{create this} DIY family organization station

While I know school has started for most of you (or will shortly!) I finally got my act together enough to get our family organization station done!!  Better late than never, right?!  

This station is housed on a narrow wall between our kitchen and hallway (And in a place that's really hard to photograph!  Sorry for the picture quality!), on our way to the living room, bedrooms, the laundry room and the front door ... so it's pretty much in the heart of our home!   

Now, my boys are 9 and 12 - past the age where they appreciate "cute" - so I wanted to use bright colors mixed with black and white, lots of graphic designs, metal and funky touches for a slightly industrial feel.  Let's jump right in since there are lots of projects and elements that I can't wait to show you!!  

Starting at the top of the station ... a weekly menu plan & calendar magnet board!

This metal board is a yard sale IKEA find and fit on this wall perfectly!  Because this will house our menu plan, our family calender and the boys' chore boards, I divided the weekly menu section off using washi tape, of course!  The letters (for the days of the week) are a mix of Cosmo Cricket paper letters and $1 graphic letter stickers found at Michaels.  

I used round magnet buttons that I picked up at Walmart and colorful round stickers (.50 yard sale find!!) to make bright magnets to hold the calendar and the menu cards.  I just KNEW that those stickers would come in handy and they were a perfect fit for the magnet buttons! 

And now the boys' favorite part (ha!!) the mod podge chore boards ...

I used the same letter stickers mentioned above to identify each boy's chore board on the magnet board.  I picked up $1 clip boards and mod podge strips of ripped, graphic scrapbook paper to the board.  Then, I added a few accent strips of washi tape.  Each board holds a chore list inside a plastic protector.  As chores are done, they can mark through them with a dry erase marker.  At the end of the day or week, we can wipe them clean and start with a clean slate for the next day!

Here they are hanging on 3M hooks at the corner of the magnet board ... 

When our 20 gallon fish tank tanked, I knew the stand could be used again and it was the perfect size to add to our organization station.  I removed the doors and hinges to make 4 open cubbies for storage.  I added washi tape around the top edge to add a little pop of pattern and to cover up where a piece of the edging came off.  I may paint this or mod podge paper to the top, but for now, it works just fine!  These organization station cubbies are right below the magnet board ...

Resting on top of the cubbies are my "See it" & "Sign it" Trays ...

With two boys in two different schools, there are a lot of papers, permission slips, newsletters, picture day notices, etc. that are sent home.  And I needed a way to get those things from the black holes that are the boys' back packs to a place where I could keep track of all that communication!  I decided to implement "see it" and "sign it" trays!  One is a repurposed metal tray from the Bigger Bug's bedroom and the other is a sturdy paper tray from the dollar spot at Target.  I love the pop of bright blue inside it!  In a perfect world, these should keep us on track :)

Behind the trays, I used a simple white 5x7 picture frame and some of my scrapbooking stash (painted chipboard arrows, chipboard letters, washi tape and a cute little tag from Pink Paislee that I wrote "hey mom..." on) to create a reminder of what goes where!  I stuck it in a giant black clothespin from Michaels and tucked it behind the trays.

Below our paper trays, I slid 4 black metal baskets into the top 2 cubbies to corral all the various stuff that the boys will need when they are heading out the door or coming home from school!

• Grab a Snack ... granola bars, fruit snacks, crackers, etc.
• School Supplies ... extra pencils, paper, pens, index cards, post its, etc.
• Things for Homework ... calculator, markers, crayons, stapler, tape
• Xtra things ... umbrellas, gloves and other odds & ends

For the basket labels, I used some index cards that were pre-printed with letters (I think I picked them up at Joann's a while back).  You can DIY it and use plain index cards and add stamped or sticker letters.  I adhered the cards to Bazzill Big Chips rectangle chipboard pieces.  This gave the labels a little more substance since they'll be handled over and over.  I inked the edges with bright colored ink and clipped the cards onto the baskets with colored binder clips.

Well ... what do you think?!  We will officially put our family organization station to the test tomorrow when my 7th and 4th graders head off for their first day of school!  Happy 2012-2013 school year!!

If this project doesn't keep you buys, check out a few more of my back-to-school/school related projects here and head over to my {taste this} page for lots of easy meal ideas!

This project or recipe was shared at the blogs on my Link page!