If you're the one carrying everyone's schedule and list of things to do around in your head or planner – practice pickups, the dentist, who has a half day, when the field trip permission slip is due – you already know that trying to keep all of the details in your head is not ideal. It makes your mental load very heavy and it makes it very hard for your family members to help you. The result? You get constant questions about the schedule and where things like keys and paperwork are.
As a busy business owner, wife and mom of two busy daughters, I know how hard it can be to manage all the things. Things can get very chaotic when your family members are always on the go. Appointments, schedules, meetings, paperwork, and to-do lists can sometimes be overwhelming, especially when you’re trying to keep track of it all without any sort of visible system.
I promise, there is a better way to keep your busy family organized and on the same page. The key is to make everything visible to you and the rest of your family members. Not a binder or a planner that lives in your bag. Not a digital calendar that your kids can't see or add things to. Nope.
A family command center does just that.
My husband and I have used a family command center for over 16 years (yes, we used one even before our girls were born). I can tell you from experience that it will help keep you sane when life gets hectic.
What is a family command center?
It is a designated space in your home that acts as a hub for your household for the purpose of keeping everyone on the same page and preventing important dates, papers, etc. from falling through the cracks.
What should your family command center include?
The best family command center is not necessarily the largest, most expensive, or most stylish option. It is the one that fits your home, solves your biggest organization problems, and is easy enough for everyone in your household to actually use consistently.
What you include in your family command center really depends on the specific problems you are trying to solve or what you are trying to make easier for your family. You do not need every organizational tool imaginable. Simple is usually best. In fact, some families find that all they need is a big calendar wall to keep their family organized and on the same page.
That said, most family command centers include some combination of the following:
- A shared family calendar
- Mail and paperwork organizers
- A place for school forms and permission slips
- A bulletin board, memo board, or message area
- Hooks for keys, bags, or pet leashes
- A weekly meal plan or grocery list
- A family to-do list
- A charging station for phones and tablets
- Storage for pens, markers, scissors, and other supplies
- Individual folders or baskets for each family member
For many families, a wall calendar is the focus of the command center because it allows everyone to see appointments, activities, deadlines, and upcoming events without having to ask what is happening and when. But families who struggle most with paper clutter may want more room for labeled file pockets instead. If charging cords and devices are constantly covering your kitchen counters, a built-in charging station may be the most helpful addition.
The bottom line is that for a family command center to actually be helpful, you have to first figure out what your family needs to use or look at every single day.
Pictured Above: Single-Use Large White Wall Calendar | 16 x 20 inches | Undated | DIY Family Charging Station
Four Steps to Set Up a Highly Effective Family Command Center
Work through these four steps so that you can set up a family command center that actually lightens your mental load and gets used by everyone.
Get specific about the problems you are trying to solve.
What is causing you and your family the most frustration? Does mail pile up on the kitchen counter? Are school papers scattered throughout the house? Does everyone ask you what time practice starts, even though the schedule has been shared multiple times? Are keys, chargers, and permission slips constantly going missing?
Your command center should address those problems.
For example, if your main issue is incoming paper, prioritize wall-mounted file pockets with clear labels such as “To Do,” “To File,” “School,” and “Receipts.” If scheduling is the biggest challenge, start with a large shared family calendar that can be seen and updated easily. If your entryway is covered with everyday essentials, hooks and small baskets may be a better choice than a large memo board.
Measure carefully.
Seriously, don't skip this step. You need to measure the wall or cabinet where you plan to install your family command center. And be sure to pay attention to the width of the space you are considering – a narrow hallway may not be the best location for deep storage that sticks out from the wall.
Measure the total width and height of your wall/space, as well as anything that could interfere with the layout, including:
- Light switches
- Electrical outlets
- Thermostats/alarm panels
- Door trim
- Cabinet doors
- Baseboards
- Furniture
- Walkways
- Doors that swing into the space
Here's a diagram with my measurements when we were planning for our current family command center setup. As you can tell, it's not fancy and requires no special skills, lol.
After you have taken your measurements, you can start shopping for what you need. If you aren't sure where to start, there are lots of family command center systems with modular components out there so you can choose exactly what you need.
Choose the right location.
The trick isn't finding a "planning corner." Your family command center needs to be in a highly visible spot that your family already passes multiple times every single day, so checking it becomes automatic instead of one more thing to remember.
Ideally, your command center should be close to your family’s natural "drop zone" – you know, the place where mail, keys, bags, and paperwork get strewn when people walk in. Instead of fighting that habit, lean into it and give things an intentional place to land.
We have always put our family command center either in (or very near) our kitchen or by the door that we actually use to enter/exit our home. It's not just us. Kitchens and mudrooms/entryways are the two spots that come up again and again from customers who've made this stick.
Pictured above: Reusable Large Wall Calendar in Rainbow | 16 x 20 inches | Undated
If there's a wall your family walks by on the way out the door, that's a perfect spot! Not the home office. Not the bedroom. You want to take advantage of placing it in a high-traffic spot.
Our family command center in our current home is by the door that leads into our garage and it is the door we use 99% of the time to enter and leave our home. In other words, it's a high traffic spot.
Include a shared family wall calendar.
I am genuinely shocked by how many busy women I talk to that do not have any sort of shared family calendar that their kids and/or partners can easily see and use. Instead, they keep a paper or digital calendar that they are solely responsible for updating. It's a terrible disservice to them and their families (and yes, I do tell them that).
Y'all, this is a hill I will die on. Every single family needs a shared family wall calendar! A small desk calendar or an app buried in a phone fails for one simple reason: it's easy to ignore and can't be accessed/updated by everyone. A physical wall calendar solves that by being genuinely hard to miss and easy to access – which is the whole point.
We use a small, single-use rainbow calendar for our family calendar. We hang it on our refrigerator because we like to see three months at a time, and we couldn't fit all that where we drop our mail and keys. But as you can see, it's all in the same high traffic area and is literally impossible to miss.
If you already have a calendar that works for you, great – add it to your command center! If you don't, check out our wall calendars. The are intentionally undated, so that you can start whenever you're ready.
Pictured above: Single-Use Small Rainbow Wall Calendar | 8.5 x 11 inches | Undated
Tips for Setting Up and Using a Shared Family Calendar
Unfortunately, just hanging a calendar is not going to magically help anything. This is not Field of Dreams. You have to actually get your family to actively use it before it will be helpful.
How to get your whole family to use the calendar.
First, you have to stop answering questions about the schedule and redirect people to the calendar instead. It’s simple: when someone asks a question that’s already on the calendar, smile and say, “Check the calendar.” When they tell you about an event or appointment, smile and say, “Add it to the calendar.”
YOU HAVE TO BE CONSISTENT. Don’t secretly log things in your planner or digital calendar. Don’t answer questions the calendar can answer. Don’t add things to the calendar for anyone who is capable of reading and writing. Gently redirect for as long as it takes (which probably won't take as long as you think).
Before you know it, it clicks with everyone. And like magic, you are no longer the gatekeeper of the family schedule – the calendar is. It is glorious.
Because the real shift isn't hanging a wall calendar. It's getting everyone else in your family to use it, so you stop being the only one who knows what's happening. We hear how impactful this is from customers all the time.
"I started traveling for work a lot recently and my family was anxious because I wasn't around to keep everyone on task with their appointments, classes, etc. I got these calendars and my kids helped me fill them out. Everyone is so reassured knowing where they need to be and when, and the kids love that they can write in their own events too – unlike our online calendars, which they didn't have access to." - Deanna
That last part is worth sitting with: a shared digital calendar only works if everyone has access and actually opens it. A wall calendar has zero login required. Anyone tall enough to reach a marker can add their own practice, playdate, or "don't forget" note.
Pictured above: Reusable Large Wall Calendar in Rainbow | 16 x 20 inches | Undated
Use color-coding to keep the calendar organized.
Once more than one person is writing on the calendar, color-coding is what keeps it readable instead of chaotic. A simple system – one color per family member, using colorful calendar stickers or washi tape to mark recurring events – means anyone can glance at the wall and understand what they are seeing at a glance.
Pictured above: Reusable Large Wall Calendar in Green | 16 x 20 inches | Undated
Keep the big picture and small details separate.
A monthly wall calendar is where the big picture lives. The family calendar should include the events everyone needs to see coming. But if you cram it with all the smaller day-to-day details (packing lists, what's for dinner this week, who's driving carpool), it will start getting confusing. And once that happens, it's not nearly as helpful.
Instead, I recommend using something like a weekly planning pad, memo board or even a simple notepad nearby for adding all the important details without over-cluttering the wall calendar itself.
The bottom line
You don't need a super complicated system to keep your busy family organized and on the same page. But you do need a visible system somewhere everyone already looks, big enough to actually see, and simple enough for the whole family to use so you don't have to manage it by yourself.
