5 Must-Haves For Your Command Center

Getting Your Family Organized in One Spot

Do you feel like you can’t keep track of every event, deadline, birthday, payment dates? The list could go on and on. Adulting is hard. There are so many things you have to remember to do and having one place in your home to keep this all together could make your life 10x easier!

What is this magical place I speak of? A command center. If a picture of a military personnel sitting in front of a control board with lots of buttons and gauges comes to mind, that's not exactly what I had in mind. Although this command center may have you feeling like you are the commander in chief and really have your stuff together. The command center I am referring to is an area in your home where everything is kept and recorded so that you can clear up the space in your brain before it overloads and you have a complete meltdown.

Everyone’s command center may look a little different, but here are the must haves:

1. A calendar

Obviously having a calendar will help with upcoming events, this is especially important in households with multiple family members who have their own busy schedules. This is a good place for anyone in the family to check if there is something planned for a certain day. If you are technologically inclined, you could even recreate this digitally for the adults in your family so you have it wherever you go.

2. A white board/ chalkboard

Some place to easily write things down that can be erased when finished or easily swapped out for the next month. This is great when you have to remember something quickly and may not have the time to enter it into your calendar or phone.

3. A corkboard, clipboard or basket

Something that will allow you to save physical pieces of paper. This could include things such as: wedding invitations, coupons you plan to use, school permission slips or upcoming appointment reminders. I recommend reviewing these items every week to get rid of things that have passed or expired.

4. Grocery list

Whether it is a notepad or another reusable writing spot, keeping this handy is great. Throughout the week as your family members finish that last bit of milk or you use the last of your garlic powder you can jot it down so you don't forget. I typically buy note pads from my local dollar store, then when it is time to shop rip it off and take it with you, or take a picture of the list on your phone.

5. Weekly calendar for meal plans

This can be another notepad or white erase/chalkboard but it will be specifically designated for recording your meals planned for the week. This way you have a plan and don’t have to face the dreaded question: What's for dinner tonight?

Little things to not overlook

1. Choose an easy access location for your command center, something you can easily use and see on a daily basis.

2. Keeping pens/markers/chalk and an eraser handy and in the same spot. In order for this to make your life easier, you want to have these things handy. Don’t waste time and energy searching for tools you need.

3. If you have multiple people in your family that will have different papers and such it may be a good idea to have a basket/ clipboard for each family member. Be sure to check your command center paper periodically, so nothing is missed and items are cleared out as soon as possible.

4. Some people even choose to have a spot for keys, kids backpacks and other frequently used and misplaced items. Great idea to have everything you use in one central place.

5. Make it cute! You will be looking at this habitually, I suggest adding your favorite quotes or wall art to personalize it for your family.

Thanks for reading, feel free to comment below and share this with anyone you know who would benefit from this info!

Need other examples of command centers? Check out my "Home Command Center" board on pinterest at: pinterest.com/bracketandbin