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Create a Practical Command Center

June 21, 2017 by Heather Filed Under: Kids & Family Organizing, Organize, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources 3 Comments

Today, I’m sharing ideas to Create A Practical Command Center. Since this month is all about kid-friendly organizing in the home I think it’s important to have a place where you can collect everything needed to “take command” of schedules, stuff and tasks for your family!

I’m going to break it down by why, where and what! Not every command center (and there are thousands on Pinterest to choose from!) will have what YOU need.

[bctt tweet=”Get inspired by others but don’t get stuck repeating someone else’s idea of success.” username=”hkpowerstudio”]

Do you need help to Create a Practical Command Center?

Let’s start with your why. Defining the reason you need to create a command center is the first step!

Perhaps you’re losing things or can’t keep track of them, feeling overwhelmed, feeling rushed and you’re juggling too much information!
Mail is tossed everywhere including the kitchen counter, the coffee table, the dining room table or some other horizontal surface which means when you go to pick up, things get misplaced.
You have a hard time getting out the door with everything you and your family need.
Maybe you can’t locate homework or school paperwork & neither you nor your kids know where these things belong.
Do multiple schedules (both parents and kids) have you scrambling, missing appointments or running late?
Always looking for last minute gifts because you missed that party invitation? information for your babysitter or other important items you need regularly.

The next important step in creating a practical command center is knowing what you need to include.

Mail sorting station-which might include trash, recycling bins and shredder-with individual slots for household members
Calendar or schedule-either a traditional paper system or a white/blackboard calendar. Decide what information will be included on this calendar. Maybe it’s just for the kids and family activities (sports, parties, Dr’s Apts, school events etc). Each family member or category can be assigned a color for easy tracking.
Charging Station
Grab & Go Kid Stuff-If you have small children, having extra supplies in a cabinet, ready to go is a great time saver. Include activity books, diapers, bug spray, change of clothes or other essentials for small children.

Bags, backpacks and other gear-if you have the space you can incorporate cubbies, baskets or hooks for storage. This area is for regularly used shoes, bags and purses and is a great place for people to drop items without cluttering up the main part of the house. Something similar can be set up in a closet, with an organizer hanging inside the door. Label each household member’s hook, cubical or shelf. Practice regular weekly to tidying (putting things away, cleaning out bags etc).

Key Hooks
Basic utility items-this can be a drawer or a hanging organizer with things like batteries, pens/pencils, chargers, scissors, notepads, a hammer/screwdriver, tape measure and anything else you use regularly. Identify what you want to keep where so it doesn’t turn into a “Junk drawer”!
Fun stuff-a bulletin board, white/black or magnetic board, or hanging system for artwork and fun messages!

Via Your Home Theater

Lists-to do, grocery or chore charts for parents and kids.
Household Binder-this is a great place for emergency contacts, vital household information (for babysitters etc), schedules, invitations and more! If space is limited you can create a command center in a binder! Just use different tabs for the different information you need to keep track of and keep it in a central location.
Via Thirty Handmade Days

We all have different needs and when you know why you need some sort of command center it will give you insight into what to include. If you look at the list above and you say to yourself that you only need a couple of the items I included as examples then you can focus on creating a system that includes only what you need. Sometimes we get sucked in by other peoples systems because they have shared how great they work (for them) or we think it looks so incredible!

Being specific and simplifying your home management system will set you up for success!

Now that you understand why and what you need for creating a practical command center, let’s identify where this system should be.

Depending on your home and space considerations, here are a few places you might want to put a command center. If you don’t have space to put everything in one spot, that’s okay. Paperwork, mail, electronic’s, your binder or supplies could go in one area and hooks for keys, clothing and gear could go someplace else.

Near the front door
Mudroom
Kitchen
Laundry Room
Hallway or other central location
Closet or niche-including the inside of the door
A simple binder or portable bin (accordion file, file tote etc)

Here are a few tips to help you identify how to install your command center.

Go Vertical to get things up off your counters and on the wall. You can use the side or inside of a cabinet. If you have a lot of shelves, bins etc to hang, create paper templates and tape them up until you’re happy with the arrangement. This will save you patching unnecessary holes!

Hooks-anything from command to fancy decorative hooks
Shelves-floating or brackets, for small lightweight items
Baskets and bins-from shoes to paperwork, corral it in bins

I love to use these clear pockets for small stuff (bug spray, glue, gloves and more!).

Label things and assign lower spaces for small kids, upper spaces for adult stuff you don’t want the kids to get into!

Keep it simple-eliminate un-necessary clutter. Maintain your new system by assigning one day a week for a quick tidy up. Friday’s and Sunday’s are both great days for this 15 min assignment. After a few weeks or month keep it simple and eliminate the unnecessary clutter of items you are not using. Start simple and if the system works, expand upon it and get creative to make it as beautiful as it is practical!

Need additional help identifying why, what and how to create a practical command center? Give me a shout and let’s see how I can help you create a perfect command system for your household!

A Creative Approach to your Capsule Wardrobe

October 26, 2016 by Heather Filed Under: Organize, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources Leave a Comment

Have you heard of Capsule Wardrobes? People are chatting about this approach to their personal fashion and style all over social media…

As an organizer and design professional, I’ve been doing this all along and didn’t even know there was a name for it! I’m sure I’m dating myself here but it probably all started with my mom’s fashion consultations with a “Color Me Beautiful” professional…in the 80’s. I loved it, learning what looks good on you based upon your skin tone, finding shades/hues that look great together and are flattering and building a wardrobe based upon color principals.

A capsule wardrobe goes one step further than focusing on color.

Proportion, drape, body shape, size, lifestyle, profession and personal expression, social responsibility and seasonal attire are all factors to consider when creating your own Capsule Wardrobe.

[Read more…]

18 Artists Share Studio Tips

January 7, 2016 by Heather Filed Under: In the Studio, Inspiration & Education, Organize, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources 1 Comment

Going back through the past year’s 18 featured Artists I realized there are some amazing artist studio tips on organizing and productivity to be learned from these creative’s! If you missed one or more, here are the highlights. I am so grateful to get to meet these artists and be invited into their creative sanctuaries and I’m especially happy to be able to share them with you! From Maine to Charleston, New Zealand, to Switzerland it’s been an inspirational year interviewing these artists!

Cobalt Sky:: I am always out of empty (yogurt) paint cups!! I just got wise and switched to cupcake liners! My pillows hang to dry, so my space is very product specific. I have exposed beams in the studio, without them I am not sure how I could manage. Last winter when we renovated the space- everything went OUT and only pillow business stuff came back. Now I feel organized! Doing this for my work space greatly improved the whole business.

Everything gets put away and the work table is clear after every work shift. In Maine we call that “ship shape”.

Karl B::Most of my sewing supplies are attached to my work table or in the closets behind me. I keep my trusty shears in a holster on my belt. I learned which tools I needed to purchase or make and hung them from hooks on my worktable, the wall or made shelf space. For safety’s sake I always try to keep the the floor clean and first aid easily accessible.

Ruth D::For the number of quilts that get ‘churned out’ each year, my stash of fabric is actually reasonable small, and easy to access and sort through. It’s all located in the black crates which we use all through our house. They are large, sturdy, and stack on top of each other if we need to. I thrive on systems, and am always reviewing to help me work more effectively. I keep a calendar on my iPad, always have several projects scheduled in there, broken down into manageable tasks.

On her “stash”…I actually enjoy the challenge of working with a limited range of techniques and materials.

On planning her studio…Desks and storage around the perimeter of the room, under the sloping ceilings made complete sense.

Selinde L::I have always been one to finish things that I start before launching something new, preferring to work linearly. We do so much multitasking in our everyday lives now that I actually find this singular concentration therapeutic and even luxurious. That said, I usually have at least two journals and a sketchbook going at one time, places to store the myriad of ideas that pop into my head so that I can access them easily whenever I need to.

Jennythreads::Growing up, I was naturally messy, and my dad remembers nicknaming me “Tornado Jenny” because my room was always such a mess. When I was in graduate school iI worked for an antique repair shop. This place was absolute chaos inside, my boss would take tools from my work area or leave his messes on my table and it started to drive me crazy. Fed up, I covered my table with white butcher paper and told him it was off-limits. From him, I finally learned how inefficient and exasperating it is to spend more time looking for tools or supplies than actually working, and that’s when I started making an effort to be more organized.I LOVE to purge things regularly. I keep a constant Goodwill bag in the garage as things get edited out of the house. At the studio, I tend to keep more things around because they are useful. I keep some stashes, but I keep them under control.

Finkelsteins::I consider myself an organized person even if my techniques for organization only make sense to me. My habits happen organically through necessity. Systems occur due either to space availability or the need to contain a certain type of material. I try keep like items together so I’m not running around in the middle of a creative process tracking down ribbon or thread. My productivity really drops if I’m pulled away to locate materials. A tip that works for me, I try to stick to buying only supplies that I absolutely need. I use to buy materials because it was fun to raid the craft store. As my space started to fill I stopped myself from doing that. I have slowly purged my storage bins of things that just take up space.

The Pixeladies::Deb doesn’t like to throw anything away. “We might need it.” Kris was born to purge. Since we work together every day we learn from each other. Both of our fathers were career Army/Air Force officers. That kind of discipline obviously rubbed off on us. We both remember having to “put things back where you found them.”

Marlis E::No one ever taught me to de-clutter, it came naturally to me, probably because I’ve always lived in small apartments. I like to live in a minimalistic zen-like space where everything has its place and where there is a lot of space to breathe. Most of us creative people have hoarding tendencies. We are so afraid we might need something “later” that we pile stuff around ourselves “just in case”. For example, if you love to work with paper, but don’t enjoy working with glue, why do you keep 10 different brands and qualities of glue? Keep only what you love and what you enjoy working with.

Whitney K::I have always been a list-maker and have folders and books with everything written out. I have to have all my busy work finished in the morning- dealing with clients, commission emails, working with galleries, etc.- and then have a large block of consistent time to only concentrate on the actual painting. I do a big purge a few times a year. And I wouldn’t be able to live without a big old school calendar to see the month mapped out.

Hirona M & Alan J:: On storage…Alan-Organizing large drawings with flat files and storing materials came from my experience in architecture school and architectural offices. I’ve learned other habits through trial and error and looking for products that solve specific storage problems. I’ve also had furniture built to help with storage challenges. Hirona-I am very compartment oriented, if not organized in a traditional sense. I try to mark things, but sometimes materials are hard to categorize. Things that reflect light could also be things that magnify or are metallic. I’d say that I learned these methods from my parents. Both have very specific ways of fitting and organizing things that make sense mostly to them.

On schedules and systems…Alan-I have a Monthly Planner where I keep track of all appointments, deadlines and other significant dates. This is invaluable for keeping me on track and aware of what’s coming up. I also have a daily journal where I keep my daily To-Do lists and where I write down events of the day. Hirona-I don’t set a schedule for myself, I let the pressure of deadlines or genuine inspiration motivate me. By rotating my focus from piece to piece and seeing everything together I can keep tabs on my progress and regulate the pace I’m working at.

Morgan S::I like heavy items on wheels. My studio needs to be able to easily convert into a makeshift woodshop, a photo studio, a show space, a painting studio, and an office at any given time. If space is limited take advantage of vertical space and build the necessary storage accordingly. Building a large table on wheels, one that is specific to the studio space and my painting needs was important.

Heather AH::I like to know where to find things so I have developed my own systems for organization. For 7 years I had a studio that had a mandatory sprinkler system that propelled me down a path of using clear plastic boxes to organize and store materials etc. It allows me to see where things are and allows me to easily carry things to another studio and they are already packed for moving! Everyone is different and so it is best to be aware of how you work and support your innate logic and way of working. Whenever I see a “system” at another artist studio or home, I use it for inspiration and modify it to fit me. My studios are constantly evolving to suit my needs.


Beth MS::All of my surfaces re recycled. We collect them from our daily travels. My husband brings many things home from his treks to rural places. We don’t have much of an organizational system but we won’t give up trying

On her legacy…I feel like what I’m leaving behind is more than a piece of art work…..it’s the idea of making use of objects that others might discard.

Jamie B-IBU::On inspiration…I’m surrounded by inspiration! We have a huge inspiration board that has great magazine photographs and clippings.

On knowing her limitations…usually work on up to three items at once. Any more and I might get un-organized in my thoughts and processes and be more prone to make a mistake.

Craig C::On his art…Things change. Very simply I would say I make systems and these systems are constantly being updated. A few years ago I had a very romantic vision of being a full time artist; I would sip tea and think in a bright colored robe. In reality I’ve never done that. I don’t even have a robe. I spend most of my time promoting what I’m doing and\or chasing new opportunities. Which is certainly not a bad life. I have always thought art could expand beyond the work.

When I was younger I had a great memory. I could remember whole tour itineraries not anymore. I save everything I can now mostly so I can show my daughter someday. But I’m also leaving myself a breadcrumb trail. I meet so many amazing people in my travels I hope to document them all.

On Sound + Light…I’m coming at this from a touring musician’s start, I deliver and install everything myself. I have created a life that allows me to pack the van and hit the road. I am very proud of the pack. I like the idea of space and how we can manipulate it.

Rob M::My paints are all in a central location, stored in my taboret. I don’t line my colors up in a row or organize my brushes but they’re all right there ready to go when I want them. I must admit I keep a lot of material that were passed down from my father, which I never use. I keep them around because they inspire me.

On staying motivated…the constraints in my mind sometimes say “why bother?” It’s then I remind myself, I’m painting for the ages and not just a quick sale in a gallery.

Karin O::Pencils, scissors, paint brushes are bouquets of art supplies in flower pots. I use my cool Lobo easel that can fold down to a table top for the fabric layer process. I have an L-shaped desk made of luan blank doors, sandwiched with a space that works as a flat file for paper, unfinished art, a wet palette, or anything to keep clear of my toddlers’ adorable fingerprints.

On time management…When I have a show or project coming up, I work 40 hours a week – 10 of which is in front of a computer, doing marketing, inventory, emails, and website stuff.

On planning…

I buy the frames for a show before I make the art.
I know my car measurements and space limitations.
I create a worksheet of blank canvas inventory and fill it in as I go.

Duke H::I am disciplined. The Creative process is work, nothing comes easily. I sit down and just do this (doodle and sketch). Never wait for inspiration to come to you. Just sit down and do it (that does take discipline!). I treat my art as a business, I keep files of expenses etc just to keep things efficient.

When it comes to archiving…A fellow painter died several years ago without archiving, it was a real mess. I have been serious about this for the past three years.

What have you learned or loved from the Inside the Artist Studio feature? Is there anything you would like me to ask or share from artists I interview in the future? Any artists you would like to see featured? Leave me a comment or shoot me an email, I’d love to hear your ideas!

Organizers party tricks!

August 14, 2015 by Heather Filed Under: Organize, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources Leave a Comment

My entire house was packed into boxes…When we moved to Charleston from MD several years ago, we had packed everything and were having a going away party, upon realizing my yoga teachers husband and I went to high school together I walked over to a particular box and pulled out our yearbook. It was like a magic trick and everyone just stood there kind of stunned that I knew were the darn thing was and with everything packed I could still go grab it in less than 30 seconds. This is probably one of the moments that will stand out in my mind forever and when I knew without a doubt that I was destined to be an Organizer! (and someone got a picture of it!)

This popped into my mind after reading a recent discussion on the NAPO forum…all of these are true experiences that I’ve had as a professional organizer and they make me laugh! Consider this a You might be a Professional Organizer if (or destined to be one) kind of list…

You create lists of things you’ve already done so you can cross them off.
Friends (especially new ones) are afraid to have you over because they don’t think their house is organized or tidy enough (don’t worry, were use to worse and we don’t judge!). Alternately…
Your friends, family, clients start a conversation with “you would be so proud of me because…” I purged my wardrobe, got rid of half my books, de-stashed my fabric in my craft room etc:)
Friends come over and want to look into your closet and cupboards to get organizing ideas and see if you are really as organized as…A Professional Organizer, and they leave feeling happy to realize you are organized but not Martha Stewart perfect!
You can retrieve just about anything in your home if someone needs you to, in 30 seconds or less.
Your clutter is categorized and labeled.
Your spices are alphabetized.
You don’t let anyone else load your dishwasher or put your dishes back because they just won’t do it right (my husband has all but 2 cabinets down-the remaining items he leaves for me:)
Your magazines are arranged in the rack by subject and date.
You eat your bag of M&Ms according to color.
Your socks (underwear, bras, etc) are lined up in neat rows in your dresser drawer.
You always have a donation bag of items to get rid of.
Your car contains clients donation items (in an orderly fashion).
You can properly and neatly fold a fitted sheet and know what hospital corners are (and want to teach others this too).
You re-arrange the hotel room, putting everything “where it belongs.”
You don’t have containers with missing lids, if you damage a part-you recycle or dispose of the partner.
You carry a label-maker, tape measure, sharpie and post it notes with you.
You show up at meeting with printouts and a checklist of questions.
You leave every meeting with a half-dozen pages of notes.
Your personal library is organized by category, size (and color).
You categorize groceries into the cashier’s belt (or better yet self check out ) & bag your own groceries by categories.
You can spend an hour or more at The Container Store or IKEA scouting out organizing products.
Your friends and family send you loads of Pinterest organizing pins!
You rearrange cans, boxes, clothes stacks, etc on store shelves as you shop.
You wipe off the sink counters in public bathrooms.

I hope you got a giggle out of some of these! I’m not perfect, seriously Y’all but I do have my organizing compulsions, I just can’t help it:)

My Big Inspiration Wall

March 9, 2015 by Heather Filed Under: Art & Design, Home, In the Studio, Inspiration & Education, Organize, Organizing Projects, Systems & Techniques

I am blessed with a spectacular studio that overlooks the marsh with windows on 3 sides…lots of natural light, palm trees, Spanish moss and resurrection ferns dripping and hanging from live oak branches.

I’m not short on inspiration but what I am short on is wall space (because of said windows). This has been a challenge for me since we moved in and the one wall I do have is brick which is difficult to attach anything to. After researching several options, I finally made a request of my handy husband to help me solve this challenge.

Design wall’s that quilters use involve a lot of fleece and I’m not a quilter (although I dabble in quilting techniques) so I felt the expense and effort of all that were un-necessary. I also considered cork, again, a resource I didn’t want to waste especially since I planned to paint the wall to blend in…Finally I settled on inexpensive Fiberboard after realizing this is what is used in many schools (my studio at SCAD included) and it would be just the thing to help me go vertical…Here my handyman Mr. B puts the finishing touches on the painted fiberboard before handing it over for me to “play” with.

This piece of fiber board is 4′ x 6′ (cut down from 4′ x 8′) and was only $9. It sucks up paint like crazy so you might want to use a primer-sealer (like Kilz) so you don’t have to apply a million coats). We attached it to the wall with Washers (painted) and screws (into the morter-this brick was so hard it destroyed 2 of my husbands masonry bits).

What a delight it is to have a space to hang both design pieces I’m working on and inspiration for future work! Above and below are details of what’s now currently hanging on my wall. I’ve got quilt blocks I’m kind of stuck on (not knowing what to use them for or if I need to make more), indigo shibori, yarns, mixed media, photography and other bits of inspiration and work in various stages of finished/unfinished.

I’m by no means a minimalist but I don’t love it when my space is too visually cluttered. With this new wall hung I can corrall all sorts of things that have been floating around my studio into one space to feed my inspiration and allow me to step back and see the pieces that I’m stuck on from a different perspective. Do you have the luxury of a inspiration or design wall in your art or office space?