Weekly Schedule / Dinner Menu Dry Erase Board - Zazzle Review

This year, it seems like our schedule has gotten much crazier with after school activities, church events, and family activities. 

To try and keep track of it all -- and make the rest of the family aware of what's going on (instead of the calendar just being in MY head) -- I've been printing a weekly calendar on computer paper and writing in our activities for the week and pre-planning our dinner menus.  Then I post it on the refrigerator, which is DEFINITELY the hub of our house. :) 

Well, as I'm sure you know, plans and schedules change! So, I did a lot of scratching out, erasing, and rewriting the same things for the next week.  But, aside from the scratch outs, the weekly calendar posted on the refrigerator was definitely working for us.  Not only did I know exactly what needed to be done to prepare for dinner every day, but I could plan out meals based on the carpool and activity schedule, to make everything a little easier on us all.  The system worked....I just needed a more permanent solution that looked nicer and was easier to adjust as our schedule and plans changed.

Enter -- a Dry Erase Board version of my weekly calendar!  Zazzle.com intoduced dry erase boards as a new product not long ago, and I've been wanting to try them out. 

I designed a basic weekly calendar onto two different sizes of dry erase boards (medium & large). I wasn't sure if the medium version (8" x 12") would be big enough to write all our activities on it, so I ordered both sizes to try them out.  The large version is 16" x 22" and would be great for large families with lots going on every week!

Review of Dry Erase Boards from Zazzle

Customization:

I ordered the medium sized version with the basic khaki background, but I got creative with the large one to try out some color matching with our new Sherwin William's paint swatch.  I used the hexidecimal value number for our paint color (Worldly Gray #CEC8BB) and just pasted that into the background color.  Viola - a perfectly matched piece of decor!

Here's how you do that...


How to Change the Background Color:

Click on the "customize it" button for the product.

Customize a Dry Erase Board Background

Click on "edit" and then "background color" from the drop-down menu.

Customize Background Color in Zazzle Product

Next, choose a color from the color pallette or click on Advanced to enter your own hexidecimal number.

Choosing a Background Color

Enter the six digit hexidecimal number for your color of choice (which I found for my paint color at the Sherwin Williams web site).

Add a Hexidecimal Number for Background Color

Customized Background Color

As you can see, it's not exactly the same color as our walls, but it's pretty darn close! This would be such a cool way to perfectly integrate this dry erase board into your own decor.


Quality:

As far as the quality of Zazzle's dry erase boards, I was overall very pleased. The design printed all the way to the corners, and there is no border or frame added to the board. It comes with a black fine tip dry erase marker that clips right to the front of the board.

Large Dry Erase Board Review from Zazzle

The slick finish on the top of the board makes it easy to write on (and easy to wipe off with a paper towel), which is exactly what I was looking for.

Zazzle's Medium Dry Erase Board Review

It's a pretty low-profile board, only about 3/16" thick.

Zazzle Dry Erase Board Review

Mounting Options:

My only disappointment was that the included "mounting equipment" was just double-stick foam tape in three strips on the back of the board. 

Zazzle Dry Erase Board Review

I'm sure they stick very well, but I'm *not* confident that they remove easily without ruining whatever it was stuck to, and wasn't about to stick it to my newly painted walls or refrigerator. 

Instead, I glued four magnets to the back of the board so it would not-as-permanently stick to my refrigerator. :)

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The 16" x 22" version would be pretty easy to put into an open-back frame (which you can have made at any framing shop).  Or, you could use something like these if you wanted to mount it to a wall:

EZ Mount Mirror Clips

Size:

After trying out the different sizes for a few weeks, I decided that the medium version was a good size for our family's activities, and it fits nicely on our refrigerator without being too overwhelming.

Signs By Andrea Weekly Calendar / Dinner Menu Dry Erase Board Review

Price:

At regular price, the large version of this (de)Sign is about $40 plus shipping and the medium version is only about $20 plus shipping.   Plus, Zazzle offers coupons regularly, so this could really be an inexpensive family organization tool.

Conclusion:

I love it! I'm so happy with how my dry erase board has worked out.  And now I can stop wasting printer paper on my weekly calendar scribbles. :)

  • Would this calendar and dinner menu dry erase board be helpful in your house?
  • What size would you get?
  • Would you change the colors? 

If you like this, you can buy it and customize your own here:

Signs By Andrea Weekly Calendar Dry Erase Boards

Or check out all of Zazzle's dry erase boards from tons of artists!

18 comments so far:

Lelanie@To Sew With Love said:

what a great idea! definitely pinning this! thanks for sharing!

Elise said:

Nice!

Christy said:

I love this. Thanks for explaining it and leaving the links. I'm going to check it out! Thanks for linking up to tip-toe thru tuesday.

Christine said:

VERY cool!!! I need one!!

Thanks so much for sharing this at The DIY Dreamer... From Dream To Reality!

Sue, It's A Very Cherry World! said:

Great item! I like that you can get it in any color you want!

The TT Diaries said:

I came to visit from the cure for the common Monday. I love this. I am going to see if I can find a Zazzle coupon because I have four children and I believe the large board would be perfect for what we need. Thanks for sharing.

Sheryl @ Lady Behind The Curtain said:

Thanks for sharing your idea for helping us get more organized at Cast Party Wednesday! I hope your week is going well. ~Sheryl~

Leslie Stewart said:

Thanks for sharing! This is too cool. Thanks for linking it up to my party.
Leslie

Shannon said:

I am envious of your creativity! I love this idea :)

Thanks!
Shannon @ Sewing Barefoot

Jill said:

Great organisation! I need to do that myself!

Thanks for linking to a Round Tuit!
Hope you have a fabulous week!
Jill @ Creating my way to Success
http://www.jembellish.blogspot.com/

Chrystie DeSmet said:

I LOVE this idea!! Looks awesome, thanks so much for all the awesome dirrections! I am pinning this!

Jill said:

This is such a great idea to keep track of it all!

Kathy Penney @ Pinner Takes All said:

Great way to get organized and well done review! Have a great week!

Mary Beth said:

What a great idea ~ I love this. Pinning it!

Thanks for linking up and sharing this at It's Party Time.

Sierra @ H is for Homeschooling said:

This looks like a great idea! And how fun to customize it and keep it on the fridge. Thanks for sharing!

Shay said:

Andrea...I have used a dry erase board for about 10 years at our house. I have an up/down refrigerator/freezer so I bought a two month board that takes the top, covering the entire freezer portion. It works great! The thing that has also helped us is I assigned everyone their own color so your specific activities are written in YOUR color and of course now, everyone knows thier color. It comes in handy when you have multiple things on a day and don't have to write the name to know how's appt is on that particular day. (Of course, I'm pink!!) We also have a "family color" that is used when the activity involves everyone in the family. You can easily see it from several feet away.

Andrea said:

Oooh! Great ideas Shay! I think the color-coded ideas will come in handy as the kids get older. Right now, we're involved. Always! :)

Betsy said:

Okay, you talked me into it! Just placed my order. :)

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