People often ask how I keep my home organized while blogging and homeschooling four kids. 

It comes down to organizing and managing my family life with the right tools and systems. These tools and systems help me take and maintain control of family life. 

I promise you there’s nothing magic about what I do! You can do it too! It is about finding a system that works for your family. The first thing I recommend everyone set up a family command center, no matter how big or small your home is.

In this blog post, learn tips on how to manage a busy life using a family command center. I will cover real-life experiences and how it has helped me. 

(Be sure to read all the way through, you won’t miss a special offer for you!! … Yes, maybe a discount code & a GIVEAWAY until April 30, 2021)

This is a sponsored post. I received one of the wall organizers as compensation for writing a review. I was not required to write a positive view, and all opinions expressed here are my own. 

The post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you. If you make a purchase through a link. See the Disclosure for more details.

Having four kids under 10 makes every day crazy. 

We have a clean house and home-cooked meals. We don’t let the dishes or laundry pile up. We have a routine everyone follows, and my husband and I still have time to work and serve in the community. 

Our secret of managing our family life: Having a family command center at home.

What is a family command center?

A family command center is a space in the home that serves as a headquarters for organizing daily tasks. On it is our schedule, events, meal plan, important documents, keys…

It gives a quick review of what is on the schedule each day. It helps us remember the important things and it also helps us remember the not-so-important things.

They usually include a calendar, a place for paper, messages/notes, and hooks.

Where should I put my family command center?

The best place for a family command center is a place the whole family gathers or an area everyone passes. 

For example the kitchen, dining room, living room, or mudroom.

Our Command Center

Our first family command center is in the homeschooling room.  We spend most of our day learning and playing there. It is also the first big wall everyone passes when entering our home, it is the best location for our family.

We have another one in our office. It focuses on our business rather than things related to our family and kids.

How about you? Do you have a family command center?
How do you like it?

What Goes on a Family Command Center?

Each family will vary with what they decided to include in the command center. 

Here is a list of possible items you may want to include. I would  NOT put everything on your family command center right away, choose 5 items at a time to start. 

• A family calendar
• Other schedules: cleaning & chores, daily, work…
• A chalkboard or whiteboard
• A to-do list/ checklist
• Meal plans
• Hooks, baskets, buckets, or bins
• Clipboard
• Stationery: pens, markers, dry erasers…
• Paper organizer 

How to set up a Family Command Center for Homeschooling & Home Management

Since my kids are at home with me most of the time, so it’s important to have them on the same page and know what exactly will happen each day.

It will avoid a lot of confusion, misunderstanding, miscommunication, and repeated questions from four kids.

In our homeschooling mom, the command center focuses more on the kids. My kids will know the date, activities, and events of this month.

They will also know any tasks, assignments, and chores for them.

Since I’m teaching them both Chinese and English, so I try to cooperate with it as well.

For example: Encourage to write in Chinese

I set up a Chinese mail notice board (我們的郵箱/ 我们的邮箱/ wǒ mén de yóu xiāng) here with examples of Chinese phrases and vocabulary that commonly use when writing Chinese letters.

I cut some papers and put them into one of the buckets, and that’s how we exchange and sent each other letters to encourage them to write more.

My kids and I love using 1 Thrive Wall Organizers to learn, to organize our time, so we can have even more time to spend with each other.

READ MORE: Writing Chinese Characters: 10 tips for teaching young children how to write Chinese characters

Tips of Managing our busy life with a Family Command Center 

• Having planning session at least once a month by having a family calendar
• Set deadlines and time for each task as a weekly planning
• Prepare meals in bulk to save time and money during your weekly planning
• Be more focus by taking away distractions by making a to-do list
• Create space & time for your creativity and passion by adding some buckets

Introducing…

1 Thrive Wall Organizers

to Command your life

Before we started using the wall organizers from 1 Thrive, we have a planning section once in a while, but usually just me.

I was printing a blank calendar and try to organize and plan out our month of events and meals.

However because I don’t have a place to write them down and show them to the rest of my family, we had a lot of miscommunication. Either my husband forgot about it, or my kids have no clue.

Everything is still pretty organized, but I was always the captain cheering, screaming, and even yelling at everyone about what to do every day.

It was exhausting!

Once we moved back to the States, we spent months finding a family calendar that we can put on our wall that is practical and beautiful. That’s how we found 1 Thrive in social media and it changed everything.

We love it so much after we got one, we got another one.

What makes 1 Thrive unique

We love 1 Thrive, wall organizers because they are customizable, practical, and importantly beautiful.

You can easily save space in your home and create a family command center with their one-wall mount wall organizer.

Even though nine base systems are already made, you can easily create your own individual wall organizers by re-arrange different components and pieces, sliding the components on and off, purchasing some add-on items, and even have your own personality and style.

What’s inside the 1 Thrive wall organizers?

The base component is included:

• Magnetic base frame
• Blackboard or whiteboard
• Corkboard
• File folder
• Small envelope holder hooks
• Mirror with shelf
• Buckets
• Markers (1 Write Liquid Chalk Markers)

Different Designs

They recently have nine base designs for you to choose from, and we picked the Ashley and the Megan.

We put the Ashley in our homeschooling room for events, meal plans, and for the kids.

Then, we put the Megan in our office to manage our business events, deadline, and incoming paper.

Component details 

Both the Ashley and Megan have the following components:

• 1 wide black magnetic base with magnetic 3.5” blackboard header 30.50” X 0.87” X 36.43”
• 1 large horizontal 30-day calendar blackboard with wood trim 28.00” X 1.25” X 13.50
• 1 half strip hooks wood with black metal hooks 13.50” X 1.25” X 2.75”
• 2 metal cups 4.00” X 4.25” X 8.00”
• 1 silver & 1 sky blue liquid chalk markers

The different components they have:

The Ashley 

• 1 medium corkboard with wood trim 13.50” X 1.25” X 13.50
• 1 medium weekly blackboard with wood trim 13.50” X 1.25” X 13.50”

The Megan

• 1 brushed gold file holder mounted on wood with metal hooks 13.50” X 3.75” X 13.50”
• 1 small to-do blackboard with wood trim 6.75” X 1.25” X 13.50”
• 1 small corkboard with wood trim 6.75” X 1.25” X 13.50”
• 1 half strip cork on wood 13.50” X 1.25” X 2.75”

Prize Range & Shipping

Their price range is from $119-$179 USD

For now, they only ship within the United States (include Hawaii and Alaska).

Family Packs

Yes, they do.

Family packs come in handy when you have multiple children and multiple businesses, plus meal plans, special events, chores, and so on.

The Only Downside

The woodwork of my wall organizers is not perfect, they need some polish after. 

But other than that, everything looks amazing.

Special Offer

If you’re interested in a command center, then hop on over to 1 Thrive and see all they have!

FIRST

Use code: homeschool10 f0r 10% off any wall organizer.

* Does not expire – 1 use per customer.

SECOND

Want to win the Sarah– wall organizer (value $119 USD) home?

Click to Enter to Win until April 30, 2021!

You can also follow 1 Thrive on:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Pinterest

Having a family command center is the first step to have an organized family life. It’s easier for both parents and children to know ahead of what will happen in the family, so everyone learns to think ahead and be prepared. It’s also a great opportunity to teach our children how time management, set goals, and make plans.

How do you usually manage your family life?

What’s struggle do you have in terms of home management?

You Might be Interested

• How to create a family command center that will keep your whole family organized from Busy Budgeter
• How to Build a Family Command Center for Busy Moms from Clutter Keeper
• The BEST Family Command Centre Options To Get and Stay Organized from Kaleidoscope Living

Teaching Chinese at Home

• How to Start Teaching Chinese at Home
• An Interview about My Homeschooling Life in Hong Kong
• Teaching Chinese with Theme-Based Approach: Chinese Theme Packs
• How to Create a Language Rich Environment to Learn Chinese at Home
• How to Use Boom Cards for Homeschooling/ Learning Chinese
• Writing Chinese Characters: 10 tips for teaching young children how to write Chinese characters

More about Homeschooling

• 13 Tips for Surviving Both Homeschooling and Working from Home (plus freebies)
• How to Write a Year-Long Bilingual Homeschooling Plan (plus FREE workbook)
• The Best Reward System for Multiple Young Children

You Are Not Doing it Alone

Join my Facebook support group to meet and get connections with parents and educators with the same goals.

After being a member, you can attend all the special LIVE training, events, and activities together.