• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • FOOD
  • GAMES
  • LAUGHS

My Life and Kids

  • Breakfast
  • Lunch
  • Dinner
  • Snacks
  • Desserts
  • Drinks
  • Feeding Teens
  • Freezer Meals
  • Copycat Recipes
menu icon
go to homepage
  • FOOD
  • GAMES
  • LAUGHS
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • FOOD
    • GAMES
    • LAUGHS
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×
    • Coffee with Honey in a glass mug with frothy hot milk on top and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
      Recipe: How to Make Hot Coffee with Honey (Cafe con Miel)
    • Tall glass filled with ice, cold brew, club soda and cold foam. Glass straw inside.
      Easy and Refreshing Iced Coffee Soda Recipe
    • Starbucks Copycat Sugar Cookie Latte in a glass mug with whipped cream and red and green sprinkles on top.
      Homemade Sugar Cookie Latte Starbucks Copycat Recipe
    • Fork breaking into Finished Plancha Grilled Chili Crisp Salmon on rice.
      Big Green Egg Plancha Grilled Chili Crisp Salmon Recipe
    • Starbucks Caramel Brulee Latte in a clear mug
      Easy Caramel Brulee Latte Starbucks Copycat Recipe
    • Copycat Starbucks Peppermint Mocha Frappuccino Recipe in a clear glass topped with whipped cream, red sprinkles and a candy cane.
      Easy Peppermint Mocha Frappuccino Starbucks Copycat Recipe
    • Starbucks Chestnut Praline Latte in a clear mug with whipped cream and pralines on top.
      Chestnut Praline Latte Starbucks Copycat Recipe
    • Box of grape uncrustables next to a plate of celery
      Do Uncrustables Need to be Refrigerated or Frozen?
    • Creamy tan colored coffee drink in clear mug with cold foam and cinnamon on top. Contains coffee, milk and ashwagandha.
      Easy Ashwagandha Coffee Recipe - Tasty Adaptogenic Latte
    • Two kids doing a crab walk in a kitchen, while playing Animal Workout on an Alexa Device
      More than 26 Games Kids Can Play With Alexa
    • Person wearing a black tanktop and holding a pink fabric tape measure to highlight how to measure your bust. White background.
      How to Take Your Clothing Measurements for Amazon
    • Boy on blue background holding stopwatch
      20 Awesome Back to School Games
    Home » Mom Life » Back to School

    Published: Aug 19, 2017 · Modified: Jul 12, 2019 by Anna Luther · This post may contain affiliate links ·

    10 Back to School Command Centers to get you organized

    Every once in a while I get the itch to refresh my house. This usually involves painting walls and rearranging furniture but most recently I'm on a mission to get organized (and maybe rearrange everything while I'm at it...just one more time).

    My entryway needs some major attention and I love the idea of creating a command center for calendars, bills, meal planning, mail, coupons, shopping lists, keys, etc.

    For those of you sending kids back to school in a few weeks, a command center is a great way to get organized for the school year!

    Back to school season is here. Get your house and life organized for the school year with one of these inspiring DIY command centers for your kitchen or your office. It's the perfect place to keep track of calendars, homework, backpacks and school papers. Plus see how to create one for less than $20 using materials from the Dollar Tree or Dollar Store. #backtoschool #DIY #commandcenter #dollarstore #dollartree #organization #ideas #school

    DIY Dollar Store Command Center

    I finally got myself together enough to create a command center in our home. This DIY Dollar Store Command Center is exactly what you need to help your busy kids stay on track and organized!

    I bought everything at the Dollar Tree for just $1 each, but you could find these things at most Dollar stores (Family Dollar, Dollar General, 99 Cents Only, etc). For less than $20, I was able to create this entire family command center.

    Are you ready to get your family organized? This Dollar Store DIY Command Center is exactly what you need to help your busy kids stay on track! I bought everything at the Dollar Tree for just $1 each, but you could find these things at most Dollar stores (Family Dollar, Dollar General, 99 Cents Only, etc). For less than $20, I was able to create this entire family command center. #commandcenter #backtoschool #organization #dollartree #dollarstore #diy

    Now, my kids know what the schedule is for the week, they have a spot to keep their important papers and folders, and we haven't lost a library book since we created this command center. Bonus!

    Watch the video and follow the instructions below to create your own!

    And then click here to read the step-by-step post on how to do it yourself.

    Our Original Command Center

    Before we upgraded to our current command center, our station looked more like this.

    We had a spot for our homework boxes, library books, lunch boxes, backpacks and even artwork displays. Plus a giant school calendar to keep all of us in line.

    Ultimately as the kids got older, we needed different things (and I wanted a little more floor space), so we created our wall command center. But this one was super functional while it lasted!

    10 More Back to School Command Centers

    Looking for more inspiration? Check out 10 of my favorite Command Centers!

    Kitchen Corner Command Center

    Back to school season is here! Get organized for the school year with one of these inspiring command centers!

    This is the perfect command center if you don't have an entire wall in your house to dedicate to catching clutter. While you may not be able to have your kids hang their backpacks here, it's still super functional and looks great too.

    For quick reference, here are a few of the supplies she used (but be sure to click over to her post to read her step-by-step instructions and see her UPDATED command center. It's adorable!)

    Command Center Supplies

    Dry Erase Calendar

    White Wall Files

    Magnetic Dry Erase Board

    Wall Mountable Mason Jars

    Basket for Lunch Boxes or Backpacks

    DIY Command Center

    Back to school season is here! Get organized for the school year with one of these inspiring command centers!

    If you have a little more room to spare, this little corner command center is a great option. The bench provides a space for kiddos to sit down to put their shoes on or off (and store them underneath), and the multiple hooks, shelves and storage pockets provide tons of options for catching all the papers and keys that come into your house.

    Command Center Supplies

    White Wall Files, Hooks and Mounts

    Coat Rack

    Magnetic Photo Strip

    Entryway Bench with Shoe Storage

    Bright White Command Center

    Back to school season is here! Get organized for the school year with one of these inspiring command centers!

    This command center is so fun and has so many options for customization. My favorite part is that she took white frames, framed different calendars and organizing tools and then writes on the glass with dry erase marker. Brilliant.

    Command Center Supplies

    White Wall Files, Hooks and Mounts

    Framed Stainless Steel Magnetic Dry Erase Board

    Simple White Frames

    More of My Favorite Command Centers

    While I don't have pictures to share, here are a few more of my favorite command centers.

    Mudroom Command Center from Get on with IT already

    Entryway Command Center from Organizing Junkie.

    Grid Command Center from Ana White.

    Ombre Command Center from She's {kinda} Crafty

    Black & Yellow Command Center from Sweetaprils.

    Chalkboard Command Center from Katherine Marie.

    Small Space Command Center from Better Homes & Gardens.

    Mastering Back to School Together

    Back to school can be hectic, but it doesn’t have to be hard!

    With three kids in school, I’ve learned a few things along the way that help to simplify the entire back-to-school process, while also keeping me sane.

    And I’m sharing them all with you!

    Click here to see how I mastered back to school, and you can too!

    Including:

    • The organizational systems we have in place
    • The routines we use (and how we remember them)
    • Why my kids haven't missed the bus in three years
    • How to have the best first day of school EVER
    • How to put an end to homework battles
    • How I get my kids talking (and talking and talking and talking) every day after school
    • How we manage busy sports seasons without going insane
    • The simple tech hack that EVERY parents needs to know
    • And so much more!

    Click here to see the 18 things I'm doing to master back to school, and how you can do them too!

    More Back to School

    • Teacher in front of colorful chalkboard
      280+ Fun Trivia Questions and Answers for 5th Graders
    • Cream and pink lunchbox with gold zippers
      Top Picks: More than 30 of the Best Lunch Bags for Nurses
    • Woman holding markers in one hand and food storage container with silicone lid in the other hand. She's wearing a blue apron. Lid has a joke written on it in sharpie.
      More than 150 lunch note ideas to make your kids smile
    • Blue and white insulated lunch box
      35 of The Very Best Lunch Boxes to Keep Food Warm 

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Sheila says

      July 25, 2014 at 8:31 am

      I love these ideas for a command center! I will be getting one together over the next few weeks since I am beginning to home school my kindergartner! Your timing of this post couldn't be more perfect, thank you!

    2. Charlotte @ Ciburbanity says

      July 25, 2014 at 10:02 am

      Hey Jill!! This is awesome! Thanks so much for the shout out! I'm reeeeaaallly glad I didn't see any of these other ones when I was working on ours or else I would have been paralyzed with so many AMAZING ideas!! Quick favor... do you mind changing your anchor text for my blog to "Ciburbanity"... I know the logo is totally confusing :). Thanks and TGIF!!

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi, I'm Anna! Raising families is hard, but keeping them fed makes it easier! I'm here to help you feed your crazy, messy, fabulous, funny family.

    More about me →

    Popular

    • Glass bowl on a wooden board filled with Taco Bell copycat Red Sauce.
      Copycat Taco Bell Red Sauce Recipe
      Cook Time20 min
    • Bottom freezer open with casseroles wrapped in tin foil and labeled with sharpie advertising freezer casserole recipes.
      15 Casserole Recipes to Freeze
    • Hand holding a flour tortilla filled with refried beans, taco bell red sauce and shredded cheddar cheese.
      Copycat Taco Bell Bean Burritos Recipe with Red Sauce
      Cook Time10 min
    • Metal pan filled with baked casserole with rice, black beans, corn, tomatoes and shredded mozzarella cheese.
      Freezer Taco Rice Casserole (Dairy Free and Gluten Free)
      Cook Time60 mins

    Summer Favorites

    • Glass pyrex dish with slices of zucchini, squash, tomatoes and shredded mozzarella cheese.
      Zucchini, Squash and Tomato Gratin Recipe
      Cook Time1 hour, 15 min
    • Bright, fresh salad in a wooden bowl with sliced strawberries, red lettuce, shaved coconut and slivered almonds on a white wooden table next to a glass jar of green lemonade basil salad dressing.
      Summer Salad with Lemonade Basil Dressing
      Cook Time10 min
    • Sheetpan of cooked fajitas with slices of seasoned chicken, sliced onions and red and orange bell peppers with a stack of flour tortillas on top. Bowls of shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream and avocado on the side.
      Orange Juice Chicken Fajitas Recipe - Sheet Pan Dinner
      Cook Time35 min
    • Hand holding a small bowl of purple blackberry frozen whip.
      Lemonade with Blackberries Summer Whip Recipe
      Cook Time35 min

    Hi, I'm Anna! Raising families is hard, but keeping them fed makes it easier! I'm here to help you feed your crazy, messy, fabulous, funny family.

    More about me →

    Popular

    • Glass bowl on a wooden board filled with Taco Bell copycat Red Sauce.
      Copycat Taco Bell Red Sauce Recipe
      Cook Time20 min
    • Bottom freezer open with casseroles wrapped in tin foil and labeled with sharpie advertising freezer casserole recipes.
      15 Casserole Recipes to Freeze
    • Hand holding a flour tortilla filled with refried beans, taco bell red sauce and shredded cheddar cheese.
      Copycat Taco Bell Bean Burritos Recipe with Red Sauce
      Cook Time10 min
    • Metal pan filled with baked casserole with rice, black beans, corn, tomatoes and shredded mozzarella cheese.
      Freezer Taco Rice Casserole (Dairy Free and Gluten Free)
      Cook Time60 mins

    Summer Favorites

    • Glass pyrex dish with slices of zucchini, squash, tomatoes and shredded mozzarella cheese.
      Zucchini, Squash and Tomato Gratin Recipe
      Cook Time1 hour, 15 min
    • Bright, fresh salad in a wooden bowl with sliced strawberries, red lettuce, shaved coconut and slivered almonds on a white wooden table next to a glass jar of green lemonade basil salad dressing.
      Summer Salad with Lemonade Basil Dressing
      Cook Time10 min
    • Sheetpan of cooked fajitas with slices of seasoned chicken, sliced onions and red and orange bell peppers with a stack of flour tortillas on top. Bowls of shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream and avocado on the side.
      Orange Juice Chicken Fajitas Recipe - Sheet Pan Dinner
      Cook Time35 min
    • Hand holding a small bowl of purple blackberry frozen whip.
      Lemonade with Blackberries Summer Whip Recipe
      Cook Time35 min

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer
    • Terms & Conditions

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact
    • Work with Me

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2023