Green Child Magazine Back-to-School 2014 | Page 19

Taking Charge of the Chaos

Creating a Family Command Center
|by Sandy Kreps
Running a household can be messy, especially
when it comes to schedules, mail, meals and
paper clutter. Back to school means even more
paper, more activities and less time to deal with
it all. That’s why creating a family command
center can simplify the chaos. Here are four
simple steps to creating a command center that
works with your family’s needs and space.

#1 Location

For many families, the kitchen is the most
logical place. You may select a mudroom,
entryway, central hallway, or a living area– any
convenient spot your family will have eyes on
regularly. Look for a central space that can
house all the information you need to stay on
top of.

#2 Function

What does your family need from a command
center? Ask yourself these questions:
• Do you need wall space for hanging a
calendar?
• Do you need a spot for paying bills?
• Is this where you want to deal with
incoming and outgoing mail?
• How many people need in-boxes? Do you
want to hang them on the wall or use a file
box or trays on a counter or table?
• What information do you want to keep in
your command center? Bills? School papers?
Menus and shopping lists? Coupons?

• Do you want a place to hang a meal plan or
menu? How about a chore chart for the kids
or a cleaning schedule for the household?
• Would you use a corkboard or magnetic
board for hanging notes, invitations and
shopping lists?
• Do you need a white board or chalkboard
area for leaving notes for other family
members, jotting down a grocery list or
making notes to yourself? Or would you
prefer to hang a notepad so you can take
your notes with you on the go?
Most command centers have at least a calendar,
a spot for incoming mail, a place for bills to be
paid, an area for messages and notes, and inboxes for each member of the family.
Pinterest is a treasure trove of ideas when it
comes to home command centers. You can find
lots of awesome ideas for how to arrange yours,
but don’t be intimidated by the elaborate versions you may see online. Keep it simple and
focus on creating a space that will work for your
family. You’ll need time to refine your system,
and you can always add more bells and whistles
later once you’ve determined how your family
really uses your command center.

#3 Supplies
Before shopping, look around your house and
see what items you have on hand to create your
command center. Most often, families include:
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