Thursday, December 1, 2011

Organization: The Board

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So when I made this board I hadn’t intended to blog it, but after a request from a friend here it is:

 Supplies: old Corkboard or bulletin board
an old sheet or a couple of old white t-shirts
Staple Gun
Ribbon – 1/2 inch for the border, 1/4 inch for the interior sections and lattice
1 sheet of felt, or bulk felt cut to size
container (cut in half)
Freezer paper (for stencils)
cardstock or construction paper
magazine photos of household chores
thumb tacks – I used both flat tacks and knobby ones
paint/paint brushes
the glass from three old 4x6 frames
Planning:The first step is really to decide what you want. I needed 4 things:
1) a place to organize my weekly chores
2) a place for meal planning
3) a place for bills/mail that needs to be read
4) a place for notes and lists that usually clutter up my fridge

Cover the Cork Board:First, lay your sheet right side down on a flat surface. Place the cork board face down on the sheet. Measure about 4 inches out on each side and cut. Cover your cork board with your old sheet. Stretch and secure it to the back using your stapler or staple gun. Be sure to roll the rough edges under before stapling so the back isn’t crazy looking. Glue ribbon around the edges to create a nice border.
Measure:Marking only along the very edge of the board with chalk or a white sewing pencil, measure out the difference sections you want. For mine I used the following measurements:
4 inches for the date of the week letter
5 inches for the chore cards
4 inches for the meal planning
the rest of the board for everything else.
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Weekly chore cards:Using freezer paper and your cricut, slice, or other machine (or an exacto blade) cut your day letters. Mine were 2 1/2 inches tall. I cut a couple of letters in scrap paper first to make sure I had the sizing and spacing right before cutting the freezer paper.
Lay your freezer paper stencils on your sheet covered cork board and iron them on. Be careful with the spacing! Paint and let dry. Seal with the iron after they’re completely dry.
Cut 2x2 squares of paper and again using your cricut cut your chore words out (mine are 1/2 inch tall). Pop the letters out and glue on pictures of the chores if you want. I thought this made them look cuter and since cuteness was my goal… yeah. Then cover each square with shelving paper so they won’t tear. If you don’t have a cutting machine you can just write the chores on the cards or decorate however you want.
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Meal Planning:Glue ribbons on the board to separate this section from the top and bottom sections. Using flat thumb tacks attach your glass to the board. Three pieces from 4x6 frames were perfect for my board. Use like a dry erase board. Be careful when cleaning so you don’t stain the sheet or the ribbon.
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Bills:Take your container and cut it in half. Paint if necessary. (I used an old plastic laundry booster container and needed to cover up the label.) Use your imagination to attach them vertically on one side of your board. I wrapped a ribbon around the middle under the lip of mine and then stapled the ribbon to the board. I used hot glue to attach the corners, but that came up so best to stick with staples or maybe super glue.
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Lists/Notes:Take the sheet of felt and staple to the board on the other side from the bills area. Hot glue ribbons in a lattice formation so you won’t have to use thumb tacks if you don’t want to. Then hot glue ribbon around the edge to cover up the ends of the lattice ribbons.
Happy Organizing!