Dry Erase Chore Charts and Kitchen Magnetic Board on my $0 Budget

I will be honest with you...it has been only three days since we started this $0 spending month and I almost forgot twice. On New Year's day we were driving home from a family function, it was 5:30pm and the kids were starving. I was tired and just didn't want to cook dinner so I recommended we head to the local drive through....NO! I remembered at the last minute and we steered clear.

How is everyone else doing with their $0 month? It isn't too hard for us at this point because the freezer and pantry are full, I just need to remember :)

Along with our $0 month, we are starting our New Year's resolutions. Every year, we sit down as a family in the week leading up to New Years and discuss what we will work towards together. The kids decided they would like to try to save some money this year towards a few larger purchase, so in order for this to happen, we felt they need to be more consistent with their chores.

So we worked together to create a chore list for each of our two kids along with our family rules.  In the past I have used the template that ModEcoKids created but that site seems to have disappeared. So I had to start from scratch. I downloaded two free Word background and created two chores lists that were tailored to each child. Please remember that my kids worked with me to create these lists. So don't yell at me because my daughter is emptying the dishwasher and my son isn't. She is older and wanted to do this :)



Here is my daughter's chores list:

 Here is my son's chores list:

 Here are the family rules we created:

Since I have no budget to laminate these and they will probably change frequently, I used two sheet protectors to make the chore lists reusable.

 I removed the binder three holes at the top of the sheet with my rotary cutter.

 Slide the chore chart into the sleeve and you are done.

 Simply use dry erase markers and you have a reusable chore chart.

When the kids have completed their chore that day, they check off the box.

Using an old message center (you know those large frames with a white board, cork board and mail pockets) I created an island magnetic board. I had it laying around the garage because someone wrote on the white board with my beloved Sharpies.  I used the exact same method as I did last year when I made a magnetic board for my daughter here. It was very easy and cost nothing since I had the frame, fabric, duct tape and metal flashing on hand.

I secured the frame to the cabinet with those 3M removable adhesive stickers. I wanted to be able remove it in the future with no damage being done to our island.

I love the fabric and had purchased it ages ago to make pillows for our family room. I obviously have not made the pillows yet, but I still have some left over so there might be one or two to come.


So this is where our chore charts will be kept for us to see on a daily basis. (sorry the pictures aren't great. It gets dark really early now :) )

How does everyone else deal with chores in their house? Anyone have any tips or tricks on how to get their kids to do their chores without having to remind them a hundred times?

What do you think..will this work?
Stephanie