Finding the space for things that really matter with Ali Kaufman
Creating A Family Command Center
Step One: assign the space
Staying on top of what’s next for each member of your family likely feels like a daily futility workout. (Too bad it doesn’t burn more calories.)
You know, though, that it’s all you can do to remember to stay on top of the 25 things that are happening right now! What’s next?! will just have to wait.
Truth is: It takes a very little bit of work (and as much or as little creativity and cash as you have to spare for the project) to set up the space and systems for your family’s very own family command center.
Just like it sounds, a family command center becomes the nerve center of your household operation: It is the hub of the systems that save you from the daily earthquake that rumbles down the stairs every morning with toothpaste-stained lips, untied shoes and last minute homework assignments that involve you shopping for supplies for projects you’re going to end up doing for them anyway.
Your family command center will be the cure-all for your communication breakdowns. It will be the engine that keeps the family running on time and in synch and help everyone stop forgetting the things they need. It will be whatever you and your family designs + desires it to be.
Here are a few of the things that you can include in your command center:
• calendar(s)
• what’s next lists
• shopping lists
• school project lists
• invites + gift lists
• flyers + notices
• mail in/out boxes
• household checklists
• meal plans, menus + recipes
• important contacts, dates + information
• chores + rewards chart
• medication + therapy tracking charts
If you wake up every morning wishing you had an air traffic controller monitoring the early morning kitchen chaos, try this:
Take a tour around your home and choose the space for your family command center. It should be a good chunk of wall and/or surface space. The ideal spot is at the family’s main entrance. Before passing go, no one collects anything or does anything or goes anywhere without checking in to see… what’s next?
In my upcoming columns, you’ll get the next steps for designing + creating your very own family command center and the secrets to getting your family psyched up to use it.
So, go stake out your space, take some measurements, and make a list (based on the above) of the in/out information that your family needs to have handy in order to know where, when and how to go about what’s next.
Or, if you’re more of a piler than a filer, you might find it easier to gather samples of items included on the list of potential family command center zones. Either way, get a good idea of who in your family does what, goes when and needs something where.
Once you know where your family command center will live and what it needs to include, check back here for the next step.
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