MyBellaBug : Office Organization: Command Center

Well there is a lot of high fiving going on over here...finally got the command center organized!! There were a quite a few nights sifting through paper and scratching our heads trying to figure out what would work best for us. When I say we have gone through several "phases" of organizing our office I am not kidding...even moved rooms to try and get better organized.

One of the main problems for us is PAPER...seriously, where do you put it all!! Please tell me I am not the only one with this problem????? So the first step was to tackle this problem at the door. A few months ago, maybe longer than that, we moved our shredder into the kitchen and made it a habit that as soon as mail comes in we sort it into shred or keep. The shred mail would immediately go into the shredder, but the keep mail just got stuffed into various bins. So after several failed attempts at trying to organize the paper, we started noticing what our "weak" spots were and started brainstorming solutions.

We started noticing a trend in what type of papers were staying in the "keep" pile.

Bills
Coupons
Bank Statements
Charity/Donation paperwork
Magazines

By looking at the list, we saw that we could eliminate a good portion of the paper by switching as many bills to electronic/paperless billing. Then I designated areas for our magazine piles. I put a magazine basket near my desk and then my husband's went into magazine file boxes at his desk. Next up were the coupons....maybe it is just me, but I get Bed Bath & Beyond coupons like two times a week. So I labeled two folders: coupons and BBB coupons. I also labeled a folder for restaurant menus, which cleared a spot in a kitchen drawer.

As for the other paperwork and bank statements, I made folders for the file boxes that we have on the shelves at the desk. That is a whole other organizing project that is still in the works!!! So back to the command center. A few weeks ago, I made a weekly calendar whose main function is for my husband's photography business, Kennedy Artworks. My hubbie hung the calendar over the dresser/command center and has been using it ever since!!

For his writing utensils, aka the dry erase markers, I stowed them in a mason jar, but not before I spray painted it :)

Then I got the wire basket for a steal and knew the perfect place for it. I used some of my scrapbooking supplies to make labels for each basket. The "Out" box is for any outgoing mail, the "K|A" is for my husband's business, and the "Action Item" basket is for items that we are currently working on and need our attention.

As for the drawers, I decided to make the top one a craft drawer for the girls. I got lazy going upstairs to get their craft supplies every time they wanted to draw when I was working in the kitchen or office as well as got extra lazy when having to walk back up to put the things away...don't judge me please!! They still have some of their crafts upstairs, but I moved some down here since we do split a lot of our time between up and downstairs during the day.

The other two drawers hold miscellaneous photography items and some binders.

There is a small space between the dresser and the wall, and my husband had his reflector in that spot. I still kept it there, but decided to put a 3M hook on the side of the dresser so we could get it off the floor.

It has only been a week since this area was completed, but the coupon folders and the craft drawer are the BEST!!! And because it wouldn't be complete without a good ole' before and after!!