Project Profile: Command Centers

Let's talk command centers. No, we don't mean the big scary room where lots of powerful people talk about geopolitics. We are talking about the very important place in a house where things seem to just… land. Parking passes, hair ties, permission slips, keys, art projects, wallets, unopened mail, sunscreen, important bills, masks – you name it! Things end up there because they are in frequent use, need to be grabbed on your way out the door, or are always necessary really quickly when you don't have a single second to spare. This area can be functional, organized, and even beautiful with the right strategies.

Like everything that we review in this blog, how you set up and maintain a command center depends on how your family operates and the kind of space that you have. We are going to share a few examples of different kinds of command centers and what they offer to their households.

Everything in its Place

Where you place your command center depends on how your home is structured but also in what location your nexus of chaos tends to land. If it is the kitchen counter, stage your organizational system somewhere in the kitchen. If it is the front hall, create a drop zone that has a home for each common category. If you give every item a home, it is infinitely more likely to end up there.

The households below are all lucky to have a large enclosed space that can be used to house their most important quick-grab items.

These first two spaces required our usual sort and purge, followed by some more specific zoning and product implementation.

Giving each shelf a job will help keep things tidy over time and with multiple users. Labels would be a great addition to this space!

You can use an expandable “spice rack” for bottles and other small items to maximize a large cabinet.

You can see that we rearranged some of the items based on item dimensions, but kept other systems in place that were clearly working. This was a great use of accessory, shoe, and sweater boxes to contain items so that they wouldn’t get lost.

This third space was a perfect opportunity for an Elfa closet to maximize the vertical space and make much more efficient storage by implementing drawers rather than shelving. We did a closet overhaul in this home to make space for kitchen overflow elsewhere. Creating specific purposes for each household closet makes it much easier to keep them tidy and categorized.

We were so thrilled to double the hanging space for this family!

Mail Management

Oh, mail. Does anyone enjoy dealing with mail!? A stack of envelopes is a regular feature in any command center. You can give your future self the gift of not having to deal with a massive pile of unopened randomness by doing some pre-sorting as soon as it comes in. Putting a recycling bin along with your mail sorter can be helpful for this, too! Distinguish what is important and requires action versus what needs to be filed. That way when it comes time to actually deal with the mail, you have fewer tasks to get started and get the important stuff done.

Here are two styles of mail organizers. You can also use an acrylic magazine file on a counter or in a cabinet to file things away but still be able to see everything!

"Junk" Drawers

Here at The Little Details, we don't believe in junk drawers. They are utility drawers, mini command centers, and quick grab stations. With the right drawer organizers and clear distinctions between categories, this nightmare can easily become a super functional space in your home.

Drawer organizers come in many sizes and are designed to fit together like a beautiful, organized puzzle. You can choose from plastic or bamboo dividers! There are also deep drawer dividers for larger drawers. Be sure to measure your drawer before purchasing any dividers to maximize the space.

Office Command Centers

For those folks lucky enough to have a dedicated desk space, this can be an amazing place for command center items to land. Offices offer the benefit of being a location designed for productivity, so segmenting the administrative side of your command center to this spot might be worth an extra few steps!

No matter your space or family size, you can have a more organized command center, drop zone, or front hallway. Small things really do make a huge difference – start with small boxes and simple labels to see what systems might work for you. Feel free to get creative, iterate, and definitely involve the other members of your household! Happy organizing.