Family life can often be busy. Organizing and keeping track of multiple schedules is a difficult task in our fast paced world we live in.
Family Life Can Feel Crazy
This is especially true when you have kids in after school or summer activities. My oldest daughter currently is in swimming, tennis, nature camp, choir, and vacation Bible school just to name a few of the monthly and weekly activities. That is only for one child, once you add multiple peoples’ schedules it can get crazy!
To help keep the craziness of family life to a minimum we created a Family Command Center. Think of the command center as the air traffic control tower of your home. It has all the information needed to organize family life without any accidents happening. It knows where everyone is, is going, and when they need to be there.
A Command Center Communicates
A Command Center is more than just a calendar. To keep your family on the same page, your command center needs to communicate other information and give out messages.
Back to the air traffic control tower analogy, the control tower workers know where all the planes are, but they also can communicate to the planes. Communicating to your family is also another job of your command center.
Since people are going and coming at different times, a command center can help communicate messages as your family comes and goes. These messages can include what is for dinner, reminders for the day, to-do list, or chores.
Regardless of the message, your command center will become the central command of family information. After using a command center for a few weeks your family will get use to looking there for messages.
A Command Center Organizes
A Family Command Center also will help organize information. We use our command center to organize our important mail. Notice I said important mail and not junk mail, you should get in the habit of organizing your mail each day.
We organize our mail into bills, coupons, junk, and individual mail. We have folders for bills and coupons. All other mail either gets distributed or, in the case of junk mail, into trash and recycling.
Your command center can organize important phone numbers, such as emergency contact information.
Key Elements of a Perfect Family Command Center
To help you create your own command center here are some key elements.
Centralized Location
Location is extremely important. Your command center should be located in a place in your home where everyone passes each day. Ours is on a wall as you come in the house from the garage. Other good places could be in a foyer, mud room, or kitchen.
A Calendar
Probably the most vital piece of the command center. Your calendar should be easy to add or change information on. So a dry-erase or chalk board calendar works best. I also recommend have a few colors of markers, we try to use a different color for each member of the family or activity. Here is a calendar and markers I recommend.
Mail Organization
You will want something to organize important mail. I use a magazine holder with file folders, but you can also use baskets, trays, or wall hung mail organizer. Anything that allows you to separate your mail into 2-3 categories will work.
Message Board
A message board is a great way to quickly write messages to your family. Again a small marker or chalk board will work great.
I will also show you an inexpensive way to create a message board with a dollar store picture frame.
This is our message board for the command center.
Chores List
Another addition to the a family command center is a chores list. We split our chores list into daily, weekly, monthly, seasonal, and kids. As chores are finish we check them off and everyone knows what still needs to be completed.
If you reward your kids for doing their chores you can add a reward tracking chart. This way your kids have a visual reminder of how they are doing to achieve their reward for the week.
This is our family command center chore list. As you call see we need to a do a better job doing our chores, but it is a slow process.
Lists
The command center is also a general place to have ongoing lists. Our grocery list lives at the command center, which is perfect because as things need to be added to the list anyone can find it and add an item.
You may have other lists to include, such as goals, to-dos, or ideas. For these lists, I find what works best are grocery or to-do list pads. I hang them on the wall using clothes pins and 3M Velcro Hanging Strips.
Drop Zone
A family command center can act as a drop zone to items that you commonly needs as you leave the house. At our command center we have hooks for keys and hanging cups on a wall mounted bar all from IKEA to place wallets and sunglasses.
We have all probably been in the situation where we are running late and we can’t find the keys to the car. Having a drop zone makes it less likely for these items to get lost.
Your drop zone could also be a simple dish to place your keys, sunglasses, and loose change. Just find something that works for you.
Trash
Having a trash at your command center or near it is a good idea. This way you have a place to throw away junk mail, old receipts, etc. instead of these items piling up on your kitchen counter.
Weekly Menu
My wife is awesome and does all the menu planning for our home. After she has done this for the week she write the menu for the week at the command center. This way everyone knows what is for dinner and no one needs to ask.
Value of a Family Command Center
I believe having a command center in your home is a vital part in staying organized and sane in this busy world. I encourage you if you don’t have a family command center now, to start by at least having centralized monthly calendar. Once you have this established you can then layer in some of the other key elements to help you communicate and organize the simple things in your home.
In my next post I will show you how to create an Amazing Family Command Center with Free Printable and Dollar Store Picture Frames. Stay Tuned