How to make a DIY Home Command Center

Do you struggle to keep up with everything going on in your family? Get everyone in your house on the same page and your schedules organized by learning how to make a DIY Home Command Center. Sync everyone’s schedules in one place, and whatever needs some organization in your household.

A wall command center on a hallway wall showing a wall calendar, menu board, golden paper file, hanging greenery basket and markers

No one will have to ask you what is going on AGAIN.

This has been a game changer in our home. Everyone knows what is on the calendar and what is for dinner that day. As a result, we have had fewer missed appointments and less questions like “What’s for dinner?” or “What time is my appointment again?”

It is easier to coordinate your plans for less unnecessary running.

The older I get, the more I hate running here and there. I do my best to coordinate everything I need to do – errands and appointments – in a week to just a day or two. This command center allows me to look at the week ahead and coordinate errands and appointments to avoid being too busy. Where we live, the closest major grocery store is 22 miles one way, as are most places we need to go. Living in a remote area has definitely made planning more important to our family. The less we are running for errands, the more time we have to do something fun as a family or relax at home after a long day. This is huge! That said, this command center has been a great time management tool for us as well.

A monthly calendar that everyone can see is a gamechanger.

A close up picture of a black wall hanging rod with a hanging basekt of greenery and a hanging mash basket of chalk markers to write on a command center calendar

A dry erase calendar with colored dry erase markers make the calendar easy to follow. By using several colors of dry erase markers, our calendar has a certain color for everyone’s activities. For example, anything for my daughter is pink and my son is blue.

Keeping the markers within reach of the calendar makes it super easy to add something and keep the family calendar updated. Hanging baskets are not only pretty but very functional for this task!

SEE THE LINKS BELOW FOR SOURCES FOR THESE ADORABLE BASKETS!

What if everything doesn’t fit on your calendar?

Not to worry – not everything needs written out. For example, my husband works on a rotation schedule. The days that he works I simply put a box around those dates and we know that dad won’t be home that day. You could use a dot system for days one kid has baseball and one kid has soccer with different color dots on those particular days. I have also used stars for this same purpose; for example, red stars for baseball practice and blue stars for band practice. What’s fun about this is there is no right or wrong. Come up with a system that works for your family, and stick to it!

By posting your dinners for the week, no one will need to ask what’s for dinner.

A close up pic of a clear hanging week menu board for a wall command center

We all know the most popular question in every household: “What’s for dinner?” The most common answer is “I don’t know” or “I don’t care”. Sound familiar? By putting it on your DIY Command Center, there is no more question. Everyone knows what to expect.

More benefits to knowing what’s for dinner:

You know what groceries to buy for the coming week
Less wasted food from buying food you don’t use
Easier to prep for meals ahead of time (laying out meat, cutting veggies, etc.)
Takeout night? Everyone can think about what they want or are going to order
You will be less tempted to order out when your schedule gets busy. Have a plan, and stick to it by knowing what to cook instead of ordering expensive takeout pizza!

Have a central place to take notes.

I am a true lover of Sticky Notes for sure, but they wind up all over the place. Having a roll of paper on your command center gives enough paper in one spot for everyone to use.

This can be for anything: Adding to the grocery list or just for a brain dump. Either way, no more forgetting something at the grocery store. No more excuses for missed communication!

Speaking of a cheaper spin on takeout… try this!

A personal pan homemade pizza cut in 4 on a wooden cutting board

Simple Homemade Pizza:

Forget expensive takeout and make this pizza from scratch. It’s healthier, cheaper than store bought and easier than you think!

Keep all your needed papers together.

A gold wall file holder and a few black hanging baskets with a plant in one and chalkboard markers in the other to write on a wall chalkboard monthly calendar

Everything you need pertaining to your schedule can be kept right here. If something is on your calendar that you need more information about, a bin on your command center is the perfect place to keep this. For example, have an upcoming wedding or other social event? Keep the invitation tucked away here. This way, when the time is closer to the event you can pull it out and confirm when and where. I also keep paperwork here for upcoming appointments, such as a script for a medical test or directions to a birthday party.

You could also use a magnetic dry erase board to post these things or clips secured to a board, but I like the bin because it is cleaner looking. It also keeps things hidden until I need them.

How long will it take to make a DIY Home Command Center?

After buying what I wanted to put on my command center: The calendar, racks for markers, paper holder, and wood for a border, this literally look me an afternoon to put together. By the time the wood was stained and dry, everything was up and the border finished the project!

I made a template on the wall of everything I wanted to put up by outlining the items with a pencil on the wall.

After figuring out how much space I would need, I taped it off with painter’s tape and painted the spot inside the tape with some extra chalkboard paint I had on hand. This way, you can use the extra space with the dry erase markers just to make an extra note, if needed.

After the wall was painted and dried, we purchased 1 x 1 boards, measured them out, strained them and nailed them up. Instant border!

The next step was to make my vision come to life. I pushed the calendar onto the wall and hung everything else. After writing in my calendar for the month and putting my papers together, everything was as good as done! It really is easy to learn how to make a DIY Home Command Center.

You can totally incorporate anything you want here that your family uses.

Every household runs differently, so get creative! Use this DIY Command Center to incorporate anything your family uses on a routine basis in one central spot in your home. Before you know it, this will be a space everyone in your home counts on!