Family Message Center! Trying To Get Orangized With What We Have

Good Morning!

In one of my more recent posts, I said that I was working on getting organized for the school year.  I wanted to minimize the crazy mornings, looking for the homework folder, backpack, shoes, lunchbox, water bottle so we could get out the door on time.  I'd seen a lot of Family Message Center ideas and had pretty much decided what I wanted our space to look like... but I was also trying not to spend money on it, so I made myself work with what we had and I really like the outcome!

Our Family Center is in our entryway.  I really wish we had mudrooms in SoCal but most houses aren't built with those, so I used the unused, empty, wasted space in our entryway for our center.  This forces me to keep it picked-up and we're actually able to use it for what it's intended for!

For our Family Center, I took 2 crates that I had left over from the KPS Christmas Booth Display and painted them cream.  Then Big A took them and screwed them into the wall into studs so that they'd be super secure!  I also kept my upcycled bench in the entry way, added a basket for shoes in the empty space and we now have a great place to put our shoes on and store them when we get home - this avoids 50 pairs of shoes next to the door, next to the bench, next to the couch, under the coffee table, well, you get the idea!

I had these pretty, ornate, old fashion looking door pulls turned hooks that I'd planned to use for my display, but never had, so I grabbed those and Big A secured them to the wall (again with screws into studs).  I hang my purse from one, Adam hangs his back pack from the other.  The wire that sits on the bench (I did purchase them from Marshalls for $7) holds any paperwork that we need to go through.  I downloaded the "Be Amazing" print from eighteen25, printed it at Costco and put it in a bright turquoise frame.

Inside one of the crates I put a basket that I had on hand, this holds mail that has to go out, sunglasses, misc. items that I typically grab while running out the door.  In the other sits my camera bag and library books that need to be returned.

One top of the crates is a chipboard, house box with a removeable lid - this is where I store all receipt's for the month so that we can see how much we've gone over used of our budget!  I also have an old "Be Kind of Leave" sign, an owl vase and a small, milk glass dish that holds the car keys and Chapstick. 

This chalkboard sign is ready to take our messages, calendar, whatever.  I do plan on adding a vinyl calendar that we can update easily on the bottom... we'll see if that ever gets done!  The chalkboard was originally a very bright green, but it just didn't sit well with the look I wanted (I wanted something a little more cohesive) so I ended up painting the frame white - this is just an old frame that someone was throwing away that I turned into a chalkboard.  And last, the wooden "Holla" sign is from an Etsy shop: Oh Dier Living and I LOVE it!  I was able to pick the color I wanted and it really added the fun, playful element I was striving for while looking polished in our entry way.

Let's see, am I missing anything?
Backpack?  Check.
Keys?  Check.
Sunglasses?  Check.
Homework?  Check.
Lunchbox?  Check.
Purse?  Check.
Chapstick?  Check. 

Yep.  I have it all thanks for my trust, functional and, I think, nice looking family center!  Fist bump organization!

Thanks!
Andrea
KPS