Get Your Shenanigans Together with a Simple Family Command Center

A peek inside this post: Say goodbye to flying by the seat of your pants (at least some of the time) and get ready to create a home that thrives with this simple family command center! This post will cover why creating a home command center is important, how to make a family command center, how to get your family organized using the right family command center layout, and of course, command center must haves!

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Are you ready to get your family’s shenanigans together and finally get everyone on the same page?

My best advice for how to get your family organized is to create a simple family command center. You can use my simple system to create a home that thrives from the inside out! Stay with me and learn how to make a family command center that works for your family.

How to Get Your Family Organized

At the start of every school year, I look for ways to get our schedules, school work, paperwork, and lives in general, more organized.

In the past, I’ve tried things that didn’t really stick or were too complicated for longevity. Have you tried systems that didn’t last, too? It really stinks to put time and effort into something and then find out that it’s just not working for your family.

I was in the same boat. But this time I created a space that has worked well for my family for two years: a kitchen family command center. It’s working so well, I really don’t think I’ll need to change anything.

This family command center is simple enough for you to do on your own. It’s not expensive, either. Plus, it works well for any family size!

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Questions to Ask Before Creating a Home Command Center

Before you dive right in and start adhering items to the wall, there are a few things you should consider:

1. Where should you set up your command center for easy, optimal viewing?
2. What is the size of that space?
3. What will your family command center layout need to look like?
4. What are you looking to get out of this?  What problems are you hoping to fix by creating a home command center?

I knew I needed my family command center to work for me and my family in the following ways:

1. A clear, concise calendar for everyone to see what our schedule looks like.  This helps every family member know what’s going on each day, and provides a sense of stability as well as ownership for even the youngest of our crew.
2. A copy of the school’s calendar with important dates and events.
3. School lunch menus.
4. Baskets for the kids’ papers, folders, library books, etc.
5. Chores for kids to do in a way that alleviates any nagging on my end, and simple enough for the kids to be responsible for on their own—something that is sustainable.

Now that you know what you’re trying to accomplish, and the problems you’re hoping to solve by doing so, you’re ready to start making your own simple family command center!

My Kitchen Family Command Center

Because I’m a visual person, and am guessing that you might be too, here’s a look at my kitchen family command center:

We’ll look at each individual item so you can become familiar with all my family command center must haves, but first, let’s talk about the space overall.

I chose my family command center layout based on the large, open wall I had in our kitchen. You might have to think of a different space and how to utilize it efficiently.

My simple family command center consists of a dry-erase calendar, school calendars and lunch menus, hanging baskets for each of my four children, and our chore chart.

Choosing Your Family Command Center Layout

You may not have a giant wall in your kitchen to house your command center like I do. That’s ok! What other space can you utilize instead?

If I could give you one tip when deciding on your own family command center layout and where to put it, it would be: Put it where your family will see it!

It does no one any good if your command center is tucked away or if they have to go searching for it. You want your family command center to be in yo’ face! You want your kids to look at the calendar and exclaim, “Oh yeah! Picture day is tomorrow!”

via GIPHY

In short, you want important information to slap you in the forehead because it’s too obvious to be missed or forgotten about.

My Family Command Center Must Haves

Depending on your space and the pain points you’re trying to fix, “must haves” might differentiate a little bit. But these are items I use and love:

The Calendar

I got this giant dry-erase poster (and it comes with four dry-erase markers and an eraser), because I had a large space to fill up on our wall.  We love how big it is, there’s more than enough space to write everybody’s appointments/events down, and each family member stays in the loop!

The Baskets

I purchased four of these baskets, one for each of my boys.

Each day, they come home and plop their school folders in their baskets, so I can review them at my leisure.  When I’m done reviewing and signing papers, I place the folder back in the proper basket, and the boys grab it when they’re packing up for the next day.

It’s also a good place to keep papers with special project directions, or field trip specifications.  There’s no “Shoot! I forgot we needed to get your costume ready for the Wax Museum Project” or “Darn, I forgot you needed a sack lunch for your field trip!” moments anymore, because we look in those baskets every day.

And, when I’m traveling from room to room and find their misplaced toys and books laying around, I can just toss them in the respective basket for the owner to put away later.

The Chore Chart

Another way to get your family organized is to create a functioning chore system. Learn all about The Best Chore Chart System and how I made it work for our large family!

I Hope You Love Your Simple Family Command Center!

As you can see, creating a home command center isn’t all that difficult. By asking yourself how to get your family organized, what you hope to accomplish, and where the best place to put it is, you can create a thriving home from the inside out!

By getting your family organized and instilling responsibility in each member, your life will be far less hectic. You might still forget an appointment here or there because nobody’s perfect ?, but these ideas will definitely bring you closer to having your shenanigans together.

Do you think you’ll use this system for your family?  Let me know, or leave a picture of your family command center in the comments! I always love seeing what works for other families!

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Simple Family Command Center