The following is a guest post from regular contributor, Sharon at Mom of 6.
I am a strong believer that every home needs some sort of a command center. A place where you sort and deal with all of the paperwork that comes your way, that contains all of the tools you need to stay organized- and just keeps you on track with your life. If you are thinking of pulling together your own command center, or would like to re-vamp the one you already have, here are 5 Things You Need in Your Kitchen Command Center!
#1: Your Personal Calendar System
Whether this is on paper or electronic, your calendar should be located in your command center. I personally prefer to use an electronic calendar so that I can access my appointments and notes wherever I may be working, and so I can sync my calendar to my husband’s. When I am at home I keep my iPad in my command center so that I can see my calendar and update it when needed. (And if you are searching for a good calendar to use check out this post on The 7 Best Calendars That Work for Families.)
#2: To-Do List
This is what we work from all week, isn’t it? That never ending list of “things to do”. Whether you prefer to write out a new list each day (I love lined post-it notes for this task!) or if you keep your to do list in your calendar system and then print out a copy each week as I do (see “Building a Better To Do List“), you’ll want your to-do list front and center in your command center!
#3: “Bills to Pay” File
Go through your incoming mail every day, separating the bills from their envelopes and other enclosures and put them in a dedicated folder. When it’s time to pay your bills- everything you need is already in one place waiting for you!
#4: Paperwork You Need Immediate Access To
For me this includes things like the kids’ school lunch menu, their sports schedules, invitations to events that our family receives, even recipes that I have clipped out of a magazine that I intend to make each week. These things need to be right at my fingertips. For some folks- the best place for all of these things might be in a folder in their command center- one for invites, one for menus, one for sports activities, etc. But what works best for me is a large set of magnetic blackboards that I have hanging in my kitchen. I keep it organized by section- so that I, or any member of my family can find any of this paperwork every day. I also keep my menu planning board here too- so the kids can help me plan the menu for the coming week- and know exactly what I will be making for dinner tonight!
#5: Running Grocery List
I like to keep a running grocery list on a clipboard in my kitchen, so that every time I use up a product around the house I can write it down on my list. That way I can make sure to replenish the item the next time that I go to the store. And when I create my menu plan on Sunday night, I make sure to add to my grocery list all of the ingredients that I need to buy to prepare the coming week’s dinners. The cool thing about using my printable grocery list is that I have it organized by aisle within the store, so as I am rolling my cart down the aisles I can quickly look at just that section of the grocery list and make sure that I picked up everything that I need, and I don’t have to backtrack a million times in the store! Laura has a great printable grocery list that you can download here, or you can check out the one that I like to use here!
And Don’t Forget Items You Use Regularly
It also helps to have a space in your command center for things like school phone directories, dismissal forms, stationery, pens, pencils, and perhaps even your cell phone charger.
So- did I leave anything out that you consider to be vital to your own command center? If so- please leave a comment and let us know!
If you get a chance, I hope you’ll stop by to see me at MomOf6 – a place where I write about organizing your home, using a family calendar, creating household routines, hosting at-home birthday parties, and making meals that kids will actually eat!
Jackie says
Interesting that you have a “bills to pay”. We have reduced the paper bills as much as possible and pay everything on line that we can.
Erik-Jan says
Except for the running grocerylist (and even that is debateble), why should any of this in your kitchen?
Andrea W. says
You sound like my hubs.
Because that’s where Mom *is* when she is running the family’s life. The kitchen is the heart of the home.
Thank you, Sharon and Laura! I’m actively planning a Kitchen Command Center and I appreciate your tips!
Pam says
I have a phone in my kitchen, yes I still have a house phone, lousy cell signal in my valley. So at the phone I keep my calendar where I meal plan. But I have a magnetic note pad on the fridg (opposite side of room) for my grocery list. It’s just a fast place to jot down things as we need them. I don’t keep kids calendars, they are grown and gone and for the most part unless it affects dinner my schedule is on my phone. I’d love a “command center” it looks nice, just not sure how to make it work for us. We also do the online bill pay so that’s NOT in the kitchen, why else would I need a home office?!
Jen Robinson says
I agree with Pam. Definitely use the calendar to menu plan. I love an electronic shopping list too. We use a list app which allows you to invite others to share the list. This means that my husband can grab stuff from the list when he is out and about and when he crosses it off, I know I don’t need to buy that item.
Susan Williams says
Hubby and I are both retired. We have a calendar by month…provided by my SIL work. Depending on his schedule we get the grandsons about 2-3 times a week. One all day, one 1/2 day.
If he works nights, I fix dinner for them and their mom(our daughter).
I keep a dry erase board on refrigerator for grocery list. I also have a list for when we go to Sam’s.
I do keep a planner to keep up with appts, ball games, etc.
Hubby pays bills on line.
I keep all this on refrigerator.
Katie says
I think this is super helpful. In our house with three little ones I feel like the birthday invites, school calendars and special reminders are never-ending. I like the idea of a file for the bills, we pay them all on line but still have many of them mailed to us. Finding a good way to keep up on the grocery list is the hardest for me, that and I need to solve for the calendar. I prefer paper but love the convenience of having things saved in my phone and iPad. You’ve motivated me to work through our sticking points before school ends in May!