Command Center

I'm a big weirdo. There is nothing I get more excited about that having something that's organized. I think that in order to have a functional and organized house, you need to have some sort of command center. Since I can remember, I've drooled over these Pottery Barn's products..

Whoever started this command center craze is a genius. I wanted one immediately. Since Pottery Barn is $$$$$$$ and I was a poor college student, I found copy cats from Bed Bath and Beyond. I asked for them for Christmas two years ago (you know, always planning for the future), and saved them for when we'd be married. Here they are now..

Not bad for being generic right? I want to say they were $30 a piece, PB would be probably 2-3 times that much. I'm sure the PB brand is a little nicer, but these do the job just fine. Although, I'm pretty sure Bed Bath and Beyond no longer carries these. The functions are self explanatory. We have a calendar that's obviously for event planning purposes with labeled slots for relevant items.

A slot for keys and small items hangs below. We used the small slots for various business cards we've acquired, which has actually been quite handy already. The slots for gift cards, coupons, and keys have obvious functions too.

We are still defining the purpose of the inbox slots. Andy and I each have one. Right now we just put in everything that lands on the countertop that we don't know what to do with yet. I'm sure this will become more efficient with time.

I've discovered that the bulletin board is not large enough for our needs. I have a second board in another area off the kitchen that is a work in progress, so that should help reduce the clutter. The slots on the side are again for everyday items we might need while using this space.

Is this space complete? No. We really need a desk to sit underneath this. It makes more sense to me that the mail, bills, and various papers that enter our home land here first before being distributed to their proper spots. Since we know our office isn't functional, there is no need to send anything in there that won't be getting filed. Plus, this will probably be where we'll write checks, pay bills, sign papers, mail letters, etc. I'd love to move over the change jar, pen/pencil holder, and random note pads over to a desk. It'd also be great to store envelopes, stamps, and random stationary here and eliminate the need to go to the office at all for this stuff. Plus, we need a designated area for cell phone and laptop chargers.

I live off my Google calendar, but I'm a sucker for a good planner. Since my calendar only stores my events, it would be nice to have a central planner that both of us can physically right down our schedules. Since the hanging calendar is only one month, a 12 month planner would work better. I would keep it here on the desk.

Basically I want this station to be a go-to place for information and everyday products. We have the space, so why not use it? Now, it's only a matter of finding the right desk and setting the rest up. I'm loving where it's going though!