Most families do other things besides preparing food and eating in their kitchens. You probably pay bills, answer emails, and schedule kid activities among other household tasks. So, the topic of this post will be how to create a kitchen command center. We don’t have a home office on the main level of the house nor do we have a office nook in the kitchen. Papers tended to collect in the corner of the kitchen near the refrigerator, so I sorted through the cabinet above that area and relocated the contents of the bottom shelf. I moved wine and booze to the top shelf of that cabinet and the other less frequently used items (martini glasses, shakers, cocktail recipe books and cookbooks) to another cabinet. Now I had space for my papers and supplies.
I bought a file box like this one from The Container Store and some pretty hanging file folders and interior file folders. The file box sits on top of the counter next to my iPad, keyboard and telephone. 
There are many desktop file boxes available in different colors, some don’t have tops at all. I like this one because its lid stays attached, yet the contents are concealed. I have files for: to do, to file, recipes, to read, catalogs to unsubscribe, (more on that in the next post), and a file for extracurricular activities like sports rosters and information.
I hung 3M Post-It Pockets and magnetic strips on the inside of the cabinet doors. Receipts go in one of the small pockets for exchanges/returns, tickets and stamps go in another small pocket, and school directories/change in dismissal forms go in a large pocket. Invitations (after I have RSVP’ed ‘yes’) get hung on the magnetic strip along with anything else I might need to reference, like our town’s recycle center hours. I try not to have too much stuff on the front of our refrigerator, so sometimes pictures or small artwork will get hung up on the magnetic strip too. The strips come in square and rectangle shapes too, but these were too large for the inside of my cabinet door. Two strips hung vertically provide enough space for me.
I have two clear magazine files in the cabinet that store active notebooks (I use one notebook for my organizing business and one for volunteer work). The second magazine file stores my label maker and extra cartridges. Kids’ workbooks and handwriting paper are also in the cabinet. A book end keeps them from falling down.
Last but not least, a desk drawer organizer keeps pens and other supplies organized. My kitchen command center has been in place for about two years now and it’s been great. Would do it again in a heartbeat!
