Setting Up A Command Center

Now that I have three kids I thought it was time to give my command center a makeover to help me manage the barrage of paperwork coming in every week.

What is a command center, you ask? Well for me a command center is a central location in your home where you can deal with incoming and outgoing information. The comings and goings.

If you have ever been to Grand Central Station and seen the information booth you can picture exactly what I mean. Everyone is fast paced all around this one location but the booth stands strong in the center of it all as if to say, “If you need anything, anytime, it’s right here.” Take this concept into your home and create a central location where your family can find out where they need to be, what to bring, what to do, etc.

Here is what my command center looked like before. This is a kitchen counter that we use as a serving area when we have parties, and the rest of the time it is essentially the dumping grounds when we first walk in. The counter has several cabinets and drawers underneath, one being the junk drawer.

I have a simple file box that has three folders, one for each child to put their completed work or drawings in when they get home from school.  Usually within a week or two I will take these papers out and purge what we don’t need and then move them to the boxes upstairs to sort through later.

I also keep on hand a pencil box with the basic supplies the kids might need to complete their homework.

The rest of the counter usually has various papers scattered about and I realized they have a common theme… Papers that need action! For example, calendars for the preschoolers announcing a theme day, bible verse to memorize,  or other little tidbits I need to remember for the upcoming week. For my 3rd grader it is his homework to be done or spelling words to practice.  I tend to keep these various papers lying out because… out of sight means out of mind! I have to keep these papers in my face to help me remember but I am so tired of seeing them on the counter! What’s a mom to do?

Welcome to our new command center. I had this great unused wall space behind the counter so I decided to hang a clipboard for each child. Now the action/homework papers are front and center.

On the wall to the right I hung a dry erase board so that I can write quick notes or display the letter of the week for the younger kids. I also added a calendar to the front of the file box as an added reminder of what is going on and to help teach the little ones the concept of the days passing. The wall calendar we have in the laundry room is just too high for them to be able to see.

Now when we come in the door from school we go through folders, go over work and put them in their respective folders. Any action papers get hung on the clipboards to serve as reminders. The counter stays clear and everyone is happy, especially me! It screams “I’ve got things together!”

Do you have a command center in your home? How is it working for you?

For more command center ideas check out the roundup at I’m an Organizing Junkie!

[Photo: Grand Central Station by  Allie_Caulfield]