I have tried several different things as far as "command center" goes. The best I've come up with is this 8 week meal plan. I made it when my husband started working night shifts at the hospital. It helped us both remember what nights he was working & helped me plan meals I could fix between me getting home from work and him leaving for work. Now, it still helpful looking ahead and trying to figure out grocery shopping. I can plan weeks in advance (and as you can see with the smiley face stamps, I've been pretty good at sticking to it). Less food is wasted, we eat healthier, we eat a larger variety of foods, and we eat as a family. It's pretty much been a good thing all around.
Anyway, we've kept it on our fridge and it is the best place. I've got my daily planner just around the corner with other things, but for the most part this meal plan is our go-to. Well, I decided I wanted to spiff it up a bit and help lean up the fridge a bit. So I did.
I went to Ikea and bought this super cute (and cheap) frame....
And I had these little clothespins (I don't remember where I got them, but the package said $1). And some mounting tape
(magnets were not strong enough to hold the entire board)
I originally tried to use tacky glue to attached the magnets to the back of the frame and the clothespins to the front, but it did not stick...grrr... Then I tried wood glue, then gorilla glue. Nothing! GRRR!! I realized the frame surface was too smooth so I ended up sanding where the clothespins were supposed to go. As for the magnets. I wanted the entire board to be magnetic. It wasn't. I also wanted it to be dry erase. It (unofficially) was. But how to do both. The plastic insert of the frame worked for the dry erase, but was not magnetic. After searching and almost an hour at The Home Depot, I ended up with a small piece of sheet metal for $5.
Luckily I had tin snippers at home so I measured it out and snipped away. I placed the clear plastic down first (like you would as usual), then instead of a picture, I put the sheet metal, then the cardboard. Then, I glued (with tacky glue) the magnets to the cardboard. I used gorilla glue to glue the clothespins to the front of the frame. And yay, with the sanding, they actually held! Hallelujah!
I loved how it turned out...and it was super cheap (although time intensive for trial-and-error). Now we have a place we can both go to for notes, chores, schedule, etc.
Happy Craftin'
Total Cost: $10
Total Time: 4+ hours (because of trial and error)
