Kids Command Center

Since moving into our new house, one of the things I knew I needed to create was a command center for the kids. My oldest thrives on a structured routine with lots of positive reinforcements. If I don't have a space to organize all of that it becomes much harder for me to create that kind of environment for him. We use this space for behavior charts, chores, a weekly calendar, other school calendars, the kids art work, and also a space for the boys to "cool off". The space it mostly used for Hudson, who is five, but as Max and Piper get older we can incorporate more for them as well. You can find more details about the space and how I created it below.

DIY Bath Toy Tub

 

My boys love playing with lots of small plastic toys in the bathtub, and lately they've had a lot of fun playing in their sinks. The toys are usually left all over the bathroom, and our growing collection no longer fits into the container I once had for them. So I thought I would make them a new home. I used a large plastic tub that was once filled with animal crackers from Costco, a rubber ducky, yellow spray paint, and some chalkboard vinyl. You can follow the steps below to make your own. 

You will need:

-Large plastic tub with lid

-Rubber Ducky or other toy to attach to the lid

-Glue

-Spray Paint

-Chalkboard Vinyl or chalkboard spray paint 

1. Glue the toy to the lid and let dry.

2. Spray paint the lid and the toy. You will probably need to do 2-3 coats to fully cover the toy.
3. While the lid and toy are drying drill a hole or a few holes in the bottom of the tub to help water drain.

4. Cut the chalkboard vinyl to cover the old label of the plastic tub. I cut two labels using my silhouette machine to cover an old label on the front and the back. You could also cut the vinyl with scissors. Or if you are using chalkboard spray paint, follow along here.

5. Once your chalkboard label is on, fill the tub with toys and place on the lid!

Cookie Cutter Jar

As I am still working on organizing my craft room, I had to find a place for all of my cookie cutters. I have lots that are the same shape, just different sizes. Many of them are really small so I didn't want to just throw them all loose in a big jar. Then I remembered I had a bunch of these silver hinged rings that I could finally put to good use! I looped all of the coordinating cookie cutters onto the rings and tossed them into the jar. Now I don't have to go digging to find all of the heart cookie cutters when I need them. I love this picture that I came across over at Originally Me via Pinterest, with cupcake liners stored in a big glass jar. I still might need to do something like that, I love how all of the colors look. But for now I needed a place for my cookie cutters.

DIY Chalkboard Paint Labels

My once organized craft room has become a big unorganized mess lately. Things have lost their place and I have bought new things that need to have an organized space. So I am starting to get things sorted. I had some extra chalkboard spray paint leftover from a previous project and decided to use some of it to create labels on some of my boxes and jars. All you need are: jars, the chalkboard spray paint, painters tape, chalk, and another color spray paint if you plan on painting an old box. Here's how to do it:

These are the spray paints that I used to paint my box.

I wanted the inside of my box to remain the light wood color, so I taped it off and trimmed the extra tape from around the sides.

I taped off the sides of the box, then spray painted the whole front side of the box with the black chalkboard paint.

Once the paint is dry peel off the tape on the sides of the box and then cut a rectangle out of the tape. Make it the size that you want your label to be, the center it on the front of the box. Now you can spray paint the rest of the box the color that you want it to be.

Once that paint is dry, you can pull off the tape from the top of the box and the tape that was covering your label.

I filled my box with small containers of paint and some other painting supplies. 

Now to make a label on a glass jar; you tape off an area on the front of the jar. It helps to use thick tape so it keeps that rest of the jar covered from the spray paint. Also make sure you push the edges of the tape down to keep paint from bleeding through.

Spray paint the space left open, once it is dry peel off the tape.

I used this jar to hold all of my little fabric scraps that I know I can reuse for something else later.

Organizing with Baskets

Basil Bottle Basket $30.00 at adelineadeline.com

Brooks Hoxton Wire Basket $160.00 at adelineadeline.com

Basil Forte Memories Basket $22.50 at adelineadeline.com

Small Wire Mesh Pot $9.00 at hausinterior.com

Wire Gathering Basket $26.00 at hausunterior.com

Farmers Market Epergne Basket $75.00 at Sundancecatalog.com

Wood Handled Wire Basket $45.00 at sundancecatalog.com

Wire Baskets set of 3 $95.00 at sundancecatalog.com

The April issue of Martha Stewart Living Magazine featured some of these baskets and some clever uses for them around the house. You can use them to hold cleaning supplies in the laundry room, mail in an entryway, flowers, kitchen pantry items, craft or office supplies, and anything else you need a place for. I love cute containers and baskets to hold simple things. It makes your space not only more organized, but fun to look at!

Organizing Tips

One thing that I love to do is organize, so here are some tips that I have found helpful for keeping things in order.

1. JARS: jars are a great way to keep clutter from collecting around certain areas of the house. Displayed in the first picture are jars that I use in my craft room to hold items such as: buttons, loose ribbons, and fabric scraps. Jars can also double as a decoration in a room, depending upon what you put inside of them. Some places to find jars at reasonable prices: Michael's, Target, Wal-mart, and Ikea. Jars are also great to use in the kitchen pantry for food items that you always have on hand. It keeps the pantry looking neat and organized, and also keeps the item fresher longer.
   
2. DRAWERS: these drawers are nice because they are fairly small and also have a place for labels. This allows for each drawer to not become overloaded with many different objects. This way you can know exactly where each item is and where to put it back when you're finished using it. The drawers shown above are from Micheal's and can be purchase either on sale or with a weekly coupon.
3. PAPER CUBBYHOLES: if you like to scrapbook or do any kind of crafting I am sure you have lots of paper laying around. These cubbyholes are a great way to keep papers organized by color or theme, and from getting bent or torn. They are from Micheal's and can be stacked with the other drawer organizers. They can also be purchased with weekly coupons to save money.
   

Fancy Clipboards

This is a fun way to dress up a plain clipboard for an office or craft room. I painted the edges of the board black and then covered the center in a piece of scrapbook paper with mod podge. I then added little rhinestone jewels to the corners. You can hang the clipboard on the wall to display it, and also use it to help organize loose papers.