[SPEAKER_00]: welcome back to episode 320 of the one to be clutter free podcast.
[SPEAKER_00]: My name is DNA Yates and today I am bringing you a special presentation that I did for the chaos to calm some it and it is all about creating a command center for your family to help you.
[SPEAKER_00]: curb the chaos or calm the chaos in your home.
[SPEAKER_00]: And as we are coming out of summer and getting back into the school year, I know that we are coming maybe off of some lazy days of summer, guilty of myself.
[SPEAKER_00]: I was able to take a little time off the summer.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so now as we get back to school and the schedules and all of the different activities and demands of our time, I know that this is going to be a very special episode for you.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so I'm really excited to
[SPEAKER_00]: All right.
[SPEAKER_00]: Here we go.
[SPEAKER_00]: Hello everyone and welcome to this session in the chaos to calm Summit.
[SPEAKER_00]: My name is Diana Yates and I am excited that you are joining me for this session where we are going to learn about how to organize your family command center to make your life easier on a day-to-day basis.
[SPEAKER_00]: So if you've ever felt like managing your family's calendar schedule, all the things to do, all the running lists is a full-time job, well, then this session is for you.
[SPEAKER_00]: We learned a lot about routines and habits yesterday, and so I'm excited to talk to you about how to take what we learned yesterday and put it into a system that actually works in something that you can keep up with and keep organized on a regular basis.
[SPEAKER_00]: What you're going to learn today is you're going to learn why a family command center is essential for busy families.
[SPEAKER_00]: You're going to learn the key components to an effective command center.
[SPEAKER_00]: We're going to talk both digital and physical, and we're going to talk about some quick step-by-step tips for setting things up, whether it is that physical or digital, so that you can actually have a plan of action today, so you can start putting these things into practice.
[SPEAKER_00]: But first who am I?
[SPEAKER_00]: My name is Diana Yates and you have seen me around.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm the host of this summit, but I'm also the host of the one to be clutter free podcast and that is where I help busy families such as yourself learn to let go of the stuff that they don't need.
[SPEAKER_00]: So they can start living the life that they actually want to wake up to every single day.
[SPEAKER_00]: So if you are into listening to podcasts, I would love to have you come check out my show, want to be clutter free, or you can connect with me on Instagram at want to be clutter free over there as well.
[SPEAKER_00]: And of course, if you are in the Facebook group, you can reach out to me over there if you have any questions about this summit or what we do or how I can help simplify your life.
[SPEAKER_00]: Alright, so let's get into it.
[SPEAKER_00]: Why do you actually need a family command center?
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, a family command center is going to give you one centralized communication.
[SPEAKER_00]: It acts as the brain of your home.
[SPEAKER_00]: It helps you consolidate all of your schedules, all of your tasks, all the essential info that you and your family need into one spot.
[SPEAKER_00]: Number two, it's going to help you reduce your stress, because they're not going to be scrambling anymore to remember appointments.
[SPEAKER_00]: What permission slips need to be filled out, who needs what when soccer practice is, who's driving people where what is going on, what is going on and everyone's calendar, as your kids get older, and they have all of their own activities.
[SPEAKER_00]: things get a little more chaotic and you are one wanting to allow them some autonomy and to make sure that nothing falls through the cracks.
[SPEAKER_00]: So it also helps empower your family.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's number three, and it's really important because everyone knows where to find the information that they need and what's expected of them.
[SPEAKER_00]: It allows you to loosen the reins a little bit.
[SPEAKER_00]: You no longer have to be the brain and the manager of everything going on in your house.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's going to help reduce your overwhelmed when other people are able to be empowered.
[SPEAKER_00]: And find what they need.
[SPEAKER_00]: They don't have to come to you.
[SPEAKER_00]: You don't have to be the bottleneck.
[SPEAKER_00]: You don't have to be the person that is running everything all the time.
[SPEAKER_00]: So it's going to get you some piece of mind as well.
[SPEAKER_00]: Next, let's talk about the key components of a family command center.
[SPEAKER_00]: So we are going to talk about two different kinds.
[SPEAKER_00]: There's going to be a physical command center.
[SPEAKER_00]: It could be a symbol as a family calendar that's tacked on the wall, just a paper calendar.
[SPEAKER_00]: It could be something like a one-thrived system where you have a calendar, and you have a chalkboard or a whiteboard or hooks and baskets and things like that.
[SPEAKER_00]: All in one family command center wall unit.
[SPEAKER_00]: or it could be a hodgepodge of a couple things that you put together.
[SPEAKER_00]: That is fine.
[SPEAKER_00]: It doesn't have to be anything super fancy.
[SPEAKER_00]: I want us to understand that.
[SPEAKER_00]: That we do not have to do anything fancy or to be effective.
[SPEAKER_00]: The next is going to be a digital command center.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now that might be something like a skylight calendar or a hearth or even an iPad that you lay out yourself.
[SPEAKER_00]: So we're going to talk about those two different versions.
[SPEAKER_00]: So I want us to know where we're going.
[SPEAKER_00]: But in both instances, the first thing that is most important is location.
[SPEAKER_00]: So you need to decide where this is going to live.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now, if you're looking at this, you can see behind me, I actually do have a Skylight calendar.
[SPEAKER_00]: And it's set up here, this is technically my office, but it's an open space.
[SPEAKER_00]: So our kitchen is right here.
[SPEAKER_00]: Our dining room is just off behind me.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so this is actually a very centralized location.
[SPEAKER_00]: Before it to be, plus I like to get to watch the photos on that, we'll talk about that in a little bit.
[SPEAKER_00]: But location is, it matters.
[SPEAKER_00]: We don't really have a good entry location in our home, so I like it here where it can sit on a table.
[SPEAKER_00]: But you want to choose a high traffic area.
[SPEAKER_00]: So oftentimes this is going to be your kitchen, your entryway, a hallway, somewhere where everyone can see it, and it's easy to check it.
[SPEAKER_00]: Because if it's tucked away somewhere where nobody walks by, then it's less likely to get noticed.
[SPEAKER_00]: And we don't want this to,
[SPEAKER_00]: be unnoticeable.
[SPEAKER_00]: We want this to stand out.
[SPEAKER_00]: And of course, if it can be pretty, that's helpful as well.
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay.
[SPEAKER_00]: So that is first and foremost, regardless of whether it's physical or digital, it needs to be somewhere where you can see it a high traffic area.
[SPEAKER_00]: All right.
[SPEAKER_00]: So the next thing, let's talk about what essentials we need to include in a command center.
[SPEAKER_00]: Whether again, it's physical or digital, I do think you're going to need a calendar because that is really the biggest component of ours and it allows us to see all the different moving parts and everything that has to go on in a day.
[SPEAKER_00]: So a large monthly calendar, but then if it's digitally wanna be able to see a day or a week at a glance, if you need more input.
[SPEAKER_00]: So if it's a monthly calendar, you wanna be able to write on it add appointments, things that you need to it.
[SPEAKER_00]: Next, you're going to want somewhere that you can keep a to-do list or a chore chart or running a list.
[SPEAKER_00]: This could be a grocery list, a to-do list, a purchase list, all these kinds of things.
[SPEAKER_00]: But some way to be able to track all of the things that you need to do.
[SPEAKER_00]: We talked about that yesterday how making these lists can be one of the ways to help you get organized and help you calm your mind that's really just kind of swirling and a lot going on.
[SPEAKER_00]: So it helps control the overwhelm.
[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe a message board, or some way that you can share notes and reminders, so those are three things that actually can have happened both physical and digitally, so your way you can have both of those things, or all three of those things.
[SPEAKER_00]: If you're doing a physical command center, other things that you might want to include would be an inbox and outbox.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now you can also combine
[SPEAKER_00]: So things don't have to be all physical or all digital.
[SPEAKER_00]: An inbox outbox is gonna be a great place for you to put your mail when it comes in.
[SPEAKER_00]: But the school paper is at your kids bring home, but the permission slips.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so again, you can see how inbox for you to take care of the items and then in outbox for the permission slips to go back to school for things to go out into the mail for deliveries to go back out, returns, things like that.
[SPEAKER_00]: So you can see how an inbox and outbox could work really well together.
[SPEAKER_00]: then also a supply station.
[SPEAKER_00]: So if it's a physical command center you're going to need pens, markers, sticky notes, other essentials that you will need to be able to complete any of the tasks that you need.
[SPEAKER_00]: So obviously a pen is very important and a racer is going to be very important.
[SPEAKER_00]: Especially if you have a dry erase board or you're wanting to erase your pencils because mistakes are going to happen.
[SPEAKER_00]: So make sure you have all of those things a supplies that
[SPEAKER_00]: Next, let's talk about a digital command center and why I love the Skylight Calendar in particular.
[SPEAKER_00]: So, I mentioned three different types before.
[SPEAKER_00]: So, Skylight Calendar, a hearth system, or a DIY system with an iPad or something like that.
[SPEAKER_00]: Why I love the Skylight Calendar is one, it's beautiful, and it's super easy to use.
[SPEAKER_00]: It keeps everyone updated at real time.
[SPEAKER_00]: They have an app that connects to my phone.
[SPEAKER_00]: My husband's phone is also connected to it.
[SPEAKER_00]: Our daughter doesn't have a phone yet, but when she does, she will then be able to get on the the Skylight app as well, and then her calendar and everything will be there.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now we just put it right now on the actual device.
[SPEAKER_00]: and then she can see it so she can get a glance at the beginning of the day or the end of the day to see what's coming up, but as things get more complicated with her, she's a preteen now so as things get more complicated and she's more empowered in her own life to know what's coming up then she'll be able to have it on her devices as well.
[SPEAKER_00]: What I love, though, is that you can sync it with any digital calendar that you already have.
[SPEAKER_00]: So, this could be a Google calendar outlook for an iCal, a Yahoo calendar, anything like that.
[SPEAKER_00]: Any digital calendar you can sync it.
[SPEAKER_00]: You also can sync multiple digital calendars.
[SPEAKER_00]: So, I have multiple Google calendars.
[SPEAKER_00]: I have one for personal and one for work, and they can both be synced and integrated and integrated to my
[SPEAKER_00]: specific profile.
[SPEAKER_00]: We'll talk about profiles in just a minute.
[SPEAKER_00]: But it is super easy.
[SPEAKER_00]: And if you don't have a digital calendar, you can also just set it up directly on the device.
[SPEAKER_00]: In your app, and these are some of the things you need to look for if you're looking forward to a digital command center.
[SPEAKER_00]: So the other thing I love about a digital command center is it allows everybody to have their own color code.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now you can do this in a physical command center as well.
[SPEAKER_00]: So if you want to use a highlighter or different colored markers, but color coding is wonderful because at a glance you can quickly see who is in charge of what.
[SPEAKER_00]: It allows ownership of different activities and different things that are happening.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so that is really important because if you
[SPEAKER_00]: share carpool duties or you share meal duties, you can color code each one so every person knows at a glance who is in charge of what on any given day.
[SPEAKER_00]: So that's really important.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now that we've talked about the two different kinds of command centers, why I think they're both important, I actually want to say that we use a combination of the two.
[SPEAKER_00]: So I do have an inbox for our mail, I have an outbox location where we put things that need to be returned, but I do love having the digital one because I can also have it, help me with meal planning.
[SPEAKER_00]: I love that it's a digital photo frame and so I get to see all of these different photos throughout the day and I just really love how that makes me feel.
[SPEAKER_00]: I also love that it can track short charts, so in both a physical and digital, having a short chart or to do lists, things like that, different routines you do, is very important and essential, but this way I also can then check them off.
[SPEAKER_00]: And there's just a, I love being able to do that digitally, so I don't have to recreate the wheel every single week.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't have to rewrite out any new lists.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's all there and it's just very easily editable on my phone.
[SPEAKER_00]: So for me, it helps me save a lot of time being digital, but I do love having this combination.
[SPEAKER_00]: I will often jot down and make lists in my notebook and then later at the end of my day, I will sink them into my digital calendar.
[SPEAKER_00]: Because I do still, there's something really special for me putting pen to paper.
[SPEAKER_00]: It helps my brain kind of just unwind and then I can make order of it, organize it, and then put it into my lists so that I can get them done in a better and more succinct manner.
[SPEAKER_00]: Hopefully that makes sense.
[SPEAKER_00]: All right, so let's talk about setting up our command centers.
[SPEAKER_00]: I have five steps here.
[SPEAKER_00]: I want to make sure that we get through these because this is super important.
[SPEAKER_00]: So step number one is to declutter first.
[SPEAKER_00]: So you have to figure out, whose great thing this is happening on day three, we've already had our declutter day, we've had our routine and time management day, and now we're getting into the organization.
[SPEAKER_00]: So I want you to declutter first.
[SPEAKER_00]: Take your space, think you're out where your command center is going to go.
[SPEAKER_00]: Whether it's physical or digital, they're both going to need a place to live.
[SPEAKER_00]: So clear out that space and make it something where you are excited to look at that space, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: Even if you don't put anything else up, but the calendar, but the whiteboard, but the frame, it's just really nice when you don't have a lot of distractions around it.
[SPEAKER_00]: So give it a dedicated home and a place to be.
[SPEAKER_00]: And by that, you're going to declutter first.
[SPEAKER_00]: So give it a special place.
[SPEAKER_00]: Two is to choose the tools that you will actually use.
[SPEAKER_00]: Here's where you get to decide if you prefer physical, digital, or a hybrid.
[SPEAKER_00]: Super simple step.
[SPEAKER_00]: Number three is to customize it to your family's needs.
[SPEAKER_00]: So depending on what you are doing,
[SPEAKER_00]: If you've decided to do physical, what markers are you going to use?
[SPEAKER_00]: What colors are you going to use?
[SPEAKER_00]: What is the plan?
[SPEAKER_00]: How are you going to do that?
[SPEAKER_00]: Do you have, are there meal plan sheets that you're going to do?
[SPEAKER_00]: Are there to do list sheets that you're going to use?
[SPEAKER_00]: Is there a chore chart?
[SPEAKER_00]: What is it?
[SPEAKER_00]: What are those actual pieces that you are going to be using?
[SPEAKER_00]: If you're doing a digital one, how can you set it up so that it actually works for your family's needs?
[SPEAKER_00]: Can you color code them?
[SPEAKER_00]: Give everybody a profile.
[SPEAKER_00]: Add your photos into it, so make sure that it works for you and give them a test.
[SPEAKER_00]: The other thing to remember here is if there are parts of the systems that don't work for you, then you are welcome to skip them.
[SPEAKER_00]: If your family is past the stage where you're doing a chore and reward charts, we'll go ahead and let those go.
[SPEAKER_00]: I actually have moved to setting up the chore charts to be our weekly things that we need to do.
[SPEAKER_00]: So I have a doable dozen PDF.
[SPEAKER_00]: Actually, I will link to that below this one.
[SPEAKER_00]: It is a freebie.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's just, it lets me know if they're the 12 tasks that we do on a weekly basis.
[SPEAKER_00]: So I've set those up in my Skylight to be recurring tasks, recurring lists that we do.
[SPEAKER_00]: And it's just an easy way for me to be able to check them off and stay on task.
[SPEAKER_00]: I've set them up in the chore chart, they're chores, but for the family, so it's not like a reward chart for, like you think of a chore chart with little kids, but it's really helpful for us as a family.
[SPEAKER_00]: I also set up our meal plans in there, but if these are not things that you want, and they're not helpful for you, you can totally skip them.
[SPEAKER_00]: All right, step number four is Dischedule a weekly sync up.
[SPEAKER_00]: So I know that Tony Ann talks about her Sunday routine, and this is something that she does every Sunday.
[SPEAKER_00]: This is a perfect time to do that.
[SPEAKER_00]: Dedicate 15 minutes every week now of Sunday works for you, fantastic.
[SPEAKER_00]: You might prepare to do it on a Friday evening, so that you're not worrying about it for the next week ahead.
[SPEAKER_00]: But you just pick what works for you and you update your week's calendar with your family, pick your meals for the next week.
[SPEAKER_00]: Make sure you have everybody's calendar.
[SPEAKER_00]: Talk about what's coming up for the next week and make sure everything is appropriately assigned.
[SPEAKER_00]: And then step number five is to get by and from everyone.
[SPEAKER_00]: So you want to make sure that everyone is on board.
[SPEAKER_00]: You want to make sure that your family knows how to use the command center.
[SPEAKER_00]: You want to make sure that you're signing roles.
[SPEAKER_00]: But then know who's in charge of actually updating the calendar.
[SPEAKER_00]: Who's in charge of creating the meal plans things like this?
[SPEAKER_00]: Now, in my household, most of this still falls on me, you know, I do most of the planning, but we all have buy-in on, okay, who's gonna do these things this week?
[SPEAKER_00]: Who's got, you know, carpool duty?
[SPEAKER_00]: Who's doing this that and whatever?
[SPEAKER_00]: But generally, I'm the one that's setting this up and then everybody's just on board with helping me keep it up and running and maintained.
[SPEAKER_00]: All right, now I do have three bonus tips for you to make this the most efficient possible.
[SPEAKER_00]: one, make it accessible.
[SPEAKER_00]: We already talked about having this in a high traffic area, but make sure everyone in your family knows how to use the tools.
[SPEAKER_00]: Take a moment and show them.
[SPEAKER_00]: And he excited when you show them so that people are on board, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: We were watching a show the other day.
[SPEAKER_00]: And one of the people in the show is just kind of like, oh, with arctic and like not really exciting to be around.
[SPEAKER_00]: And it's like, well, no wonder they're not attracting anybody fun because they're just lit.
[SPEAKER_00]: So don't
[SPEAKER_00]: when you're showing people things you want them to use, be excited about it, make sure you are up to date and you know how things work before you show them because it just makes it easier to get people on board.
[SPEAKER_00]: So keep these command centers in a location and at a height and accessible in a way that everybody in your house can use them.
[SPEAKER_00]: So if your kids are little and you don't want them drawing all over these things, we'll put them all the higher.
[SPEAKER_00]: But if they're a little bit older and they can help you with these things or maybe we're using magnets or something like that, keep them a little bit lower so everybody can participate.
[SPEAKER_00]: to automate things when possible.
[SPEAKER_00]: So that is one of the things I love about a digital command center is that you can automate recurring tasks.
[SPEAKER_00]: You can set these lists up like chores so that they refresh every single week, makes it really easy.
[SPEAKER_00]: And then go ahead and sync with different lists in different applications so that things are automated.
[SPEAKER_00]: So every time I update my Google calendar on my phone, it updates in my skylight automatically,
[SPEAKER_00]: So one way you can actually automate a physical command center is to make lots of copies of things.
[SPEAKER_00]: So you have a chore chart that you use regularly will make a bunch of copies so that you're not having to rewrite it every week or your grocery list.
[SPEAKER_00]: Make a
[SPEAKER_00]: main buying list, like I have one that is what we generally buy on a regular basis, the things that we're constantly restocking.
[SPEAKER_00]: So make a list like that, go ahead and make copies of it, and then you can cross off the things you don't need.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's much easier to cross things off than it is to write them in.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so that has been really helpful for us as well.
[SPEAKER_00]: If you prefer a physical over digital, there are ways you can still automate things as you go along.
[SPEAKER_00]: and then review regularly.
[SPEAKER_00]: So we already talked about setting aside time to do a weekly sync up, but every month, assess what's working and tweak what's needed.
[SPEAKER_00]: Make sure that this is actually still working for you and that it's helping make your life better.
[SPEAKER_00]: And if not, make some tweaks, make it work for you.
[SPEAKER_00]: So I hope you've found that helpful and inspiring and are actually excited to try a family command center and understand that it isn't just about being organized, it's about creating a system that supports your family's busy life to help you have less stress and more ease as you go throughout your day.
[SPEAKER_00]: We're not trying to add things on to making more difficult, we're trying
[SPEAKER_00]: So whether you prefer physical, tools, or digital solutions, or a mix of both, the key is to create a system that works for you and your family.
[SPEAKER_00]: See your next steps if you are ready to take your family's organization to the next level is to start by declaring, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: Go back to day one of the summit, make sure you are decluttering and putting those tips into action, and then choose one of the components of a family command center and implement it today.
[SPEAKER_00]: So I want to thank you so much for joining me.
[SPEAKER_00]: I can't wait to hear how your family command center transforms your home.
[SPEAKER_00]: Go ahead and make sure you download the freebie that I have available for you.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's the doable dozen guide.
[SPEAKER_00]: It gives you 12 things that I do every weekend.
[SPEAKER_00]: Our home to keep it running smoothly and seamlessly and also if those 12 things don't work for you, the great thing is it's totally customizable.
[SPEAKER_00]: So I show you my example of what we have in our tasks.
[SPEAKER_00]: but you also can make your own task list.
[SPEAKER_00]: So I have the Daily Magic 5.
[SPEAKER_00]: There's five things I do every single day and then there's seven weekly tasks on a try to do one a day.
[SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes that doesn't always happen but this gives me a great list to know what actually needs to happen every week, to keep our home tidy and organized and manageable and
[SPEAKER_00]: It doesn't take that much time, and so it's really great to be able to have this list to refer back to.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's also something you can set up in your digital command center so that you can go back to it every single week.
[SPEAKER_00]: I hope you enjoyed that session from the Chaos to calm summit.
[SPEAKER_00]: If you would like to pick up all of the additional sessions, I know I talked about the different days that we had.
[SPEAKER_00]: And if you want to go back and find out what we did cover in the session, I will have a link in the show notes so that you can do so.
[SPEAKER_00]: So make sure you check that out or go to want to be clutter free.com slash
[SPEAKER_00]: Summit.
[SPEAKER_00]: And don't forget to join me next week when I'm talking with Megan Summaryl about time management.
[SPEAKER_00]: It is definitely one you're going to look forward to, especially like I said, as we come off of this busy, or go into this next busy season and we are maybe needing to beef up or, you know, tidy up our time management skills and making our schedules work best for us.
[SPEAKER_00]: All right, don't forget to check that out.
[SPEAKER_00]: If you're not subscribed, make sure you do that so you don't miss it.
[SPEAKER_00]: All right, I'll see you next week.
[SPEAKER_00]: Cheers.