My Life is a Mess! How to Organize Your Life- Command Stations

Mom! Are you ready to take me to basketball practice? Mom! What time is my spelling bee again? Mom! Where’s my homework? I left it right here, and now it’s gone… Does any of this sound familiar to you? Organizing your life is a full-time job. Kids have sports, school, and birthday parties; you have work, meetings, and obligatory events; and dogs have groomers appointments, training, and a food dish to keep full. It’s like juggling! You can’t stop or the whole act tumbles to the ground. Although you can’t avoid the natural chaos of living. There’s a method to assist you in managing that chaos. My friends, this method is called a command station. In today’s blog post, I’m going to be giving you my personal advice, hacks, and ideas on how to organize your life by building a command station. 

What the Heck is a Command Station? 

Command stations are a wall space around your home that’s dedicated to keeping you organized, efficient, and timely. Calendars, schedules, meal plans, and so many other elements make great command station additions. The best part is that they’re fully customizable. If you struggle with dinner ideas every night, you can add a meal plan. If you have a bad habit of setting the mail in a different spot daily, you can add a mail basket. You add whatever you feel will help you in living as stress-free a life as possible.

Where Should I Have My Command Station?

The best place to have your command station is a wall that receives a lot of traffic and attention. Entryways, mudrooms, and kitchens are often great locations. For my family, the kitchen was the winner. But, every house and circumstance is different. So, if you think your laundry room receives the most attention, then put it in your laundry room. Another option would be an office if you dislike the idea of having your command station in plain sight.

How to Organize Your Life- Let’s Build a Command Station

The Essentials

Calendars

Calendars are the staple of all command stations. It’s not a command station if you don’t have some sort of calendar to keep track of where you need to be and when. Therefore, calendars are labeled as command station essentials. And, guess what? There are lots of different kinds of calendars to choose from. Let’s take a look at a few of the favorites:

Dry Erase Calendars

If you’re tired of having that sloppy paper calendar with scribbles and eraser marks, then dry-erase calendars were made for you. Your whole calendar can be wiped clean with a simple swipe. No messy scribbles, no worries of having to cross things off, and no worries of running out of room!

CLICK HERE TO BUY DRY ERASE CALENDAR PICTURED ABOVE

Chalkboard Calendars

An alternative to dry-erase calendars is chalkboard calendars. Comparing chalkboard calendars to dry-erase calendars is like comparing apples to bananas. The favorite is strictly just personal preference. One benefit of chalkboard calendars is that they don’t erase as easily as dry-erase calendars. So, if your calendar is within reach of little hands, a chalkboard calendar is probably your best bet. The only thing to keep in mind is that you’ll want chalk markers for better control and visibility. Plain old chalk (although it works in a pinch) is not a great option to write your whole month’s plans with. 

CLICK HERE TO BUY THE CHALKBOARD CALENDAR PICTURED ABOVE

CLICK HERE TO BUY CHALK MARKERS

Paper Calendars

For those of you who prefer a more traditional, classic calendar, there’s the paper calendar. The benefit to paper calendars that dry-erase calendars and chalkboard calendars don’t have is that they’re more travel friendly. If you need to bring your calendar with you on the go, they’re easier to transport without the worry of smudging or smearing. They also tend to be smaller. So, if you travel a lot and need a smaller, more manageable option, paper is the way to go. 

CLICK HERE TO BUY THE PAPER CALENDAR PICTURED ABOVE

Personal Weekly Schedules

On top of having a large calendar that stores the entirety of your month, you’ll also want to have a personal weekly schedule. Each member of your household should have their own separate sheet. The reason behind having both a calendar and a schedule is to help you get a better visual of the current week’s events. It can be easy to miss important dates if you’re looking at your whole month’ plans. Too many dates, too many words, and too much room for error!

Click HERE to check out the “weekly schedule” printable pictured above

Notes/Reminders

How many times throughout the week do you remind yourself of something that must get done only to forget it in 5 minutes? The answer is probably quite often. Having a notes/reminders section in your command station is a great way to help you follow up on those random ideas and important to-do’s that pop into your head. Every time you have to remember something or get a random thought, scribble it down on your command station notepad. Bam! Way to look like an organized boss!

Click HERE to check out the “Reminder” printable pictured above

Pens, Pencils, Markers, and Sticky Notes

Well, you can’t have all of the essentials listed above without having some basic office supplies. I have all of my favorite command station office supplies linked below for you. 

CLICK HERE TO BUY A HANGING PENCIL/PEN HOLDER

Bic Gel Pens

Bic gel pens are my absolute favorite pens. I’ve used them for well over four years now (before, during, and after high school), and I love them! They write like butter, have great pigment, and don’t smear.

CLICK HERE TO BUY BIC GEL PENS 

Pencils

I’m not super picky with pencils. But, If I had to pick a favorite, it would have to be the original Ticonderoga pencils. They tend to break the least, and their erasers don’t leave that awful smudge.

CLICK HERE TO BUY TICONDEROGA PENCILS

Markers

Well, what can I say? I’m a Sharpie fan. I love Sharpies. They’re precise, pigmented, and last a long time. That said, they’re permanent. So, if you would prefer a less permanent marker solution, Crayola Washable Markers are a great washable Sharpie substitute. 

CLICK HERE TO BUY SHARPIES

CLICK HERE TO BUY CRAYOLA WASHABLE MARKERS

Sticky Notes

I am a HUGE note-taker. I write everything down. So, on top of keeping a reminder/notes section in my command station, I also like to keep sticky notes. They’re fast and transportable for those of you who need a quick solution. 

CLICK HERE TO BUY PASTEL STICKY NOTES

Baskets

Having at least one hanging basket in your command station would be an excellent idea. Mail, receipts, homework, … all of these items need a temporary home until you have time to find them a real home. Baskets make great temporary homes for miscellaneous objects and loose papers. Having one basket is great, and three is even better. You know what they say- the more, the merrier! 

CLICK HERE TO BUY A MAIL BASKET/KEY HOLDER

Other Great Additions

Shopping Lists

You go to the grocery store, unload the car, pull out the ingredients for the dinner you’re surprising your husband with, and… oh no! Where’s the pasta sauce? Remembering every single item at a grocery store isn’t easy! And, that’s what grocery lists were made for. Adding a shopping list to your command station greatly increases your chances of remembering that pasta sauce and toilet paper. You run out, you write it down, and take that shopping list to the store to restock. 

Click HERE to download my free “oops, I ate it all” printable!!

Meal Plans

What’s for dinner? If this question nags at you all day, save yourself the brain power and make a meal plan sheet to add to your command station. Once a week (I do mine on Sunday to have a fresh start), load the sheet up with a dinner idea for each day. And, there you go! No more spending 30 minutes staring into the fridge.

Click HERE to download my free “what’s for dinner” printable!!

Routines

Following a routine requires discipline and practice. They can also be hard to make and keep. Writing a specific routine down and sticking it on your command station wall is a great way to fix this. You make it, you see it, and (hopefully) you’ll be better about sticking to it. 

Click HERE to check out the “daily routine” printable on Etsy

Chore Charts

Do you struggle to get your kids to help out with the household chores? Make a fun printable chore chart, add it to your command station, and problem solved! Having a family chore chart as a part of your command station will help get your kids motivated to perform their duty. 

Click HERE to check out the “chore chart” printable on Canva

Goals

You want to eat more fruits and veggies, you want to organize your messy office, you want to get better about not going to bed with your phone in your face… goals, goals, goals. We all have them. We all wish we achieved every single one. And, we all need to store them somewhere where we’ll be reminded of that goal daily. Yup, you guessed it! Having a list of your goals– whether daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly– on your command station wall leads the way to success!

Click HERE to download my free “our family goals” printable!!

Vacations

There are many reasons why having a vacation list on your command station wall is a good idea. It will help you remember what day you have to pack, find sitters, and motivate you in moments of stress, anxiety, and depression. This vacation list can be anything from vacation destinations on your bucket list to actual planned trips that you’ll be going on. Whatever suits your fancy! It’s time to have some fun!

Click HERE to check out “travel planner” free printable 

The Details and Decor

It’s not a birthday cake without sprinkles and candles, and it’s not a command station without color and decor. You want your command station to be welcoming, inspiring, and fun. You don’t want it to be gray, burdening, and dreadful. So, now that you have all of the practicalities of the space finished, it’s time to add the sprinkles and candles. 

Bulletin Boards

Bulletin boards leave so much room for creativity. You can fill the board with polaroid pictures of you and your bestie, little notes from your significant other, or anything that motivates and inspires you to keep riding the crazy train.

CLICK HERE TO BUY BULLETIN BOARD 

Clipboards

Cheap, colorful, and practical, clipboards make great command station additions. You can use them to hang meal plans, schedules, or shopping lists. Or (if you would rather have them for decor), you can hang pictures, mementos, or your favorite quotes on them to keep you feeling inspired and positive. If you want an affordable, easy command station setup, the more clipboards the better. 

CLICK HERE TO BUY COLORED CLIPBOARDS

Clocks

A huge focus of command stations is to help keep you on time. So, why not have a clock? Clocks help add a different shape to your command station wall while blessing you with the whereabouts of what time of day it is. 

CLICK HERE TO BUY A GOLD-RIMMED CLOCK

This is Your Command Station

Now that I’ve given you the building blocks, ideas, and supplies you’ll potentially want, it’s time to create your custom command station. You do not need to add everything that I’ve mentioned above. Those are just ideas. Your goal is to create a command station that works for you and your needs. If you don’t think you need a goals printout as part of your command station, then leave it out. If you think you could really benefit from a “need to clean” list, then add one. Functional, practical, and fun are the keywords of a command station. 

Conclusion

I hope this blog post has coached you on how to organize your life by building a command station. Whether you’re a busy parent, a busy boss, or a swamped college student, a command station is life-changing to have. You’ll be able to stay on top of priorities, work more efficiently, and (hopefully) have a little more free time to do what you love. Who could say no to another episode of The Home Edit? Not me! 

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links. When you click on one of my links and buy the product, I receive a small percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support and love!!