Kitchen Command Center

. . . is what my home is in need of. badly.

We have this amazing island in our kitchen, which has become a catch-all for, well, ALL! Drying paint brushes, keys, receipts, mail, dinner, dirty dishes, clean dishes. And I'm finding it harder and harder to remember things (like bringing my lunch or remembering to check if my shirt has stains on it before I leave the house), so I need a place for everything so I can put everything in its place.

Cue the Container Store!!! (and IKEA and BB&B and Pottery Barn . . .)

I love love love this thing:

It's magnetic so you just stick your keys on it.



This is the "Daily System" from Pottery Barn. I think this may be what I need. Hooks for keys, slots for wallets and phones. Pottery Barn, however, is a little pricey.

But these!

The exact same system, at Bed Bath and Beyond, for about $10-$15 less for each piece.

I ended up with the File Bin, for mail and magazines, and the three-tiered storage unit with the key hooks, for keys (obviously), wallets, phones, and iPods. I decided against the calendar, even though it would probably help; we are notoriously BAD at writing things on calendars, or even remembering to switch calendars to the next month.

Now we just have to get them onto the wall . . .