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A simple kitchen calendar serves a big-picture purpose

If a fancy magazine ever came calling to photograph my kitchen, which is the hub of our house, I’m sure I’d have to “hide” (i.e. take down) my most cherished organizational tool: our calendar whiteboard.

It’s not “high design” – that’s it in the snapshot above. I’ve affixed it to our magnet-hating fridge with 3M Command Strips. I’m sure interior designers and decorators would shudder at the sight and beg me to relegate it to a less conspicuous spot.

Now, don’t get me wrong – I love digital calendars. My primary calendar is digital; Google calendar to be precise. I’ve got it synced to my phone and my computer — I love the alerts.

But, as much as I have tried to make my Google cal the be-all-end-all, it wasn’t living up to the promise in reality. So, about two years ago, I put up this whiteboard. Each and every month I marvel at how this simple, low-tech tool helps our household run more smoothly.

4 Reasons We Keep an Analog Calendar in Our Kitchen

1. It ensures everyone is on the same big-picture page.

This little white board is the central clearinghouse for all important dates. If an important meeting, event or date is not on there, my husband and babysitter have learned the hard way, it will be missed. This simple whiteboard has a way of forcing conversation about events well in advance of the last minute in a way that emailed calendar invitations simply cannot.

2. It gives me a way to speak with the boys about scheduling and their week.

Each of my boys are learning to look to the board to see their own schedules for the day and the week. My oldest (6 YO) knows that, instead of asking me when he has gym, to look at the whiteboard and dress himself accordingly. Ditto for play dates, soccer matches and hockey games. As both boys get older, I will reinforce lessons about planning by asking them to write in their key activities.

3. It contains “holding pen” papers.

The thin strip of cork board at the bottom of the whiteboard is just the spot for those notices from school that you have to hold on to for a week or more. They’re great for tacking up our weekly menu, holding paper invitations and even to showcase a piece of artwork or an awesome spelling test. Each Friday evening after dinner, I take two minutes to remove items that are no longer valid or that are time to take out of rotation.

4. It reinforces my command of the family schedule

The last week of every month, I erase everything on the board and map out key events for the coming month. It takes about 10 minutes to do. I grab the school calendars, the calendar on my phone, and my computer (for extracurricular timetables), lay them all out on the counter in front of me and scribble like a madwoman. And I enjoy every, single, minute of it. The simple act of having to write out the dates, by hand cements things in my brain in a way that typing it once in cyber space never will. I get a beat to think about things like date nights and haircuts. I get to see which weeks are going to require extra effort – and where we have smooth sailing. It’s big picture and yet very much tied to our every day.

So, regardless of style, our calendar will be on the fridge, in whiteboard form, for many years to come.

How about you. Do you have a kitchen command central calendar? Or have you given up on analog and gone 100% digital?

Posted by Sarah on Jan 22, 2013 print article e-mail to a friend
  • smlalock

    Thank you so much! I thought I was “supposed” to have just one calendar and couldn’t figure out why so many individual calendars have failed for me. Years later I am (was until today) still on the hunt for that ONE perfect calendar/organizer…Thank you for making me feel sane and now I can move forward using multiple calendars!

  • Kirsten

    I set up a family ‘command center’ with a white board calender about 3 months ago. I also have digital calenders as well. I totally agree that doing the white board every month really cements things in your mind. I also have corkboard underneath my calender to pin up short term notices for school, etc. I have never felt so in control of my family’s schedule. Or so organized. For the first time in his life, my son is aware of when things are happening and how many days in a week and so much important data, that I take for granted in the digital world, but that he is just beginning to understand. I feel exactly the same way, with all my calenders laid out in front of me, writing in the dates and events, it is such a powerful ‘commanding’ feeling. One thing that I use, is different colors of dry erase pens, sometimes it helps correspond with things I have pinned to the cork board and sometimes it just helps make the calender look festive!

  • http://www.timestylecoaching.com/ Stacey Vulakh

    It’s very helpful to use both analog and digital. Not everyone in the family may be keen to sync calendars digitally and then you leave it open to the possibility that it didn’t sync correctly. Having one main family calendar makes sure everyone can see it and know what’s going on. It’s also a great spot to write down your meal plan for the week as well and then everyone can be aware and help out by pulling out the roast from the freezer or prepping the veg. (Ok, so sometimes I live in a dream world, but it’s having the mechanisms in place that will help get you there!)

  • Catnipper

    Very good point for busy families. We use a paper calendar which we update from day to day or while we’re riding in the car.

  • http://www.facebook.com/ashley.dempsey.9883 Ashley Dempsey

    I just recently created a command center on the side of my fridge. It eliminates that paper clutter that tries to take over the house and constant questions (“What time is my hockey game?”) It has a place for mail, coupons, menus. I can’t figure out how to post a picture here of it.

  • enigmalea

    I find that writing it out ALWAYS makes it stick better for me. A while ago, I tried to create a digital planner that synced seamlessly from my laptop to my phone and back again. I tried to use it to store to do lists, grocery lists, and appointments. I missed everything. Give me a piece or paper and a pen and I’m instantly more productive. Something about analog lists and schedules makes them more “real” and more difficult to put off.

  • Kathy L – Glen Rock, NJ

    We have a command center on the door of one of the cabinets. I have a 12 month paper calendar with big spaces for each day to write things down. I LOVE IT. As you have noted it provides us with a means to sit down and discuss the week/month ahead. It helps to create a sense of calm. I was reminded of this as January began and due to all the hustle and bustle of the holidays January was one big white page. It was a very unsettling feeling until we got everything planned out. Peace was restored.

  • sunnsilk

    great post….i love this kind of calendar where you write everything on it the old fashion way :-) …….just hate those modern calendars on the phone…..

  • Becky

    YES! Hubby refuses to use it, but I think I’m slowly turning him over to the idea of it. He’s convinced that all he ever needs is on his phone calendar, then can’t understand WHY he’s missing appointments. When I point out that he never put them in his phone and silences all alarms anyway, then he grumbles something about his phone being the problem. I point him to the command center where I have it written down in his color erasable marker (blue) and remind him that if he would check the calendar instead of relying on his phone, he’d be all set. Some more grumbles, and then he goes right back to his phone. *sigh* I’ve learned to just let him screw things up over and over. He’s dense, but even he learns eventually!

  • Kathleen

    I use digital and analog at home and at work. I have gone to the extreme at home of using different colored pens for each member of the family. My colleagues and friends laugh at me but it has worked well for years! I am please to say that it has rubbed off on my 15 year old daughter who has a calendar hanging in her room with all of her activities and a calendar/assignment combo journal she uses for school. My 18 year old son on the other hand……oh well!!

  • Melanie

    I grew up having a paper calendar in the kitchen, and I don’t think my mom would have survived home life without one. She got me in the habit of always having one and it definitely made a difference in my own home life as well!

  • SarahButtonedUp

    @facebook-100004290031830:disqus – if you send sarah at getbuttonedup dot com the image, I’ll post it at the bottom of the story. :)

  • Angie

    I love the “Mom’s Plan-It” calendar. It has a monthly view with lines for 5 family members on each day. It also has a pocket below it for all those scheduling papers. I buy one each year.

  • http://www.facebook.com/amandatripper Amanda Frazier

    We have to have one of these. We recently updated our kitchen and actually figured in some room for our calender in my kitchen. I can write down the days I work so my husband knows, when bills are due so I remember, as well as all the other stuff my four children have going on. We would be incredibly lost without ours, which happens to be as non-fancy as yours is.

  • http://www.facebook.com/amandatripper Amanda Frazier

    PS- I noticed you have almost the same markers as I do, and a tip? If you hang them upside down, with the felt tip pointing towards the floor, they tend to write better :)

  • caro

    I do have a clever alternative now which is perfect four our family’s organization habits. Unfortunately, it’s a German product, but I wanted to show it to you because the design is just perfect! http://www.jako-o.de/wochenkalender-2013–648625.html?onlinecatalogue=hk13#parentView



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