Our family command center with a wall calendar helps us all stay organized. Kids can easily see their schedules, and we don't forget to drive them to activities.
Family Wall Calendar To Stay Organized
We need a family wall calendar to stay organized. I finally put it up and love it so much! Here's what we have in our family command center, and tips I have for putting up and maintaining a family wall calendar.
It's hard to keep track of family activities
We recently missed a swim lesson because we all forgot it was a Monday. Oh no! Then the following week, we double booked a dentist appointment for the same day our son has a school performance. Oh no again.
A few days after, we all realized that we missed my nephew's birthday. The kids were bummed about forgetting to send a birthday wish on his actual birthday.
We need a family command center to stay organized
Making a DIY command center in our laundry room has been on my to-do list since the beginning of last school year. Time passed by quickly, so we made it to June and it never went up.
After the recent missed activities and dates, I knew that I needed to finally put together the command center with a family wall calendar.
I procrastinated because setting up a family command center felt like a daunting task. However, I didn't need to put it off. It only took about an hour to write everything on the family calendar planner and hang it all up. It's now up for summer and the next school year, phew.
What Is a Family Command Center?
A family command center is a designated spot in the house where we keep schedules, announcements, and invitations to stay organized. The command center is also a good spot for meal planning and grocery shopping lists too if you would like to share that with the family.
Since the kids and adults have different schedules and activities, a family command center keeps our entire family informed about daily happenings. I also list family and friends birthdays on our calendar so we don't miss important milestones in their lives too.
How To Build a Family Command Center
It's really easy to build a family command center! I'll share the tips and tricks I found when setting up our family command center and family wall calendar.
I procrastinated for a long time before I got our command center set up. But now that it's up, I learned that a family command center is so easy to set up, and incredibly handy to have. I wish I had I set it up months ago.
Find a good location
Any spot in the house can work for a family command center. Ideally, find a spot that all the family members go by each day so they can glance at it at least once a day. Common spots for family command centers are:
- on the kitchen refrigerator
- by the garage entrance
- in a mud room
- above a shoe rack
- in a laundry room
Our family command center sits in our laundry room. It's a great space for our family command center because it's centrally located in the house. The kids also often go in the room to put in their dirty clothes, so they walk by the family wall calendar each time.
Most importantly though, it allows us to use an otherwise blank wall space. You can see in the photo that it is a small space. But a command center doesn't need much anyway.
Lastly, I like the laundry room because it's in a spot that isn't super prominent. Because of that, we don't have to stare at our schedules all the time.
Yes! I put giant googly eyes on my washer and dryer. The kids think it's a funny monster and like putting their dirty clothes in it.
What do you need in a family command center?
You don't need much for a family command center. We have a white board, basket to hold stuff, and a large family wall calendar planner.
White board
In our family command center, I put up a combination white board cork board and a large wall calendar. The kids like to note things on the white board. For example, it currently has a count down to the number of days left in school.
We hang up certificates of achievements, birthday party invites, and other notices on the cork board.
Family wall calendar planner
I think of the family wall calendar as the heart of our family command center.
I bought our large rainbow wall calendar from Michaels. This is the first time I've seen it at Michaels, so I think it must be a seasonal items.
Before I found the one on Michaels, I had been eyeing this rainbow wall calendar on Amazon. It comes in a fun huge size (20" x 30"). If you have more space in your command center, this would make a gorgeous family wall planner.
Basket to hold stuff
Our combination white board cork board comes with a little basket that sits along the bottom edge. It's from Ikea, but because it's several years old, I can't find the model to link to it anymore.
The little basket holds mail, random notes from school, birthday cards or post cards that the kids receive and want to keep, and other knick knacks that we hold on to for some time before recycling or storing away.
Set Up Your Family Wall Calendar Planner
The most time consuming part of setting up this family wall calendar is actually writing everything on. Here are a few tips to help make this task go faster.
Write as much on before hanging it up
I find it much easier to write everything on the calendar before hanging it up. It's better ergonomically, and my hand writing is neater.
Use a fine point marker
The large rainbow wall calendar is a dry erase material, but I chose to use permanent marker.
I didn't use dry erase because I am afraid the kids will accidentally wipe things off with their little fingers when they point at the text. Also, I have a fun colorful set of fine point sharpies already.
If you don't want to use a permanent marker, a fine tipped wet erase marker is ideal. You'll be able to wipe off and reuse the family wall calendar next year, and little fingers won't unintentionally wipe off wet erase markers.
Gather all your calendars together
To write get this family wall planner set up, I gathered all the various calendars and got to work.
Kid Calendars. The kids currently go to different schools, so I pulled out the calendar of events from each school. Then, I got out the multiple sport team calendars too. If you regularly go to library activities, you can also pull out that calendar.
Adult Calendars. Make sure the adult calendars gets listed too, especially events that would conflict with the kids activities. For example, don't forget to list work trips, book club meetings, game nights, and any sport games.
Important Dates. Lastly, I added on the birthdays of family members and friends. Add on any other important not-to-be-missed dates.
By the time I was ready to write, I had about 6 different calendars in front of me. It felt great having this family wall calendar populated!
I'm sure we'll have more activities come up during the year. However, it's good to know we at least have all the permanent dates marked - first day of schools, winter breaks, spring breaks, team sport dates, and birthdays.
Kids Love This Family Wall Planner
The kids absolutely love this family wall planner. Before I set up our family command center, I used my own personal calendar to keep track of all the activities. I would be able to see what activities the kids have at a glance, but no one else in the family could.
Now with this family wall planner, the kids no longer have to ask me what activities they have that day. The kids feel a lot more independence and control over their schedule, which is a great thing for them.
In addition, it's easier for us parents to coordinate who is giving rides and attending which activities with the kids. The kids can also remind of us activities and events coming up.
Why use a family wall planner (vs digital)
I think as the kids get older, we may be able to move to a digital family wall calendar. But we certainly aren't there yet.
The kids love the family calendar on the wall so they can get a sense of time. My kids have always had a hard time processing time. For example, how long it takes to get to next week vs next month vs several month out.
With the visual of the family wall calendar, I think the kids are able to recognize time better. They can see what activities will happen and pass before certain other events start.
The family wall calendar also allows them to touch and engage in the calendar in a way they can't with a digital calendar. So while it's a bit of an effort to get the family command center and wall calendar set up, it's been totally worth it.
Get A Family Calendar Up Any Time of the Year
Summer is a perfect time to get a family wall planner up because the summer schedule is all over the place compared to the school year. The kids have different camps and activities each week, we are visiting family and friends on certain weeks, and we have guests coming to stay with us other weeks.
Fall is also a good time to get a family wall planner up because it's a natural starting point for kids.
The new year would also be a great time to set up a family wall calendar.
And don't forget the spring. Get this family wall calendar up while the kids do spring cleaning with this handy chart.
Whatever the date is, it's not too late (or early) to get your family command center and family wall calendar set up.
Do you have any tips on how you keep your family schedule organized? Do you use a family wall calendar? I'd love to hear below!
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