Simple Command Center

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I’ve shown several of my “command centers” over the years, and this probably won’t be my last. The thing is, as my family grows and changes, the needs of our command center change too.

Our current Command Center is very simple, on the wall of our kitchen eating area where we sit every day for breakfast and dinner. I like that it holds some personal creations from my kids (especially since I don’t keep anything on my fridge).

This is what works for us right now:

It includes room to write notes to ourselves in chalk, like right now we’re keeping track of dog commands we’re trying to use.

It also keeps the menu for the week, which is something I cut off from the menu and grocery list page in my planner.

Maybe most important is the running grocery list. My kids have learned by now that unless they write it down, I will forget what they tell me they need. They can say “I ran out of toothpaste or I used the last egg” and will most definitely forget. I only seem to remember what is written down when I do the grocery shopping. 🤷‍♀️

And of course, I keep my son’s chore list here, because he is only 6 and still needs a lot of training and hands-on help to get these done. My girls (14, 14, 12) have their own lists on magnet boards in their hallway and they do a good job managing those.

I have a cleaning supply closet, and I keep my home management schedule and after dinner jobs on the inside of that door.

Of course, this schedule here is really just for reference if my family wants to know. I keep all my home management stuff in my own planner.

PS – No more paper family calendars!

I don’t do the paper calendar as part of our command center anymore because we use a shared google calendar that everyone can access on their different devices – phones, tablets, and computers. Family members can add and change event info in real time. It’s magical.

I actually still use paper calendars to help me plan things out and stretch out projects across a time-line visually.

But no more paper family calendars. There is just too much data, it feels almost impossible to keep it up to date when it is on one piece of paper somewhere in the house. So, you’ll notice our command center doesn’t have a calendar!

(If you’re curious about what’s in that basket in the corner, it is where I organize our dog stuff. I didn’t pose Cookie in these pictures, she just finds her way there.)

I’m always a proponent of do what works for you. Use other command centers as an inspirations and starting point, then create your own!

Here are some resources for command centers that may help you:

• How To Create Your Command Center
• My Command Center Redo
• 12 Beautiful & Functional Command Centers
• Kids Command Center
• All About Kids’ Chores
• Managing Kids’ Busy Schedules

Happy organizing!

From my home to yours,
Mary

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