HOW TO BUILD A FAMILY COMMAND CENTER AND CREATE AN ORGANIZED HOME
I once read that a messy desk indicates a chaotic life. I would quote that author, but I don’t know where I read those wise words in or where that life-changing book went. I read it in college, when staying organized meant keeping up with social appointments (and a few school assignments).
Now that I’m a mother of three, writer, and (ahem) home-manager extraordinaire, staying organized requires constant diligence. Everything that need my attention—bills, library books, doctors appointments, invitations—lands on out kitchen desk. Even my husband plops his work there at the end of the day, hoping that I will make it disappear.
The kitchen desk has become the tactical Home Command Center, where I keep my family’s plates spinning. Although it’s slightly messy, it helps me keep a chaotic life under control.
A Command Center for an Organized Home
As parents, we keep our fast-moving families going strong. Who else will remember to pick up toilet paper at the store? Who’s going to dress our children in the correct hue for Color Day at school or send in a shoebox for that science project? Whether it’s a desk, a countertop, a drawer or a cabinet, we need a home Command Center to keep our families running efficiently.
Through trial, error, and a misplaced library book or two, I’ve learned that we also need a system for keeping the Command Center of the home organized. Otherwise, it quickly becomes a pile of chaos. And if you’re not Martha Stewart or a Container Store aficionado? Not to worry. The following easy, inexpensive tips will streamline the system for keeping your family moving.
Strategies to Create an Organized Home Command Center
To start getting your home command center ready for duty, designate a day to do a foundational cleaning using the following strategies.
1. Tackle the Piles
Take everything out of the drawers and cabinets and everything off of the counter of your Command Center. Throw away anything you no longer need or want. Ask yourself:
- Is this worth keeping?
- Will I need it again?
- Does it belong someplace else?
- If it’s a magazine or packet of papers, do I need all of it? Or any of it?
2. Sort and Categorize
Next, group similar things together. My Command Center has spaces for:
- Frequently used office supplies, such as pens, stamps, scissors, and charging cords
- School records
- Letters
- Kids’ artwork
- Bills
3. Digitize
Cutting down on paper clutter will make your life simpler. Your computer or phone can be the assigned home for your calendar, address book, gift lists, or schedule of babysitters. If you’re a two-parent household, these things can be shared between multiple devices to keep everyone on the same page.
4. Contain Yourself
Every group needs an assigned home if you want to stay organized. Make your most-used things easily accessible. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to organize your Command Center. You can buy letter trays and boxes for stationery at the dollar store. Plastic carryout containers make great drawer dividers. A small basket can hold kids’ games or art supplies.
Establish Family Rules for an Organized Home
Once you’ve cleaned out, sorted, and contained everything, enjoy your millisecond of perfection. The next part is harder: developing a flow for how things will arrive at and leave the Command Center.
In other words, how will maintain your home organization?
The key is not only to develop a system but also to explain to each family member how they play a part in it. Establish ground rules and encourage everyone’s participation. I’ve found a few simple ones work best.
1. Never Leave Things In the Car
Make it a habit to bring in everything from the car when you get home. This include sports equipment, backpacks, purses, and trash. Clearing out the car reduces morning chaos because no one is searching for a lunchbox or library book when they’re supposed to be leaving for school.
2. Deal With It Immediately
When something comes through the door, whether in a child’s backpack or in the mail, do something with it immediately. Open the mail, throw away what you don’t need, and organize bills. Have kids empty their backpacks when they get home.
You can also designate a time of day for this step. I have one general “to-do” pile that I go through each afternoon after my kids come home from school and one pile of bills that I go through near the beginning of the month.
3. Establish Weekly Communication
In a two-parent household, communicating with each other is an essential part of home organization. Designate a time each week that you’ll sit down and discuss the schedules, childcare, personal needs, and activities.
My husband sets an alarm on his phone each Sunday evening that reminds us to sit down with our calendars and hash out the week. This conversation sets my to-do list and helps me anticipate my family’s needs.
Addressing Common Areas of Chaos for an Organized Home
You’ve cleaned out, developed a system and explained it to the family. But you still may find certain areas clogging the flow in and out of the Command Center. Every family has problem areas. Here’s how to deal with them.
The Family Calendar
Maintaining your home organization requires an organized calendar. This calendar should be one that all the adults can see and edit.
If you like to go digital, try Google Calendar, a scheduling system anyone with a Google account can access. Another option, Cozi.com, uses color-coding to show each member’s activities. It also maintains grocery and task lists.
Digital calendars are easily accessible, but don’t discount a paper option. Keeping a paper calendar at home can be a great way to involve your kids in the family schedule. They can see when important dates are coming, such as parents’ travel, and anticipate fun events.
If you love trying out the latest gadget, combine the two systems with a digital home calendar, such as the Skylight. These wall-mounted touch devices can sync to multiple types of calendars, including Google, Apple, Cozi, and Outlook. They also have a mobile app that you can use on your phone and the options to make checklists for kids and parents.
Shopping
Make it easy for family members to contribute to a shared shopping list. This way, anyone can add Cheerios to the grocery list if they finish the box or note that they need new socks from Target.
If you prefer analog systems or want to involve your kids, use a magnetic notepad. Make a place on it for each the main stores you frequent. Place it on the refrigerator or the command center where every family member can see (and reach) it.
If you prefer a digital list, apps like Notes, AnyList, or Tick Tick will let you share and sync your shopping lists between devices. If you use Cozi for your calendar, you can also make use of its list-making functions.
Birthdays
You can go digital or analog for this one. But whichever you prefer, take some time at the beginning of the year to make sure important birthdays make it onto your calendar. (If you use a digital calendar, you can set birthdays to repeat every year so they automatically carry over.)
If you have young kids who go to a lot of birthday parties, set up a gift closet near your home Command Center. Use it to store gifts for loved ones that you buy ahead of time, or stash multiples of successful kid presents so you always have something to wrap up for a friend’s party, no extra shopping required.
By keeping presents in a designated spot, you’ll never lose track of them. Your gift closet should also include cards, gift bags, and wrapping supplies.
Schoolwork & Artwork
Training your family to follow the “deal with it immediately” rule will help schoolwork end up where it belongs. Remind your kids to remove assignments from their backpacks during a designated homework time, then return those assignments to their backpacks once they’re completed. Make sure backpacks return to their own hooks or cubbies so everyone knows where to find them in the morning.
Young kids especially tend to come home with lots of artwork. For pieces you want to display, designate a place such as the refrigerator, the windows near the kitchen table, or on playroom walls. As new masterpieces are made, they can replace the old artwork.
When the artwork comes down, enlist your kids to help decide which pieces are special enough to keep and which can be recycled. For “keepers,” I note on the back who made it and when. These pieces get stored in a Command Center cabinet. At the end of the school year, I sort the pile by artist and make a file for the year of special school and artwork. I store these files in a plastic keepsake tub in the attic.
Is your family just starting their school journey? Check out our guide to the best Charlottesville preschools, plus how to know if your child is ready for preschool.
Bills
Whenever possible, go paperless. Most utilities and banks provide online payment options and will do the work for you. You can use a labeling system in your email to keep track of things, or save PDFs in designated folders.
If you do get paper bills, designate a spot for them in your Command Center. It may be helpful to have a letter sorter or basket. Pay all of your bills on one day. Many bills can be paid online. For any that can’t, write your checks, stamp the envelopes, and put them in a designated “outbox” spot to be mailed so you don’t lose track of them.
Records
Many records can be kept digitally, just like bills. Purchase an accordion folder or file box at an office-supply store for documents that you keep paper copies of, such as vaccination records, insurance information, and paystubs. Keep the file in the Command Center. Birth certificates, social security cards, titles, licenses, and other vital records should be in a locked fire safe and put somewhere out of sight.
If you keep receipts for business or for your personal budget, consider using a receipt tracking app, such as Shoeboxed or Smart Receipts. These allow you to scan, categorize, and store your receipts digitally so they don’t become part of the paper clutter around your house.
Seasonal Decorations
Buy large plastic tubs and designate one for each holiday or season. Make sure they are labeled on the outside so you always know which is which. I have one for all holidays that aren’t Christmas and several for Christmas, including a few smaller tubs just for ornaments.
The Christmas tubs stay in the attic, but the non-Christmas tubs and seasonal wreaths stay within reach in a hall closet, close to the Command Center. Anytime a seasonal tub is out, I spend a few moments sorting out items that I no longer use.
Backpacks, Coats & Shoes
Establish drop zones for kids to load and unload when coming and going. Not every home has space for a mudroom, but you can create a drop zone with just a few items. Consider with a coat rack and plastic tub near the garage door. Or, hang hooks at kid height for backpacks and coats in a stairwell or inside the door of a closet. Shoes can go in a shoe cabinet or rack, hats and gloves can end up in a designated basket. Whatever system you create, try to match it to the way your family already flows in and out of the house. This will make it easier to maintain.
As soon as backpacks are brought in from the car, empty them of anything needing attention and return them to their spot. And if you’re always running back to your kids’ rooms to grab their socks, consider keeping a bin with a few pairs right by the door.
Enjoying Your Organized Home Command Center
An organized Command Center is good, but a system that enables its maintenance is even better. Having systems that everyone in the family know and follow keeps things where they belong and reduces clutter. It also makes it easier for everyone to find what they need, which reduces stress and arguments.
An ordered Command Center may not be perfect or pile-free, but it promises to keep the chaos of a fast-moving family to a minimum.
is the lone female in the house she shares with her husband, three boys, and a fish named Fred. Follow her family at hooverhousehold.blogspot.com.
x