If you’ve never created a command center in your home, it’s an excellent tool to get your whole family organized. It’s a centralized location where you get to share current events, communicate goals, and plan for the future.
To get the most out of your command center, you should personalize it for your space, your aesthetic, and the needs of your household. I consider myself a minimalist, and I get overwhelmed when my walls are too busy. It made sense to create a command center that’s very basic and simple.
Here are the elements we felt were most important to include in our minimalist command center:
Color-Coded Calendar
I can’t rely on my brain to remember every significant date, so writing them down on a large calendar is ideal. I don’t write every day, consistent things, like my husband’s work schedule or the kids’ school schedule, but I do note classes, appointments, meetings, special occasions, and changes to our ordinary routines. I also use colored pens to assign colors to every member of my family.
Here’s our color key:
- Red- me
- Blue- Husband
- Pink- Kid #1
- Purple- Kid #2
- Orange- Both kids
- Green- the whole family
- Black- everything else
Unlike whiteboard or chalkboard calendars that only let you plan one or two months at a time, I prefer an 18-month paper calendar that lets me make notes far in advance. I keep white out in the pen holder right next to it in case I need to make any changes.
I also want to mention that I use the calendar on my phone to reference my schedule on the go. I make sure to cross-check every couple of days to be sure that both calendars, paper and digital, are updated.
Menu or Meal Plan
One of my biggest organizational tips is to meal plan. Everything always goes smoother when you know exactly how you’re going to energize and nourish your family.
I meal plan and grocery shop once a week. I write the dinners that I shopped for in our command center so that we can all quickly reference the menu options. This prevents last-minute, hangry panicking over what we’re going to eat each night.
I usually put our grocery list directly into my phone, but there’s space in the command center to jot down any additional wants or needs.
Paper Area
When I was thinking about minimal ways to display flyers, newsletters, and schoolwork, I intentionally searched for something with a small surface area. I learned from experience that if you allow too much space for papers, it will inevitably get filled and messy. This magnetic strip is lightweight but strong. It’s big enough to hold essential documents but slight enough that it shouldn’t get cluttered. Although it came with screws, I used command strips to attach it to this cabinet. The moment we are done with a piece of paper, it goes straight into the recycling bin.
Some families’ command centers have spaces for additional items, like a clock, keys, or mail. You won’t see those in ours because our kitchen has two clocks and we have other systems for storing keys and sorting mail. When creating your command center, you should always adjust and customize it for how your family functions best.
Does your family have a command center? What works best for you?
