Tuesday, January 24, 2012

DIY Dry Erase Meal Planner

As I mentioned in my last post, my sister and her two girls have temporarily moved in with us. We're only three weeks in, but so far it's only bringing good things.

One of the best parts is having someone to share cooking duties with. One thing you might not know about me is that I HATE cooking dinner. I don't mind baking or cooking for parties, but I find cooking dinner one of the most boring chores I ever have to do.  Sean is a great cook and he likes to cook, but he also works full-time, doesn't get home until 6pm and by then he usually just wants to sit down and eat. So before Jen moved in there were lots of arguments about who would cook and we would often end up getting take aways.

Now Jen and I are taking turns with the cooking. And even better, because she is a health nut I have (almost) stopped buying take out and am actually cooking on most of my nights. Big win!

In honour of our new arrangement I put together a quick paint-chip dry erase meal planner. It helps us keep track of who's cooking on which night. Plus Sean loves checking out what's on the menu before he heads off to work each day! I got the inspiration from here via Craft Blog.

The photos I took of it are all on an angle because I've hung it in the small hallway that our walk-through pantry backs onto. I could have taken it back down off the wall to photograph, but I was feeling a little lazy.




Simple, and definitely not fancy. But it's tucked away out of sight and absolutely perfect for what we needed!




26 comments

  1. This is such a cute idea! Great job! xo

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  2. That looks brilliant Tamsyn! You are so clever & creative!

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  3. I love it! Great minds... I've done a red, grey & cream one myself, with a black frame. Where as I use mine just as a calendar, I love how you've thought outside the box and used it as a meal planner!

    I will take a photo and post it soon x

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    1. I can't wait to see your's Nicole. The colours sound great.

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  4. This is a great idea! I love the piece just in itself ... it would make a great calendar or plain art piece! So many ways to customize it for every person! and YAY that you are cooking healthy and enjoying it a little! Sometimes it is just doing to a lot to really enjoy it!

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    1. Thanks Tiffany, I did make another piece of paint chip 'art' last year. You can see if here if you like - http://maxandmeblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/dining-room.html

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  5. Wow! I love this! Definitely pinning it to tackle at some point! We are always having trouble planning meals so it would be great to have them in sight each week.

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    1. It has definitely made life easier in the short time we've been using it. I look forward to seeing yours!

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  6. Beautiful idea! I live next door to my parents but I have to say I don't pull my weight with the cooking, once in awhile I cook on a weekend but it's usually them bringing food over to me (so I don't think I'll put a board up, might give them ideas).

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    1. You are so lucky! I dream about having all of my immediate family (and best friends) living on one street together. It's my idea of perfection!

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  7. It looks awesome! My cooking secrets - make double and have it two nights in a row. You can beef stuff up by adding a side salad to a meal you would normally just have by itself. And Super Food Ideas Magazine - everything works and it's all super easy.

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    1. Great tips, thanks so much Brooke! I'll pick up a copy of SFI when I go shopping tomorrow xxoo

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  8. love the colours tamsyn. what a great idea. i even just love it as framed colour art. beautiful. xo

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  9. I love it! I've been meaning to make up something similar to organise my blog posts.

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    1. Thanks for the inspiration Fern! I would love to see yours, if it's anything like the quilts you make it will definitely put mine to shame xx

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  10. Such a great idea and pretty too! I need all of the help I can get in meal planning. It's one of my 2012 goals. Thanks for linking to my party.

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    1. Thanks Julia. It was so easy and it really does help keep me organised :)

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  12. Functional and pretty! I love it! Thank you for sharing. Visiting from Hubby Made Me. Would love it if you would share this at my Make it Pretty Monday party at The Dedicated House. http://thededicatedhouse.blogspot.com/2012/07/make-it-pretty-monday-week-8.html Hope to see you at the bash! Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse

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  13. I'm with you on the whole cooking thing! I feel proud of myself when I make something good, but it just takes so long and I'd rather be doing something else! This is such a cute idea. Maybe it would motivate me to cook more?? Hmmm... :) Thanks so much for sharing at my party. Always love your projects, girl!

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    1. Thanks Britni, I wish I could tell you it motivated me to cook more... It does at least help me feel more organised ;)

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