About four years ago I was pretty organized. Then Clara arrived, and everything changed. Notes migrated to scattered notebooks, my phone, Post-it notes, and every spare square inch of my day planner. With so many competing lists, I rarely knew what to do next. When John and I started planning our home office, the solution came quickly: a command center.
Creating the command center felt more urgent than painting the office walls — though we discovered it’s handy to hang art before painting, because any misplaced nail holes can be spackled and hidden when the room gets painted later.
We chose a wall visible from the office but out of sight from the foyer. Our goal was a single, easy-to-reference spot for cross-category lists: “projects,” “house maintenance,” “showhouse/book 2,” “future post ideas,” “website to-do,” and more. Instead of having those lists scattered, we wanted everything consolidated, plus a “top tasks” column to move the most important items forward. That way we could prioritize deliberately rather than hop between tasks at random.
We also wanted a shared post schedule so both of us could see upcoming posts, giveaways, and what’s next to write. And a small “To Buy/Get” section for errands — we often forget odd items like oil-rubbed bronze window locks for the freshly painted office windows.
We considered many options: a big dry erase board, a cork board, dry erase paint, chalkboard, magnetic paint with movable paper pieces, and others. Ultimately we chose a hybrid approach: two large magnetic frames paired with smaller dry-erase magnets that we could write on and move between columns. This setup lets us drag project magnets into “top tasks,” then move them to the post schedule when they’re ready. We added a small frame for the shopping list and filled the rest with Clara’s artwork, a funny quote, and a family photo.
First we mapped the layout using a few old frames. We tweaked placement a bit after this photo, but it shows the basic arrangement.
John ordered white dry-erase magnets that aren’t small or swallowable, which eased my worried-mom instincts. We can write directly on these and move them freely between columns, making it simple to reorganize priorities or mark tasks as complete.
Next we visited Home Depot for magnetic sheets. Some options on an end cap weren’t magnetic, which was confusing until we found magnetic panels in a different aisle. We bought two panel sizes that fit our frames and were easy to cut at home with gloves and metal snips.
With supplies assembled, I removed the glass and backing from each frame, laid the wood frame over the sheet metal, and traced the rectangle to cut. Wearing gloves, I used metal snips to cut along the traced lines. It took some time because of the small cuts, but within about fifteen minutes we had two metal inserts ready for the frames.
One metal insert slipped into the frame with the backing holding it in place. It was fun to test the dry-erase magnets and see how the system would work in practice.
For color inspiration we referenced our new desk and decided on a mix of soft champagne, pearly metallic white, and flat white frames. We already had frames in the garage, so we cleaned and prepped them for paint. I primed the metal inserts first for a uniform background, then spray-painted the frames in matching tones. A few thin coats gave a clean, even finish.
To mark header labels and divide sections, I used washi tape on the top edge of the boards. The uniform color for frames and metal inserts keeps the boards looking tidy even with many white magnets in use.
For the “To Buy/To Get” board I used a smaller frame with a linen-textured metallic fabric behind the glass. Writing on the glass with a black dry-erase marker makes the list easy to update, and we simply photograph it before errands so nothing gets forgotten.
The post-planning board got a pearl finish and gold and yellow washi tape for headers and side labels. We don’t plan posts far in advance, but this board is already helpful for noting ideas, scheduled giveaways, and upcoming content.
That’s the story of our command center. It’s not perfect — some frames may be upgraded and Clara’s painting could use a larger mat — but it has made me feel about 95% more organized. If only I could reach behind the couch to recover that old website to-do list… Burger might have to retrieve it for me, if I can convince him the list is edible.
How do you stay organized? Do you use a family calendar in the kitchen or a similar wall system? We debated adding a calendar board, but since I track appointments in my planner, we decided to keep the wall focused on projects, home maintenance, posts, and showhouse items. We’ll see how the system evolves.
Update: For anyone wondering about the octopus print wording, its source, or the file cabinet, that information is available in the first page of comments.