Keeping 3 school boys organized.

by Holly

This year I will have all 3 kids in school.  Yikes!  (And may I add, how did they get so old?)   I have been thinking about how I am going to keep all their school papers in order.  I must admit that there are some serious drool marks in my Pottery Barn catalogue when it comes to their home organization goodies.  Ideally, I would love to have one of their wall systems.  You know the ones with a white board, and cork board, and chalk board, and calendar, and cubbies for each child's papers.  But, I live in reality and our family lives on a budget.  So, I borrowed some magnetic and chalkboard paint from my lovely sister-in-law and created my own economical and practical version.  Here is what we ended up with...

 This spot is on the side of our refrigerator, behind the door into our dining room.  Because of the location, it doesn't have to be the most beautiful presentation in the world, it just has to work.
I got a lot of the boys school supplies at a local dollar store this year, which is where I found these clipboards.  The boys each got to pick out a fun paper to glue to the clipboard to dress them up a bit.  They each picked school themed paper from Michael's that has their grade in the corner so we know whose is whose.  I put 3 small nails in the wall and their boards collect all papers once they come home from school.  (These clipboards will also come in handy as little desks once we are on the go when sports start up again.)
I found a very inexpensive frame from HomeGoods...

I painted it white, and then got out the magnetic and chalkboard paint.

I painted this straight onto the glass.  It is very easy, and while it is magnetic, it isn't the strongest hold in the world.  With a nice, light, flat magnet I've found I can hold 1 paper at a time (if anyone has a secret about getting a better hold, PLEASE let us all know).

After the magnetic paint dried, I just sprayed a couple light coats of chalkboard paint over the magnetic paint.

Sorry, forgot to rotate this gem.
Once everything dried for a good 24 hours, I followed the directions and brushed the entire surface with chalk (which helped mute the dark, black color a bit), wiped it clean, and hung it above the clipboards.
Now this area is a great catch-all for the boys homework sheets, papers, etc.
We are 1 week into the school year and so far so good.  They boys have been good about unloading their stuff and putting their papers on the clipboard.  But, like I said, we are only 1 week in.  I'll have to give an update mid year.

I also made a fun little frame for my counter.  Right now it hold my favorite recent picture of my guys...

This was taken on our recent trip to Yosemite (can't wait to edit my nearly 400 pics and post a few).  I am in love with that place, and with these boys!!!
All in all, I am pleased with how this all turned out.  For about $20, I have a great wall system that works for us.  (Although I do still drool on my poor Pottery Barn catalogue.  That will, probably, never change.)

Happy Tuesday everyone!