Command Center Expansion / Update

I guess, first I should address the number one question I have been receiving...

The #1 Question: Where have I been? 

The Answer: Right here. Living life. Learning lessons. The biggest lesson I learned is that I can not handle more the 2 activities per child. Otherwise the rest of my life S-T-O-P-S!!!! I'm really not sure how all the activities happened. It was kind of a snowball effect where one joined an activity, then, another, and another. Next thing I knew we were spending 6 days a week at their activities and I was accomplishing nothing. Now we have cut back on activities for the kids, and I'm back to blogging.   

I thought the best post to come back with would be an update on one of my most popular posts; my command center!

If you would like to see where I purchased the products above, please check out this post!

Below is the comparison on how things have changed over the past 2 years. To check out my previous update, go here.

Now the general setup still remains the same, but the use has changed a little, and we have added on.

This is how we are using the original parts now.

What each section is used for is broken down below.

Calendar - Work hours, Volunteer hours, Activities going on, What day is day 1-6 of the kids' 6 day rotating schedule for school .... Pretty much anywhere anyone has to be, and it is all color coded.

School/Kids' Boards - What happens for each kid on the 6 day rotating schedule for school, All the information for their activities.

School/Kid's Bins - Any important paperwork for school or activities. everything has its' own folder.

Receipts - All our unfiled  receipts.

Coupons - All our unfiled coupons.

Budget - Holds the notebook for all our outgoing money.

Mail - Has pretty much become the home to magazines I'm not ready to part with yet.

Work Schedule - My husband's work schedule.

Notes - Phone messages, schedule changes, etc.

Tags for Days of the Week - See below........

This brings us to our expanded section of our command center. When I only had one child in school the 6 day rotating schedule for special classes was easy peasy. Now with two children in school I have no idea who has what. Especially when it comes to day 6. Day 6 rotates through the other 5 days plus has a bonus special. Unfortunately with not enough room on the calendar to write all our schedules and 2 specials, we had to cross reference what number each weekday was with what activity they had had on each day. My kids were unable to do this, and for me it was not easily accomplished with a quick glance.

My solution to forgotten library books, and wearing sandals on gym day was this...

Now my kids can easily tell what special class they have each day, and I can make sure they have what they need; without having to cross reference the the calendar to the board. As an added bonus this is the door we leave through each morning, so I can do one final check with out even thinking about it!

For their names and the days of the week, I used my Silhouette machine to cut adhesive vinyl and then I placed it on the door. My Silhouette machine is seriously one of the best purchases I have ever made when it come to making personalized home decor. Here is the newer version of the Silhouette that I have. And these are just some of the projects I have done with my Silhouette, Halloween platter, Scrabble art, wall art, and closet organization.

Then using pic art from Google and the Paint program on my computer I made tags, and printed them on white card stock. I had to make three sets of the special class tags, because of the day 6 rotation there is the possibility of needing three of the same tags at the same time.

After cutting the tags out, I attached them to black card stock using a glue stick. You could use any color card stock you like. I just stuck with the black and white theme from the main section of my command center.

Then I put 3-4 tags in 3 mil laminating pouches, and ran each pouch through my laminator. Another one of my favorite purchases E-V-E-R!!!

I then cut the tags out of the lamination, and attached magnetic tape to the back of each tag.  

Now I adjust the specials every Sunday, and we are good to go for the week. I store the extra tags in the "Tags for Days of the Week" bin on our dry erase board (labeled in one of the pictures above).

As an added bonus I have started hanging the kids spelling words and study guides for the week under their columns. Now we always know where they are and the kids can easily access them when it is time to study.

This is what the entire setup looks like now and it has been working wonderfully for us.

Please comment below if you have any more ideas I could use!

*This post contains affiliate links.

Make-Up Organization

OK, confession time! 

I'm lazy, L-A-Z-Y! 

I hate making my bed just to unmake it every night, so I usually don't make it.

I hate folding laundry and putting it away, so I almost never put laundry away the same day I wash it.

I hate digging through a make-up bag everyday and putting it all away everyday, so I just leave everything out on my bathroom counter.

Unfortunately the last one, about the make-up, made my kids think that they could play with my make-up. This resulted in smashed eye shadows, damaged brushes, and lipstick all over my kids and their clothes. FYI, lip gloss makes really good hair gel.

While cleaning up the disaster zone, I began to think it really wasn't that I didn't want to put my make-up away, it was that I didn't want to dig through my make-up bag and waste time each morning.

So after using a shoe organizer, to organize the tights in my daughter's closet, I got the idea to use it for my make-up.

Luckily for me it was the perfect answer. 

I used 3M Command strips to hang a shoe organizer with clear pockets on the inside of my bathroom closet door. 

Now when I do my make-up I leave the closet door opened, and I have quick and easy access to everything I need. I even have 1 spot left open for dirty brushes that I will need to clean at the end of the week. (If you would like to see how I clean my make-up brushes go here.) Now my bathroom counter remains clear, and I feel less lazy...lol.

The best part is with a lock on the door the kids have no access to my make-up. Sorry kids, no more glittery lip gloss hair gel.

 I'll Be Linking Up At Some Of These Parties!

Organizing My Daughter's Closet

Ever since we moved into this house 2 years ago, the closets have been on my To-Do list. The problem is that something else always comes up. Lately I have been thinking that maybe if my kids' closets were more organized, their rooms would follow suit. I know it's wishful thinking, but it is worth a try!

Right?

I guess to understand what I did I'll have to show you a before and after shot. Then I'll break it down for you.

Her closet is a little strange. It has a window that makes the majority of one wall basically unusable. To begin, I removed everything from her closet, dusted the baseboards, and vacuumed.

The first thing I put back in her closet was the small dresser. It is a dresser I had purchased at a yard sale, and refinished back in 2001 to take to college with me. I am debating painting it white, but I still kind of like it as is.

The first drawer holds her plain headbands, and ponytail bands.
The second drawer holds her Lalaloopsy's clothes.
The third and fourth drawers hold some dress-up accessories.

The bins on the dresser hold her play purses, and wigs.
Above the bins, hang her dance outfits, and belts.
The gap in the middle is where I hang her outfits that we pick out ahead of time, to wear to school each week.

Next to the dresser hangs all of her dress-up costumes. They are on a closet doubler rod (Kind of like this one*, but I got mine at Target and it hangs on fabric straps.) I keep her dress-up shoes on the floor under the costumes.

 Along the back wall (on another closet doubler rod) I hung all of her skirts. I also added a shelf for her shoes. Pictured are her summer shoes, and shoes that are too big for her right now. The majority of her current shoes stay in our coat closet.

 To maximize the useable space in her closet, I added a fabric shelf to the back corner of her closet. It holds things like swimsuits, hats, winter accessories, etc. It is normally hidden by her dresses and shirts, but I removed some for the following picture.

 Along the top shelves of her closet I store clothing that I purchase for her that is still too big. The bins are labeled by size and season.

The pink bag in the back corner, holds stuffed animals. The black bin holds extra backpacks and totes.

Under the window I hung key hooks to hold her jewelry.

 Behind the door I hung three memo boards that I had in my college apartment. They hold her hair barrettes.  I also made a holder out of two ribbons, to hold her headbands with accessories on them. Watch for instructions on how to make your own in a future post!

And because I wanted to make sure I did not waste any space in her closet...
I hung a shoe organizer on the back of her door using 3M Command Strips, to hold her tights.

I bet your asking yourself why I didn't just hang the shoe organizer over the door as it was intended to be hung. Well, I really hate it when the brackets that go over the top of the door, rub the paint on the door frame, so I decided I just wanted to avoid it.

All of the pink and black bins/bags are from Target.
The closet doubler rods are from Target.
The key hooks are from Target.
The shoe shelf is from Target.
The clear shoe organizer is from Wal-Mart.

So far the things I like best are not having to constantly untangle her necklaces, and being able to see all her tights, and hair accessories. It might not seem like much but it makes picking out outfits for the week so much easier.

*Affiliate Links.

 I'll Be Linking Up At These Parties!

Command Center Update

I am still amazed by the response my Time To Get Organized post has received. I get more comments and emails about how we like our command center than anything else on my entire blog. We have been using our command center for 6 months now and I thought an update was due.

Here is a side by side comparison after the 6 months of use.

 I erased the calendar because I didn't want to post our day to day schedule. If sections of this photo look a little blurry, it is because I blurred out some of the other personal information.

As you can see, overall the command center has stayed pretty much the same. I have added a bunch of different colors of dry erase markers. The other thing I added was a second magnetic basket.

Now the breakdown of how we use it.

On the Monthly Calendar, I try to keep each activity a specific color, so it is easy to see what is happening each day at a quick glance. I still keep a schedule book for the entire year, but the Monthly Calendar lets everyone in my house know where everyone is or needs to be.

The Kids' Boards are used to keep their drop off and pick-up times for schools and activities straight, and what days they have gym, music, art, etc.

The Kids' Bins hold their school and activity related papers.

The Receipts, Coupons, and Mail Bins are just there to keeps stuff off my counter until I get around to filing it.

The Budget Bin holds our budget notebook that we enter all our purchases into.

The plain white board holds the school/work schedules, appointment cards, dry erase markers, and

all my daughter's Box Tops, soda can tabs, and Labels for Education.

This command center has helped so much in keeping the kids' school/activity schedules straight, and with our counter clutter. I love not having to search through a stack of papers on the counter anymore just to find a coupon I think I remember seeing.

If you would like printables of the the sayings I used in my command center you can go here.

If you would like to make you own word art printables in Picmonkey check out this tutorial.

I'll Be Linking Up At Some Of  These Parties!

13 Ways To Make Getting Out The Door Easier

I am always looking for the most efficient way to do something. Getting my 2 young kids out the door was a challenge me. They just don't share my same sense of urgency when it comes to getting to places on time. 

As my kids get older I know some of these things will be unnecessary, but for my 3 and 5 year-olds this works perfectly. It keeps them involved, gives them some responsibility and accountability, but limits the number of things that can suck the time out of our mornings.

1. Check the weather. Don't just assume you know the temperature, you don't want to have to change outfits, find a jacket, search for rain boots or an umbrella just because you didn't take 2 minutes to check the weather the night before. Plus, you may have to adjust travel times due to snow or ice.

2. Get clothes ready the night before. This also includes any uniforms or clothing for any extra activities (swimming, dance, etc.).

My kids help choose what they are going to wear the night before. This way the next morning they can just get themselves dressed without any argument about what they are wearing. They have learned that once the morning rolls around, you don't get to change your mind about what you are wearing.

3. Make snacks and lunches the night before. This includes beverages and any on-the-go snacks your family may need for after-school activities.

4. Check homework the night before. You don't want your child to forgo breakfast because they didn't do their homework, plus it will show them you care.

5. Pack bags (backpacks, purses, diaper bags, etc.) the night before. This includes any bags for extra activities, and any entertainment for siblings.

 

6. Choose and make/prep breakfast the night before. This can mean premaking pancake batter so you just have to cook it, making sure there is enough of something before you make promises to your kids, or as simple as setting out dishes for breakfast.

7. Keep an extra set of oral care items downstairs. This limits distractions for my kids. I can't tell you the number of times I send my kids upstairs to do something and they get distracted and start playing with something.

8. Keep an extra set of hair care items downstairs. Even though I choose a hair accessory for my daughter when I pick out her clothes the night before, sometimes they go missing or get broken in the morning. My son really enjoys breaking my daughter's headbands for some reason, so keeping some plain clips and headbands near by always comes in handy. Plus I usually have to comb my son's hair as he is walking out the door or he turns it into a mess.

9. Keep a laundry basket downstairs. I don't let my kids get dressed until after they eat and brush their teeth, just in case they make a mess. There is no point in doing something twice. This usually means they get dressed downstairs, so we keep an extra laundry basket downstairs to coral their dirty clothes. This also helps with activities, because as I am cleaning up dinner my daughter can get her dance outfit on and put her dirty clothes in the laundry basket.

10. Keep coats and backpacks at a kid friendly level.

11. Put a sticker that is cut in half in your toddler's shoes. This way they can put their shoes on the correct foot by themselves.

12. Create a spot for out the door items (keys, sunglasses, wallet, etc.). 

13. Don't forget to do  the applicable items for yourself too. Mornings will not be calm for anyone if mom and dad are running around and frantically looking for things.


Are there any things that you do that help getting out of the house easier?

Linking Up With:
Little Inspiration

Organizing Homelife

  A Bowl Full of Lemons
Someday Crafts 
Family Home & Life
Crystal & Co.  
House of Hepworths  
Confessions of an ADD Housewife
Janes Adventures In Dinner 

Getting Our Coat Closet Ready for School

This summer we have been getting ready for school in so many ways. We've been preparing lunches, trying new products, and getting our schedule organized. We also organized our coat closet to help us get out the door a little faster.

My motto: "The more the kids can do for themselves, the less I have to do."

 I used my Silhouette to cut vinyl and label the shelves and bins. The kids each have their own shoe shelf and accessory bin. Currently their bins have summer hats in them, but soon enough their fall and winter hats and gloves will be in them.

There is a place for each of them to hang their sunglasses and backpacks, and place for their DS cases (not that they have anything to do with school), and activity bags (dance & karate).

Some of the other items I keep in reach for my husband and myself are; my camera bag, emergency snacks, my purse, my coupon binder, umbrellas, hats/scarves, and extra totes.

I also placed command hooks* on the inside of the door so we can hang up our coats before I get to hanging them up on the hangers. Otherwise the coats tend to end up on the floor.

Having things at my kids' height makes getting out the door so much easier. It also makes them responsible for putting their things away.

This silly closet is really serving as a learning opportunity for my kids.
The simple task of putting things where they belong in the closet is spilling over into other areas of the house. They are getting use to the idea that if they don't put something where it belongs the next time they go to look for it, it won't be there. I have also used this as an opportunity to teach them to retrace their steps to find items on their own.

It is a beautiful thing when a life skills opportunity comes out of something so simple.

What are somethings that you do to help your kids become more self-sufficient?

*Affiliate Link

Linking Up With:
House Of Hepworths
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Confessions of an ADD Housewife
Little Inspiration

Organizing Homelife

A Bowl Full of Lemons
Someday Crafts 
Crystal & Co.  

Creating a Home for Your Keys...and Everything Else In Your Pockets

How much time do you waste looking for your keys, wallet, or sunglasses, etc?

I can tell you how much time I do. 

None.

My husband would be all ready to walk out the door and then not be able to remember where he left his wallet or keys. It began to drive me crazy. Thankfully there was a simple solution to this problem.

A place for everything and everything in its place.

In the small cabinet next to our refrigerator, I used small wire 3M Command hooks* to create a place for our keys. I then used my Silhouette to cut vinyl to label the hooks.

There is a hook for my husband and myself, one for an extra house key, one for my husbands work keys, and one for each of the extra sets of our car keys.

There is also a shelf in this cabinet where we keep our sunglasses and a basket for my husband to empty his pockets into when he gets home. Not only has this made a place for him to always put his things, but it also has kept a lot of change and chapstick out of my dryer.

This isn't an overnight solution to missing keys. It does take a little time to develop the habit of putting them there.

*Affiliate Link

Linking Up With:
House Of Hepworths
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Confessions of an ADD Housewife
Little Inspiration

Organizing Homelife
A Bowl Full of Lemons

Coupon Organization

On Monday I mentioned that I like stocking up on back to school supplies for decorating my home. Binders are one of the things I like to pick up during back to school season. I use binders for making recipe books, organizing instruction manuals, tracking our budget, and so much more.

One binder I use every week without fail is my coupon binder.

 

The binder I found that works best for coupons is a Five Star binder. The reason I like it so much is because it zips closed, has a shoulder strap and a handle, and extra pockets. 

I use the extra pockets to hold current rebates, large coupons (like Bed Bath & Beyond / large mailers from Csoco), or coupon inserts I haven't had a chance to cut the coupons out of yet. I also carry a pair of scissors and a pen.

I created a directory for my binder in word, printed it out on cardstock and placed it in a page protector*. There is really no right or wrong way to do this. You could break it down by isle if you shop at one store regularly, or just random categories like I did. I chose to use categories because I use my coupons at multiple stores every week.

I then used my label maker* to create labels* for each of the tabs of my tabbed page dividers*. When I placed the page dividers in the binder the tabs where not visible, because tabs where equal with the page protectors. To remedy this, I placed the page dividers in page protectors and cut a small slit in the page protector for each tab. The slit was just large enough for the tab. I did not cut the entire length of the page protector.

I organize the coupons in baseball card protectors*. Sometimes I have to fold a coupon to get it to fit into a spot. I just try not to fold the barcode when I fold it.

To avoid having to constantly open the binder and search for coupon as I walk through the store, I pull coupons I plan on using when I look at the sale flyers and make my list. I place the coupons I pull in a tiny coupon book* I keep in my purse that is labeled by store. I do take the binder with me into the store when I go in. Just in case I find an unadvertised special, and need a coupon I didn't pull. 

 Some of the websites I use to get printable coupons from:

coupons.com

 redplum.com

smartsource.com

target.com

Plus you can always check a manufacture's website for current coupons and rebates.

Some of the websites I use for coupon tips, deals, and match ups between store and manufacture coupons:

thekrazycouponlady.com

totallytarget.com

kouponkaren.com

hip2save.com

shesaved.com

forthemommas.com

Linking Up With:
Organizing Homelife
Tip Junkie
House Of Hepworths
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Confessions of an ADD Housewife
The Prudent Pantry

*affiliate link