DIY Weekly Family Menu Board

Sondra
by Sondra
4 Materials
$35
1 Hour
Easy

In just 4 easy steps see how to make this farmhouse inspired weekly family menu board from a rustic chalkboard. This menu board will not only help you answer the question, "what's for dinner?" it will also help eliminate extra trips to the grocery store by helping organize your shopping list weekly.

Step 1: Find the chalkboard you want to use as your menu board.


I had been planning a weekly menu board since I began working on a family command center and when I saw this rustic chalkboard at Hobby Lobby I knew I was on my way. I purchased the board on sale for around $25.


You could make this chalkboard yourself, but I found the perfect one for my space.

Step 2: Any time you are working with a chalkboard the first thing you want to do is "season" the chalkboard. This process will help the board erase much better in the future. It's a simple process of covering the chalkboard with regular chalk - not chalk markers or chalk pencils. Simply hold the chalk sideways and cover the entire board from side-to-side. Then cover the entire board from top-to-bottom. After the board is completely covered, use a dry eraser to clean the board. Repeat this process a few times. Finish up with a damp eraser and your board will erase much better now. Any time you find your board isn't erasing as well it can be "seasoned" again.

Step 3: Use Liquid Chalk markers to add the titles, and days of the week, to your chalkboard. One trick to making this chalkboard menu very user friendly is to use Liquid Chalk markers for the titles and the days of the week and using Chalk Pencils for the meals for each day. The reason you want to use different types of chalk is because they are erased different ways. Using this method, when you change out the meals you can use a dry eraser and the meals will be erased, but the titles will remain. Whenever you want to start over and give the board a completely new look you can erase the entire board with a damp eraser.

Step 4: Add a "suggestions" section to the menu board. This has been a huge hit with my family. My kids really like knowing they can suggest items for upcoming dinners. I try to incorporate their suggestions when making out the menu for the next week.


I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial. If you would like to see more details on my Family menu board, the blog post can be found here.

Suggested materials:
  • Rustic "door" chalkboard   (Hobby Lobby)
  • Chalk   (Grocery, Office Supply, Big Box Store, Toy Store)
  • Chalk Markers   (Amazon)
See all materials
Sondra
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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