I have had the good intentions of creating a chore chart for my kids for oh, a couple of years now. Even when pinterest took over the internet, and I sat for hours gathering “inspiration” to help me, it just wasn’t getting done. No idea was just right for me.
So one day, I sat down and started sketching. I have three kids, a small budget and very picky taste. I didn’t want some big colorful, kid friendly poster board hanging on my wall.
My requirements were:
Pretty
Magnetic
Easy to understand
Pretty
So my sketch turned into this pile of goodies. And this is how my chore chart was finally born.
I knew I wanted it to be magnetic so that I didn’t have to create pockets for anything. I was perusing Office Max one day and I found these really cool, industrial looking magnet boards. They were stainless steel looking and cool. Only problem was, they were sold out of all but one that was long and narrow and way too small for my needs.
I considered looking elsewhere or revamping my idea a little and going to the hardware store and finding a piece of metal to frame or finding something online but the fact is, I wouldn’t ever get around to it. It was now or it wasn’t ever.
So, instead I bought a regular old cheap framed magnetic white board. I hated that it was white, but it was already framed and it was already magnetic.
And then I was perusing Target one day (I love to peruse). And I found peel and stick contact paper (like, for shelves?) and they had some really cute patterns. And I thought perhaps I could cover my ugly whiteboard with this freakin’ cute contact paper. And so I did.
I’ve recently become obsessed with Washi Tape. It’s cute tape. That’s really all it is. Super cute tape. I ordered a couple of rolls off of Sassy Steals quite awhile ago and never used it. Until now. Hello Chore Chart grid! By the way, I used a ruler to measure out my grid. Until I stopped using the ruler and started eyeballing things.
Once upon a time I was a scrapbooker. We are talking totally obsessed, traveling to conventions, crops every week, buying every supply known to man....until I wasn’t. So now I have a room full of crap I don’t use, including these black letter Thickers from American Crafts. I used them to make the “done” and “to do” as well as my kids initials up at the top. I was out of the letter “e” so I had to get my crafty on, but it worked out.
Remember my requirement about wanting this thing magnetic? This is why. I found, at Office Max, a canister of round, acrylic magnets in assorted sizes and colors. Upon which, I wrote out our chores with a handy dandy sharpy. There are daily chores (the big ones), and not so daily chores (the small ones) and I have some even smaller ones left over that I might utilize for even more random chores. I’m still thinking that one through.
Chore chart complete in less than an hour! Now I have a wall to paint so that I can hang that mess!
Supply List
A framed, magnetic white board - found at any office supply store
Peel and stick contact paper - Mine is from Target, but you can find them at Walmart and other places
Decorative Tape - I used Washi Tape which is now widely available at craft stores, or you could use grid tape which is available at office supply stores. Or a pen, but I wanted mine to be changeable, you know, in case I wanted to change it.
Letter stickers - I used black Thickers from American Crafts but you could use anything, even a sharpie.
Acrylic Magnets that you can write on - I found a tin at the office supply store
A permanent marker - I used a sharpie
Kids - to utilize the chore chart.
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