If you’ve followed along with us for a while, you know that we are renovating our home of 15 years. Besides the fact that it’s just time, the size of the home, closets, and rooms demanded we revamp systems that were in place, but are no longer systematic due to our children growing from littles into pre-teens. And while we had a strong desire to knock down walls and attempt to squeeze every square foot we could manage, some areas it wasn’t structurally sound to do so. Of course the area that could use a little more wiggle room would be our foyer (if it’s even big enough to be called that), as this is where we have always been accustomed to having our family command center.
One might ask why we would put something so important in such a small area. Since it’s so high traffic it’s ideal. No more excuses as to not know where to put the mail and check the weekly schedule, as we pass right by the space several times a day. But with our reno, we wanted an updated and more modern look than our old space. So we reached out to a new brand, girlFriday and gave our little command center a bold new look with their sleek and classic premium acrylic calendars.
What we love about this setup; the size of the calendar ROCKS OUR WORLD! In such a small space, anything this large and not acrylic would be a total eye sore. The hardware is so fun, almost creating a floating effect as the calendar doesn’t touch the wall. The size of each day is perfect when tracking 4 peoples schedules, nothing gets cramped or overlooked. The optional ‘notes’ section comes in handy for jotting down a quick reminder to one of the kids, or for my husband to write down an item he needs (instead of telling me verbally and hoping I remember…I mean, I’m good, but not THAT good!). girlFriday was also kind enough to send a pack of their Chalk Chick colored markers with cup holder that are so on-point when it comes to keeping a color coded family schedule. I gave each person a choice of color and got to it. No better feeling that to see what’s happening, when it’s happening a month at a time.
And to control the mail monster that comes and goes in a household, I added these magazine pockets from our friends over at three by three seattle, and created an incoming and outgoing section, keeping the clutter and disaster that paper can bring at bay. What I love about these pockets is they are magnetic, allowing my girls to add important papers that require my attention. The labels are our newest favorite and come in both black and white, which we use from anything from bins to locker labels.
And while I loved our last command center (posted here), I am a firm believer of reducing our footprint, so abandoning the paper calendar (wasteful) was key. I also removed the book bags and coat hooks as it was great in theory, but totally cramped the small space, not to mention the numerous times that I stepped on someone’s fallen coat or overstuffed book bag.
Now we have an area where everything pertinent has a home, can be found easily by anyone in the family (no more relying on mom/wife to know!), and works with our minimally modern home. Check out girlFriday for their variety of wall calendars to add to your home!
**All items were provided at no cost to us in exchange for our honest opinions.**