Purge! 5 Things to Purge from Your Command Center

There is one place in the home that is typically the “hub” for the family. This is what I like to call the command center. It can be the desk in your kitchen, a corner in your dining room, or the desk in your home office. While it is essential to have a home base, sometimes these nooks accumulate piles of unnecessary items. It’s time to say “bye” to all of those papers and “stuff” that no longer serves you. Below are a few categories to sort through and PURGE!

1. Expired coupons – I’m a big fan of saving money, but how many times have you clipped a coupon only to find that it has expired? Whether you save store or restaurant coupons, take a look at the expiration date. If these have expired, say farewell. Additionally, to stay ahead of expiration dates, keep your coupons in a small accordion folder and organize by month, and then create subcategories for categories.

2. Out-of-Date School Calendars – If you have kids, you know you can collect many different activity calendars. Make sure you just have the most recent schedule of their games and activities, and discard the rest! If you really want to maintain a cleaner command center, keep these dates in your electronic calendar and throw out the paper.

3. Pens – I just moved and I was amazed at how many pens, highlighters, and markers that had accumulated. I spent time going through them after I moved and got rid of any that were dried out, or those I didn’t like. Oh so liberating!

4. Odds and Ends – The command center is also the space that reels in all of those random items. You know, the items you put down “just for now” with the intention of moving, but somehow they never move. Take the time to move those items to their intended location, or simply get rid of them. Also, in the future, always take the time to properly store and organize those items NOW. If you truly want to stay organized, there is no room in the day for “I’ll do it later”!

5. Old Invitations and Calendars – Look around your command center. Chances are you see a few party invitations, holiday cards or baby announcements. If the event has passed, purge those invitations. If there is a holiday card or announcement you want to keep, store those in a keepsake box. As for old calendars, send those straight to the recycle bin!

After you go through this exercise you should see the top of your command center! Hallelujah! What else did you find that didn’t belong in your command center?

Photo: Real Simple