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!

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