September has always felt like a new start for me. I’m sure it is connected to the new school year starting - which must be hard wired in me since I haven’t attended school in a long time.
We enter into fall, with cooler weather, and before we know it, the holidays are here. If there is any doubt, go to any store and Halloween decor is everywhere!
I chose Process for September because with new starts and busier schedules, it’s a good time to check in on how you keep track of all the moving parts of your life to be sure it’s working.
There are a few simple things you can do to help keep yourself - and everyone else in your home - on track.
Household Command Centers
Command Centers are great for busy homes to manage household tasks, schedules and to-do lists.
These areas include all the information a family needs to keep track of and can be tailored to suit your particular needs. They are located in a central location like a kitchen wall, desk or side of the refrigerator. It can be anything from a mini-office with a desktop file bin to sort and store mail, to a wall with the family’s schedules and activities.
Command Centers can include a calendar to keep track of events and activities, a shopping list, a to-do list (sometimes one for each family member), a place for mail and papers that need to be acted on, pens, post-its, stamps, envelopes, tape, a mini file system, an emergency phone list, and charging station area or phones and tablets.
If you have children, this area would be where school papers that need to be signed or kept would go. Have your children be part of the process and assign a file to each child for their own papers and lists. Be sure what they need is in their reach.
I use a wall in my kitchen and use a paper calendar for the month, a dry erase board that has a weekly calendar so I can put my schedule and appointments (so my husband knows when he needs to come home to let Lula out) and another dry erase board for shopping lists that has space for food and other items we may need from other places, like Home Depot or Costco. On the counter below are pens and post-it’s to leave notes and reminders.
Each family’s needs are different and this area is easily customizable to meet any situation. Have fun with it!
We enter into fall, with cooler weather, and before we know it, the holidays are here. If there is any doubt, go to any store and Halloween decor is everywhere!
I chose Process for September because with new starts and busier schedules, it’s a good time to check in on how you keep track of all the moving parts of your life to be sure it’s working.
There are a few simple things you can do to help keep yourself - and everyone else in your home - on track.
Household Command Centers
Command Centers are great for busy homes to manage household tasks, schedules and to-do lists.
These areas include all the information a family needs to keep track of and can be tailored to suit your particular needs. They are located in a central location like a kitchen wall, desk or side of the refrigerator. It can be anything from a mini-office with a desktop file bin to sort and store mail, to a wall with the family’s schedules and activities.
Command Centers can include a calendar to keep track of events and activities, a shopping list, a to-do list (sometimes one for each family member), a place for mail and papers that need to be acted on, pens, post-its, stamps, envelopes, tape, a mini file system, an emergency phone list, and charging station area or phones and tablets.
If you have children, this area would be where school papers that need to be signed or kept would go. Have your children be part of the process and assign a file to each child for their own papers and lists. Be sure what they need is in their reach.
I use a wall in my kitchen and use a paper calendar for the month, a dry erase board that has a weekly calendar so I can put my schedule and appointments (so my husband knows when he needs to come home to let Lula out) and another dry erase board for shopping lists that has space for food and other items we may need from other places, like Home Depot or Costco. On the counter below are pens and post-it’s to leave notes and reminders.
Each family’s needs are different and this area is easily customizable to meet any situation. Have fun with it!
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Landing Pads
Landing Pads are a smaller version of the Command Center. Depending on your space, you can combine them, but if you are only 1 or 2 people and you have a quieter household, you may choose to have a separate Landing Pad. These areas are usually set up near the door you come and go from most, like a mudroom or foyer. The idea is that everything that is either coming in or going out lands in this area. It is where you drop your keys, purse, wallet and mail when you come home. And it is where you put the outgoing mail, items to return, things to drop off at a friend’s or bring back to work. This process helps you always know where your keys are - and keeps you from forgetting what you need to bring with you when you leave. It is not a place to accumulate stuff, it is a fluid area where things move in and out. |
