I wonder how ladies got everything done in the 1950’s. I have seen several videos or posts, that have popped up in my internet feeds about housewives and mothers from that era.
Now I’m not downplaying that time, I’m sure they were busy. However, today more than ever, it seems I have more things to do than I can keep up with. Well, maybe you can relate.
For a while, I’ve wanted to write about my large command center that I created. So in today’s blog post, I’m finally going to give you a tour of my command center.
If you are not sure what a command center is, a command center is a place where you put your calendar, meal planning, mail, kids backpacks, school papers, dentist appointments, etc.
Keeping them all in one location keeps you from having to get that appointment card out of your purse, or checking the dates on the calendar on your phone.
It can be small or as large as you want it to be. Whatever meets your family’s needs is what you put into it.
Now I love having planners and block schedules. I use those too, however, after I create my planning and calendars, I like having all my things to do, meal planning, mail basket, etc, in one place.
If you want to get organized in your home and in your life, a command center is a great way to start. It helps you have a central location for items that may have gotten lost.
If you need a great way to do your meal planning, check out Plan to Eat. It is a digital calendar-based drag-and-drop way to plan your meals. You can add your recipes or get recipes from the internet.
I have enjoyed doing my meal planning this way. It saves time and keeps me from having to run to the store and buy ingredients for my recipes because I don’t already have them.
Read all about it here.
Plan to Eat: The Ultimate Meal Planner App Review
Smart Ways to Save Money on Groceries
YEARLY WALL CALENDAR
With so many places to go, things to keep up with, or dates to remember, a yearly wall calendar was my choice to house everything in one place. I purchased my calendar last year, hung it on the wall, and never looked back. Despite taking up an overly sized space on my wall, my small investment and space to hang it were well worth it.
I purchased the one without dates. That way it is reusable and you just wipe and redate for each new year. I like items that have versatility and it saves money not having to rebuy a calendar each year.
I also like that I can have birthdays, appts, special dates, etc, on this big guy. The sky is the limit.
I date the calendar and then I fill in the calendar with different colored dry-erase markets.
Since my family is in ministry, I date all my church activities in red.
My family appointments or special days are dated in black. While I don’t write out all my bills on the family calendar, I use a paper calendar for those, however, I use green for recurring bills that are annual or by annual to remember those dates.
Such as remembering that motorhome tag that I don’t always see a bill reminder from my city. It helps me keep up and not renew it late.
I then put all the birthdays in orange. I have 8 kids, 2 kid in-laws, and 4 grandbabies to keep up with ( I can’t forget hubbies and he can’t forget mine, as they are a day apart), haha. So having all those birthdays on the calendar not only reminds me of their special day, but it’s a great way to remember to put those birthdays in my monthly budget.
The calendar I bought is not just for a year, it also includes extra space on the side.. I use it for reminders. I have a laundry day for family members, towels, and linens. When I stay on top of my laundry schedule (that’s another topic), everything runs more smoothly.
Not only do I keep up with the laundry, but it also prevents both kids from wanting to do their laundry at the same time.
Yes! I have run into that problem. Assigning days is the best way to solve that problem. Everyone knows what days to do their laundry, and I can keep up with what I need to do on laundry days. It’s a win-win.
Another thing that I have written on the side of the calendar is what kind of workouts I need to do, and what days I need to do them.
I like having everything written down in one place. It makes keeping up with everything so much easier.
MAIL BASKET
Can anyone say where is my countertops? Mail just seems to take over any place that mail can be put. It shows up on my counter, pool table, etc.
I have tried many ways to corral the mail. I have placed baskets on the end of my countertop to collect the mail but, it just fills up.
You know, out of sight out of mind.
So, I created a mail basket and put it on my wall. As long as it gets to the basket, I won’t have to worry about it getting overful, because it is only so big.
In my mail basket, I placed different files to compartmentalize some of my mail. I have an area for bills, tax information, and my son’s mail that still manages to show up at my house after several years of their marriage. Also, I have a folder for when I don’t know where it needs to go or I’m not sure yet if I need to keep it.
Of course, no system works if you don’t use it. To be honest, I am still working on it, however, my command center really has helped me tremendously.
WEEKLY MEAL BOARD
What’s for dinner? That is a question that I hear quite often. Having a chalkboard, or sign that has your meals written on them really helps with that question. It also helps me remember what I planned for the evening
If you have your meals written out for the week, with a glance you can lay out your meat that day or evening before. I’m not sure where I got this chalkboard but I just shopped at my house. At the time I was doing biweekly meals, so I divided my sign to show to weeks.
I can’t find that exact board, but I will leave some in the links.
MARKER AND PEN HOLDER
Of course, we need a place to keep all writing accessories. What would a command center be if we didn’t have all our tools for writing?
You need pens and dry-erase markets. Make sure to add multiple colors. That way you can write different things on your dry-erase calendar with different colors to stand out.
Make sure to put some chalk pens in your command center if you are incorporating chalkboards in your command center.
Wall Basket
I use my wall basket to house my notebooks, notepads, pens, and pens. I also keep my chalk pen in my basket so I can grab it quickly when I need to write something on my chalkboards.
Bulletin Board
Every command center needs a bulletin board. When I have things that I need to be able to grab quickly, like lab work, receipts, etc. this is where I put it. That way I can find it and it keeps it off the counter, where it is sure to get lost.
RECEIPT BUCKET
Now everyone doesn’t need a recipe bucket. However, if you need to keep your receipts for some reason, such as a business. Then including a bucket for receipts is nice.
Now I, use the fetch app. I like to scan my receipts for gift cards that you can use in various places, like Amazon, Domino’s, Outback Steak House, etc.
I have been using the Fetch app for years now. It has helped me and my husband on our anniversary. Sure I didn’t need to do that, but hey having a little extra funds to help out was nice. If you would like to check it out, here is my code.
Get Your Kids Excited About Chores with These DIY Clipboard Charts
CHORE CLIPBOARDS
If you read my last blog post, then you read how I created my fun clipboard chore charts for my kids. I painted my clipboards black and white to match my decor and to keep my whole color scheme matching.
If you want to get everyone on board to help with daily chores, then these clipboards will help everyone know what to do. I put these at the bottom of my calendar. Now my kids can go get them off the wall and see what they need to do.
Upon completing a task, they move their clothes pens over. It gives the kids a sense of accomplishment and helps you make sure chores get done.
CHALKBOARDS
https://amzn.to/3QzE7ru (Small chalkboards)
I put up 3 small chalkboards and 1 large chalkboard. Chalkboards can be used for many purposes in your command center.
Here are some examples.
Daily Schedule: Use a chalkboard to outline the family’s daily schedule, including important appointments, extracurricular activities, and meal times.
Meal Planning: Dedicate a chalkboard to meal planning, where you can jot down weekly menus, grocery lists, and recipe ideas. This can help streamline meal preparation and ensure you have all the necessary ingredients on hand.
Chore Assignments: Create a chore chart on a chalkboard to assign household tasks to family members. You can rotate responsibilities weekly or monthly to ensure fairness and variety.
Shopping Lists: Keep track of household necessities by maintaining a running shopping list on a chalkboard. Family members can add items as they run out, making grocery shopping more efficient.
Important Reminders: Use a chalkboard to jot down important reminders, such as upcoming birthdays, and anniversaries, or maintenance tasks like changing air filters or scheduling doctor appointments.
Inspirational Quotes: Add a touch of positivity to your command center by featuring motivational quotes or affirmations on a chalkboard. This can help uplift spirits and foster a positive atmosphere in the home.
Emergency Contacts: Create a list of important phone numbers and contacts on a chalkboard, including doctors, veterinarians, neighbors, and emergency services.
Family Goals: Set and track family goals on a chalkboard, whether they’re related to saving money, spending more quality time together, or pursuing individual interests and hobbies.
Meal Planning
For me, I use one of the chalkboards for writing. I got this chalkboard somewhere. I can’t remember where I got it. I will leave a link below if I can find one similar to it.
It just said, daily menu at the top. I took a white paint pen and wrote out the days of the week on it. Let it dry, and now I can just fill the daily menu in. It works nicely.
To Do List-Inventory
Then I have a larger chalkboard that hubby bought me from Hobby Lobby years ago. It just had on it, (to-do list). That board had some alterations on it as well.
I took a white chalk pen and divided the board with the to-do list side, and the grocery and household inventory side.
Then I can jot down things I want to do on one side and keep up with inventory for when I need a grocery order put it at Walmart.
The last 2 small chalkboards, I use for a savings goal for projects we want to save for.
Then we also have a project board, for things that need to get done.
PROJECT GOALS BOARD
We all have projects we need or want to get done. It’s just a matter of figuring out which is most important at the time.
I put some of the projects that I hope to get accomplished in the near future on that board.
SAVINGS GOALS BOARD
If there is a project that I need to save for, the other board tracks that information.
I couldn’t fit all my chalkboards on the same wall, so I placed them on the corner wall next to my command center. It still keeps everything close and convenient.
CLOCK
There isn’t much to say about adding a clock to my command center, except that I haven’t done it yet. I want to find the perfect clock to complete my large command center.
After all, if you have your calendar and your important information there, why not be able to keep up with your time? Well, that’s just my thought. However, for now, I just have a cute little motivational picture there and that works too.
It really helps me stay on top of things when I implement all the things on my calendar and use all the tools I have in my command center. I can’t tell you how excited I was to put all these things together. It really does make a difference to keep you all organized and to have productivity.
I hope you enjoyed the tour of my command center, and I hope it gives you ideas to put one together for your family. Make it yours, be as creative as you want, and feel free to add things to it that apply to your family or take out any of these things that your family wouldn’t use. The sky really is the limit on putting one of these in your home. Just have fun doing it.
Ready to create your command center?
Start small by picking a central spot in your home. Then add a chalkboard, wall calendar, or whatever you like. Share your progress and ideas and tag me on IG—I’d love to see how you’re making your home more organized!
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