When I have tried organizing the family in the past I have tried, planners, calanders, chore charts, sticker charts, menu board etc... I have a problem with each one...
THERE ISN'T 1 place for everything!
I have a big problem with a chart/ calander that I'm the only one who can read, one that can get left in the car,
one that isn't big enough to fit everything on, one that looks good all the time. And one that makes sense to EVERYONE! I refuse to be the only one who knows whats going on!
Why I made this board...
Well I needed a place that this unorganized mind (of mine) could function with my organized life. I needed something that I could pass by and recall that "Piano was today", with out getting my planner out. I need one where I can say..."Have you gotten your jobs done yet? and they can check the board (themselves)... I know it sounds horrible but I needed the magnets here so that I could remember what jobs needed to be done, and who was going to do them, week after week.
I needed magnets with out top 40 meals so I wouldn't have to think of what to make. And as sad as it sounds so that I would remember to make dinner.
And it had to be big so I can't lose it or forget about it! ( I know I Know I have lost or forgotten them in the past)
This chart hangs in the heart of our coming and goings... THE LOFT. I see it first thing, I see it before bed, I see it at nap time,
I see it the whole time I'm on Pinterest and should be making dinner. So It really works out perfect!
Here's how I did it!
I took a large peice of MDF 3/4" thick and routed the edges.
Total size: 20" X 48"
Coats of Magnetic paint: 3
(It had instructions on the can but I really took them to heart and I think that it made a world of difference.
3
Thin layers of magnetic paint, rolled on with a foam roller)
Coats of Enamel Paint: 2
Why Enamel Paint: High Use, washable, no finger prints, looks great
Total cost for Vinyl Cut: $6
I measured the center of the board ( marked it with pencil) and made all my decisions based on the center of the board.
When
I had my Vinyl word strip I carefully folded it in half and pinched the
top of the protective covering to make a mark where the center of the
word was. This
did not ever fold the vinyl word, just the application
strip that the vinyl is stuck onto.
I measured 5 3/4" from each
day of the week at the middle point and marked it for the next day, allowing at least 4 responisbility strips to fit in
each day under each persons name.
From here I went down the board
measureing and applying one at a time till all the days of the week were
applied.
When all the days of the week we on I applied the pinstriping. I got this at Napa Auto Parts, it looks just like the black vinyl lettering I ordered in gloss. it was just under $3. It's very forgiving and was not to difficult to ad to the sign. I measured one spot at a time, cut and applied so I didn't waste didn't loose my place as apposed to cutting all the stripes at once.
2 4Pks of Magnet Circles: .99cents Each ($1.98)
The name circles at the top are, from Ikea.
I kept the ribbons simple on the top. The Letters are metal scrapbooking letters glued on.
A little about magnets:
I am super cheap... I mean frugal :) and I had quite a few of those magnet calandars that are about 5X7 and used all of those for this next project:
Money saved reusing/saving magnets: MILLIONS OF DOLLARS! ( ok it was probley at least $20)
A roll of magnet tape dosn't work, looks to bulky and wants to curl because the paper lends no support. Magnet paper to run through your printer won't hold up to the wear and tear unless you have a laser printer.
The responsibility magnets.
I have
dinners,
Family Home Evening Lessons, family fun activites, cleaning jobs, And calendar events. Keeping it simple to these helps everyone to know whats going on. and Keeping them color coded helps when I am restarting the next week, or making changes, or taking a quick glance.
I made the color coded word strips on Illustrator printed these off at Costco.( Because nobody can beat the price of full color on cardstock prints!)
I used a heavy duty glue ( Gorilla Glue) to adhere the sheets of magnet to the sheets of words AND THEN cut them! Simply on my paper cutter and they are great! Easy on, easy off, not to sticky, not heavy at all, super inexpensive and they look great. you can't even tell that they aren't printed on magnet sheets and
they cost about $2 total.
The boys made a cute -little snowman outside with daddy and dressed him all up! 
And here is Mr. Snowman on Sunday or monday :)
