three year old last year along with daily vision therapy exercises; that was where my adventure in finding the best structure and plan for my day began.

I first tried a Home Management Binder. I made dividers throughout from scrapbooking paper and made sections for the daily goals, cleaning, meal planning, financial, medical, house. Basically everything in one binder. Which worked really well for the Financial, Medical and Home categories. All of the important receipts, medical papers, important home documents and random things that eventually need to be filed away. But for the house cleaning, meal planning, and daily planning I just wasn't feeling the "have a whole big binder out on the counter all day" kinda groove. It wasn't working.  I printed out a blank weekly planner sheet and stuck it in a clear page protector and put it on the fridge. That sort of worked, the dry erase part is awesome, but it was over on the fridge and my calendar was on a different wall and my daily planner journal was on the counter. Doing circles. All day.

The daily journal worked the best of all of those because essentially I did have everything for the coming months there in one little book. But that was also the problem, it was little, and I'd have to flip through a bunch of pages to find the full month calendar. Not efficient enough for me.

And so I made a Command Center. And I love it. It is almost perfect. Nothing can ever be perfect, there is always room for change and improvement. But so far it is working fabulously!

This was really easy to make! All frames are from the dollar store and I use them as Dry Erase boards; cuts down on my paper list usage! The only thing not dry erase is the calendar! I ordered a large, much larger than I thought, 16 month desk calendar. With kids and stuff there's a lot of prescheduled appointments and events that need to be marked months away. I need to have everything together. I'm not very good at scheduling in my phone, it never works right. I'm not always compatible with todays technology!

The calendar is of course color coded. Each of the family members appointments or events are written in their specific color. By the end of the month, the calendar is very colorful. Color coding really helps me, it is definitive of who has what going on.

In one of the frames is this awesome quote that my Beachbody coach had shared with our group one day and I fell in love with it. It is the perfect affirmation that not only reminds you daily but also in the long term. When I read it everyday, I'm not only setting myself up for a positive day but I am also setting myself up for a positive outlook towards the future.

This frame is strictly for me! This frame is not meant for chores or to do lists or family reminders. "Love Thy Self" is there for me, for my reminders to focus on myself. Whether it be a workout I want to get done, nutritional or medical advice for myself, a personal affirmation for the day, or a reminder on something personal that I am focusing on, this is where that goes!

I made a "High Priority List" because honestly there are so many TO-DO's everyday. I write my TOP 3 to dos for the day here. They don't have to be chores, but for me they usually are. Some days it could be "finish crochet project," "update blog," or any other non chore related thing I need to get done that day. Rate your to-do list from most important to least important and your first 3 go here!

This is where I write daily and weekly reminders such as calls to make, appointments coming up that week, gift purchases that need to be made. I like it all right there!

And then we have the Cleaning list! Because, frankly, I suck at keeping track at what I have and have not cleaned! How I made this chart was I kind of just tried to think of what I chores I do daily, weekly and monthly and what chores I would like or feel I should be doing daily, monthly or weekly.

The good thing about this since I made this on my computer is that if its not working out for me I can go back and edit and reprint whatever additions or removals are needed. It took a little bit of thought but I did it and I love it! And honestly I do not do all the daily stuff and I don't think I have once checked off everything in any column but oh well. Stuff is getting done, I can see its getting done and that's all that matters.


I put this up about a month ago now and it's STILL working for me so I think I have finally found a command center that works for me! I use it everyday, in the mornings I stand in front of it with my hot, fresh cup of coffee  while planning and reviewing the day!

Hope this inspires other Mommas out there to find their way to take command!!