Kitchen Command Center Organization

Get all of your family’s paperwork and schedules organized with these kitchen command center organization ideas. Simple tips that anyone can do!

What is a Kitchen Command Center?

If you haven’t heard of the term “kitchen command center” before, it’s basically just a central area in your home for you and your family to keep all of your daily paperwork and schedules. It really doesn’t have to be anything fancy, but it can make a huge difference in controlling paper clutter and keeping your whole family on track. Generally command centers include your family calendars and schedules, any papers that you may need to refer to on a regular basis, basic office supplies, etc. You can, of course, customize yours with whatever you want!

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How to Set Up a Kitchen Command Center.

If you have difficulty controlling the paper clutter in your home or need help keeping up with everyone’s schedules, a command center is for you! What you want your command center to look like and how you would like to set it up is totally individual though. It’s all about meeting the needs of your specific family. Here are some command center organization ideas to help you with the basic set up…

Pick a location.

A kitchen command center can really be anywhere – it doesn’t even have to be in the kitchen!  Ideally you want to pick a spot that’s easily accessible to the whole family. When choosing your location, look for spots where your clutter tends to accumulate and pick a location close by. A spot in the front entry, mudroom, or even a hallway could work. If you’re short on space, you can even hide it away on the inside of a cupboard or closet door.

Choose what items you want to include.

Spend some time thinking about what it is that you have difficulty keeping organized and what information needs to be shared.  What type of things are you constantly looking for or is your family needing? Depending on your needs and space available, you’ll need to decide what items you want to include. Here are some common items that may be needed…

• family calendar
• day planner
• file folders and somewhere to store them
• incoming and outgoing mail
• shopping lists
• chalkboard or white board for messages or other reminders
• a menu plan
• hooks for keys
• a menu plan
• charging station for electronics
• basic office supplies
• frequently called numbers and emergency contacts
• shopping lists
• coupon storage
• current bills to pay
• takeout menus/flyers that you want to follow up on

Declutter your papers.

The kitchen command center should be where all of your paperwork arrives – bills and other mail, school papers, medical papers, etc. To get your paperwork organized, gather up all of your papers and sort them quickly into three piles: keep, file {for more long-term storage elsewhere} recycle, and shredding. Group the papers from the keep pile into categories that make sense to you. This can include {but is definitely not limited to!}…

• bills to pay
• upcoming events
• kids’ papers
• coupons
• records to file and papers that need to be kept long-term
• personal papers for each person in your household

If you need more ideas for keeping your paperwork under control, check out this post on how to eliminate paper clutter.

Put it all together.

Once you’ve decided how you want your family command center to look, you’ll need to put it all together. Shop your home for items that you can use that you already own and then determine what items you may need to purchase. Remember that you’re trying to cut down on clutter, so only purchase what you’ll need and use. It may take a few weeks of using the system to really figure out how it will work for you, so start with the basics and add more if needed.

Other Kitchen Command Center Organization Ideas

File Folders

My file folders are probably the most helpful thing for me to keep all of my papers organized and I actually have two places that they’re stored.  One is in the wall mounted system {it’s from the Martha Stewart collection at Staples but is sadly discontinued} and the other is in the bottom drawer of the desk.  In the wall unit, I have a file folder for bills to pay, things to do {such as a letter that needs to be mailed or a prescription that needs to be filled}, things to file in our long term filing cabinet, and a personal file for any miscellaneous items.  You can simplify it even more if you like into simply “file” and “to do”.

The bottom drawer in the desk was pretty much filled with items that I never used.  So I tossed them all out {after donating what I could}, and added a wood block so I could place some additional file folders there.  The vertical storage is so much more functional than stacking everything on top of each other especially in a really deep drawer like this. There wasn’t quite enough room to use the label tabs on the file folders so I just used my label maker to print out some labels for the front of the files.

I have a separate file for every member of the family as well as one for coupons/gift cards that aren’t necessarily going to be used for a while.  The family files are more for short-term storage like school papers that need to be returned, medical forms or prescriptions that need to be dealt with, birthday party invites etc.   I also have our address book here and a few extra office supplies.

The most important thing to remember when using a system like this is to have a day of the week that you sort through everything.  Papers can quickly pile up!  I spend about 15 minutes per week going through the folders, completing what needs to be done and filing away those items that I need to keep.

Calendar

I actually use more of a planner calendar than a typical wall calendar and it fits nicely into our bottom drawer with the file folders. I like the portability of it and the fact that there’s lots of room to write notes on the other pages. Use whatever works best for you though.  Some people really do better if the calendar is always right out in the open in front of them. You can color code your appointments but family member if you would like, but I try to keep things as simple as possible.  I’ll use a little washi tape to dress things up a but for important events or vacations, but otherwise it’s pretty basic {and unfortunately a lot more filled up now than when this photo was taken!}

By putting the additional file folders in the drawer, I was able to get rid of the bulky drawer unit that I was previously using {you can see it here} and create a lot more work space on the desk.  Less clutter on the desk also means, easier cleaning!

Basic Office Supplies

Keep your basic office supplies on hand that you use on a regular basis. This can include pens, pencils, erasers, paper clips, stamps, elastic bands, tape, or whatever else you use.  Use drawer dividers, jars, or small bins and containers to keep everything separated with a specific home.

Re-evaluate as you go.

Every now and then, re-evaluate what items you’re using and what things you might want to change. After a few years of using the wall system, I wanted to simplify things a bit more and replaced it with an acrylic wall calendar. I was able to fit everything that I still needed in the drawers, and it definitely created a more decluttered look. I promise I do actually use the calendar – the photo below is just from when I first purchased it. lol!

So there you go – my organization hub of the home! I hope you enjoyed these kitchen command center organization ideas. Having some kind of family command center in your home can truly make a difference in your paper organization and planning. You may need to tweak things every now and then as your family needs change, but get into the habit {and train your family!} now. It really is worth it! Happy organizing!

More Organization Ideas

For more organization ideas, check out these posts…

Free Organization Printables

The Household Organization Diet