That magnetic dry erase board that you used for schooling? It can be repurposed for an “almost out of” list in your kitchen. Now that we have older kids who are independently making their lunches and heading off in all directions throughout the day, we find that we are getting surprised quite often with what is disappearing in the kitchen as far as food ingredients go. It was not uncommon to hear me yelling through the house that “when a person eats the last one, to let me know so I can get some more!” That only resulted in post-it notes EVERYWHERE if people even remembered.
Well that was too frustrating, stressful, and didn’t work too well either. So, we repurposed our school dry erase board for the kitchen utility closet door with an “almost out of” and “completely out of” column for each. Making little item magnets out of old promotional magnets has really helped make it easy and now (I’m happy to say) everyone is getting a break from hearing me yell throughout the house and I’m not finding post-its all over the counters. When I go to the grocery store, I just take a picture of the board and there I have it ready to go.
Everyone took to it immediately and are now adding their own funny snarky little additions to the “completely out of” column such as “energy” and “ambition”. If you have older kids or a spouse who could benefit from the help of a dry erase board list, try it out and it may be just that simple to relieve some stress.
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How to convert your dry erase board
Turn your magnetic dry erase board vertically / tall and use washi tape to add 2 long lines from top to bottom. Now add a line of washi tape across the top to add a “header” section with “Almost out of” and “Completely out of” columns.
Take old promotional magnets from you fridge and add labels for some of the most common items that you are running out of. You can either add these to the magnet by writing with a Sharpie onto white paper and taping it onto the magnet or by using a label maker. Cut out the items into separate little magnets for your board. Note: I put the item tags on the printed side of the magnet. If you put it on the black side, it will not stick very well on your board.
Add a dry erase marker to the side with the clip or by taping a string to the marker and taping it the board to hang by the side. Attach to a wall and instruct the family on how to use it.
If you see buildup of dry erase marker that is not coming off well, just use a “magic eraser” to clean it up every now and then. Works like a charm. Someone seems to be completely out of “energy” on the shopping list!
