Our Family Tech Stack: How We Built A System so Mom isn't the Default Admin

Most family logistics still default to mom. Here’s how we designed our tech setup so that anyone can step in — no micromanaging required.

Let’s be honest, in most families the mental load and logistics management fall to mom.

But in our dual-working (with almost 4 kids) household, we knew we didn’t want a system dependent on one person. We both work full-time in Corporate America which means we both have a boss (or several) and our time is not fully our own. I travel for work frequently, and we both have work seasons that are high-stress. We needed a system that made the work of running a family visible, shared, and manageable, no matter who was available on any given day.

You can see our shared family computer in the background of an impromptu snack time with the toddler complete with our dog hoping for a dropped snack, too.

Here’s a comprehensive look inside the exact tech stack we built, and how it helps us share the load instead of defaulting it all to one person.

Why we needed a family tech stack

I always joke that our house is run like a small business. We have so many things happening at any given time (especially right now, as we know that May is the craziest, busiest month of the year for families).

Before we had kids that were in elementary school, it was easier to manage the family without a clear strategy. But elementary school came with an entirely new set of commitments (homework, field trips, random days with no school, summer camps, and on and on), and we knew that we needed a better centralized system to manage the chaos. We now have one kid in daycare, two kids in elementary school, and one more kid on the way.

We needed a system that:

• Didn’t make one parent (me!) the “project manager” of family life

• Allowed us to trade the primary responsibility of any given task on a day-to-day basis without needing a briefing

• Could flex depending on travel, busy seasons at work, or unexpected events (like me being hospitalized before delivery of baby #4)

It’s not just about surviving the emergencies, but it’s about making everyday life easier and more equitable.

You might already have a tech setup, but here’s what everyone misses… the magic isn’t in the tech tools you use, it’s in the system that supports the tech stack. So in this post, I’ll talk not only about the tools we use but also how we created a system around them to build them into our life. Systems will help you actually have success with your Family Tech Stack.

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Our Core Tech Setup

Here’s the setup we intentionally designed to support shared visibility and ownership: