Anyone have a sort of Command Centre?

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With a dd due at Nursery in a few months and a second baby on the way, I feel I need to become more organised. DH and I both work ft (shifts for me, too) so at the moment I simply stick my rota on the fridge and text the Childminder the days and times she will he having dd.

Im envisaging years ahead of letters from school, friends addresses and phone numbers, doctor and dentist appointments and all the extra gubbins on top of managng two kids.

Anyone have a bit of a command centre - places for letters, calendar etc somewhere in their home?

What is essential? How did you introduce it? We dont have masses of space but plenty of bare walls.

I guess you would struggle to fit a full shopping list in tasks...there is a box for notes though - just not sure how much info you can put in there?
On my laptop in google mail 'tasks' opens in a small window on the RHS of the screen and I have it set up so the calendar appears on LHS under the contacts list...and that is quite handy...(got rid of the chat etc bits that were there before ...)
Don't synch my contacts with google cos I have a couple of big groups of email addresses for my work in my personal email account (not likely to need these out and about!) - found that I had 400+ contacts...a pain
Start typing a contact name to text someone and you get a list rather than the one personal contact you want with that name...

I like the flexibility but simplicity of Keep. I don't want to set deadlines etc. I just want lists.

I've worked for 30 years and have 5 children most of that time so we have certainly got experience of systems.
Number 1 is a physical calendar in the kitchen showing the week where we write everything needed - PE kit, appointment etc. Of course everyone could instead have that in an electronic system if that works too for you. Our children find it useful as whenever they go into the kitchen each morning before school they can check if today is the music lesson day or when the dentist's appointment is etc etc.

Secondly put the dishwasher and washer on every day of the year so nothing builds up.

Thirdly do admin like bills every night so you have one item rather than 25,000 every month. I pay every bill on receipt.

Fourth all family members have access to the on line Tesco shopping account and put into the basket what is needed. I have it delivered when the cleaner is here (who as well as cleaning puts all the washing away) so I don't even put the shopping away. we have not always been able to afford a cleaner in the early years though.

Most important be in a non sexist household where men do as much as women. It's the key way to make things work. Do not accept sexism even for a single day. It is when the men are just as much organising and in charge of their tasks that life is fine. Should be top of my list.

I do exactly the same as pupsiecola.

Google calender synced with dh. Every single dates goes onto the calender, else it doesn't happen.

Google keep for lists and tasks (I also keep screenshots of things I want to do in Summer hols, buy for Christmas presents, recipe remeinders etc on it)

Goggle drive keeps important stuff for me.

Paper work is stored away upstairs in a big box - life is too short to file everything IMHO.

Things that need dealing with are put into the 'inbox' in the kitchen which forces me to deal with them as it overspills!

Notable is a good app for quick notes.

It adds to your notification bar so every time you pull it down you see the note and it reminds you to do it!

Re finances I have a Google sheet with all our monthly outgoings, and another set of columns for annual expenses. So for example car insurance. Will also show the company it's with, the amount, and the renewal date. I can look at that one sheet and get any info I need. The annual costs are then totted up and amortised and a monthly amount added to the monthly side.

The colournote adds 'post it' notes to your screens so you can add as much detail as you need and even colour coordinate them if the fancy takes you!

I file newsletters etc and then periodically (once every year or so) have a clear out and get rid...
I have missed seeing things on there in the past then DD has said something about 'the trip next week' I'm then I've dug out newsletter and all info is there - that's why I always keep a paper copy too - although the photo idea sounds good too (although then you'd still have to go through and sort out at some point) and I write 'paid & date' on things to - so no confusion.
Having said that we now get newsletters from school by email - much easier to find again if you need to!

YY to shoes by front door! Also keys in a bowl.

I have two drawers of an Expedit for paper filing using the GTD method (basically filing essential stuff in one paper folder per item eg gas bill, bank statement, rather than having categories. It's incredibly simple and works better than any filing system I've ever used).

I've always preferred paper, but have started using a family google calendar as STBX and I move in and out of the family home depending who's in charge, so a physical calendar wouldn't work for us any more - but I do also have a paper sheet for the kids in the kitchen which says who's in charge/collecting this week. I love getting digital reminders, eg to take swimming kit on Wednesdays!

I take a photo with my ipad or phone of pretty much every important piece of paper that comes in (eg school paperwork, etc), ditch the paper and keep info in a shared notebook in Evernote. Also have a shared family email used for anything family or household related. Anything X needs to know that would have been stuck on fridge is prefaced NOF (for 'note on the fridge') in the subject line. All this takes very little time - certainly less than it used to take me to file papers.

I use Evernote for home and work stuff. I love the fact that you can search your notes so easily and now I have very little paper floating about.

Also each child has an expedit cardboard box and their best drawings, certificates, birthday cards etc get dropped in there when they've migrated from the fridge. Once a year or so we go through the box and they throw out what they don't want to keep.

I take photos in Evernote of my favourite bits of artwork if they don't keep it.

Our school puts all newsletters on the website so I recycle them straight after I've transfered the details to my phone.

My filofax...

I'm a single mum with a young child though so no one needs to see it but me.

I go through letters etc as soon as they arrive and sort them straight away.

A diary.

Enjoying this thread while trying to decide whether the fact I've just written a note on my hand to remember in the morning counts as paper free?

I have bought a mailsorter with 36 compartments for storing 3 x childrens' high school books - works quite well, although I wish they'd be organised to use their school lockers!

I would add to my list that I file every day. We have 8 filing cabinet drawers with folders for car, bank, children's banks, birth certificates, passports, gas, electricity, council tax, NI number cards, holiday papers, mobile, BT, internet. water rates etc etc. When the 8 drawers get full I have a sort out and things that have to be stored like tax records for many years go into named boxes in the loft. It would be hard given the complexity of my business, 5 children etc to be paperless so although more and more is on line these days we do need those 8 drawers with all the paper files in them all in alphabetical order. It takes a few seconds to find just about anything in this house. it is very rare anything is lost.

What ever happened to Outlook? Or am I just showing my age and technological ludditeness?

I have a big black diary in the kitchen that acts as a hub.

Every family member knows that this tells us all where we are (or meant to be) each day. It also has important dates and deadlines noted in it.

Next to that diary, I have a smaller diary in which I have lists of things that need to be done each day.

All opened mail is placed in a brown leather letter rack and reviewed regularly.

For diary matters, we are fully electronic colour coded per family member syncing to all devices. Brilliant for weekly recurring, one entry, it's in for the rest of the year. LOVE THAT!

For paperwork we have main filing for stuff that we've dealt with and don't need to act on but need to keep for records in a filing cabinet tucked away.

For new/ongoing/incoming/need to deal we have a couple of those standing up files that things can slot into and I just rummage through them pretty frequently to make sure we haven't missed something. I also add reminders to electronic diary to fish out whatever form to go back to school etc etc from the standing file.

For invites etc, small things can go on the fridge. Try to reply quickly so not forgotten.

Shoes and coats and bags all have set spots so go straight there on the way in in the evening, ready to pick up or find without looking the following morning.

Shopping list I just handle manually with a piece of paper!

We tend to look at the diary on a Sunday evening to see what is going on, what arrangements might be different from our usual week.

loving this thread!
generally we use google calendar (though viewed through a different app with better widgets) means dh and I can both access from anywhere. I also put my work stuff on here so I can see at a glance what's happening each day. Has integrated tasks so tasks pop up on each day they need doing with reminders as needed.
Then set of shelves in the futility with 7 trays on (one for each dc plus one general) that important letters etc go in till no longer needed. However have discovered app to scan letters directly onto google drive so new plan is to scan immediately then recycle, unless I need paper copy for any reason.
Must say I love my smartphone and google - has definitely helped me organise my life!

I use google calendar and different app on iphone that syncs to google calendar. It's colour coded by person. Every week I print off a new copy of this week & next week and stick on cork board in the kitchen. DH/DC can write extra things on hard copy or tell me and I will add to calendar on phone. While I am waiting for kettle to boil, I'll occasionally check for things I need to add to electronic version.

We have an ongoing shopping list on the fridge which I add to next (regular, pre-booked) online order through phone app when I have a few minutes in the kitchen (I drink a lot of tea and work from home, so many kettles boiled ...).

Papers are dealt with immediately. School stuff is signed etc and straight back into book bags. Bills go on top of my keyboard on my desk and are paid and stuck in lever arch file next time I have desk time. I don't sort filing - it just goes on top. Every two years I burn the oldest file. I have another file of stuff I need to permamently keep (birth certificates etc.). So generally 3-4 files on the shelf in total. Anything I need to keep to take to an appointment goes in a plastic wallet stuck on the cork board and I start a calendar entry with an asterisk to flag up that papers need to be taken. DH has a ring binder for hospital papers and home notes which lives in the kitchen and takes the whole thing to any appointment as no-one in the NHS talks to each other and I can't always go to appointments with him.

DH can't manage technology and DC are too young, otherwise they would be accessing the google calendar too - it really is fab.

yy to load of washing Every Damn Day. I load the night before and press the go when I make first cup of tea in the morning. If the basket is empty (!) I do cushion covers, soft toys etc., which may not get done otherwise.

Anyone using Pocket? Is excellent for saving all electronic articles for reading at a later date. Love it.

What is the better Google calender with nicer widgets - I want!

And which app scans documents for Google drive.

I Don't think you need half the paperwork you think you do. I can't remember the last time I looked up an account number before phoning gas/water/electric/ etc. I just phone, say I don't have it, answer a couple of security questions and they find my account. Much easier than filing and finding every time.

If I do need an account number regularly then I find it online and screen shot, then store it in Google drive, so I have a record of it on my phone and don't need to find the actual paperwork.

Mayhem I use Calendars+ on iphone, which I just find easier to use and view than the google calendar on a phone. It syncs to google calendar which I use on the computer.

And Remember The Milk is very handy for reminders and to-do lists for future days. eg Weds is telephone morning, so at 8am Wednesdays I get an email list of all the telephone calls I need to make.

I take pictures of receipts for work and store on google drive. Now I do the same for dcs letters and then throw out the paper copy.

I checked google keep but it doesn't sync to calendar. Is it worth using?