Create His & Her Charging Stations

Photo Credit: Dana Miller, House*Tweaking

Dana from House*Tweaking here. I don't know about you but starting a new year always lights a fire under my tush. I look around my house and see so many improvements that need to be made! I'm not talking decor: furniture arrangements, pillows, paint, etc. What I'm inspired to change is more basic than aesthetics. I'm referring to function. I want my house to work for me. And, right now, my house is functionally challenged.

The first task at hand? Creating his & her mailboxes and a charging station for our personal gadgets.

Open it up, and you have the makings of a mini command centre. Metal trays corral mail on the top two shelves. (See image right .)

My husband cut a hole in the back of the credenza during its installation to allow access to an existing 2-outlet wall receptacle (see image below ). I bought an inexpensive 5-outlet in-wall surge protector to accommodate our numerous chargers. Cords to our laptop and phones run up behind a shelf that my husband cut notches into at the back.

I found the perfect spot for the mailboxes and charging station within the floating credenza in our dining room. The credenza is ideal because it's located just inside the garage entrance to our home—great for catching incoming mail and stashing cell phones.

I've found that locating mailboxes and charging stations as close to an entry/exit are most successful. Family members are more likely to use them and you avoid dirty shoes tracking through the house. Closed, you would never know there is a jumble of envelopes, papers, cords, and chargers in the cabinet.

As you can see, the cabinet offers ample space for our mailboxes and chargers. And the best part? It's working! No more searching for the laptop or iPad and no more dead phones. Eventually, I'd like to add a calendar, cork board, or chalkboard to the inside of the cabinet doors for even more out-of-sight organization.

One organizational project down. A million to go. It's a start!

• Dana