Take our Family Command Center Tour - The Bossy House

Take our Family Command Center Tour

family command center


THIS POST MIGHT CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS. MY DISCLOSURE POLICY GIVES YOU MORE DETAILS.


Our family command center is the hub of organization in our house.

It helps us keep important things top of mind, it's an inbox/outbox system, it's a calendar, it's a message system, it's a catch-all for important pieces of paper, and it's the location where several systems happen that keep our lives humming along well.  

Mostly, the family command center helps us process the day as soon as we walk in the house and allows us to leave the house with everything we need. Many, many items never make it past this spot in our house, and that's the way I like it. 🙂

family command center in home

Make Your Own

To get started making your own command center, consider how you're already doing something like this. Is there an entryway where you like to store things? Where do the kids throw their stuff already? You can easily capitalize on the routines that are already happening in the house.

Then, think about the places in your house where you WANT to file things but the insurance paperwork, write-off receipts, or kids' artwork never quite makes it there.

Before our command center, I'd stick those kinds of things in all the wrong places. Walk that receipt to the office, open a drawer, rifle through a set of files, and place it there? Not enough time.

Those items that you usually FIND at the front door should be FILED at the front door. Kids school paperwork, write-off receipts, your child's artwork, or recent bills all could be filed in the place that you are first encountering them. My rule: touch a paper one time.

Items that belong in a Family Command Center:

  • calendars for the week, month, and year
  • place to write notes--mostly for our wonderful babysitter
  • place for incoming and outgoing items
  • mail processing system
  • picture of Nancy Pelosi for inspiration 🙂
  • bulletin board for quick reminders
  • seasonal items like sunscreen, sunglasses, hand sanitizer, hats, scarves, and flashlights
  • stamps, postcards, pens (for writing notes to teachers or to-do lists for the day)
  • file system: incoming bills, school paperwork, coupons, etc.
  • spot for keys and wallet

Systems to create around the center

We have a family rule: no backpacks in the house. You HAVE to leave them here when you come in the door. My daughter’s backpack hangs here (and our dance bags are behind there-same rules apply). My backpack and purse sit on the chair. 

We take shoes off when we come inside.

There are tons of reasons to leave shoes at the door (keeping clean, one of them). My main reason is if we take our shoes off in the house we will literally never find them again. 

I hate looking for stuff all over the house, and SURPRISE kids put stuff in weird places and never remember where. 

Just these two things have saved us lots of time looking for important things we need every day. 

Check out my family command center tour!

Set up your command center!

You can do this any way that works for you, and there are tons of creative command centers out there for inspiration. I use a cabinet, but you can use a small table, bookshelf, wall system, or even put an actual desk in the entryway. 

The real key to success is to gather up all the things that need quick processing and put them in one place. Use the system to manage all the systems that you need to keep your home working!

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