Adorable farmhouse chalkboards – who doesn’t love having a few around the house? We certainly do!
Chalkboards meld seamlessly into farmhouse decor because there’s something nostalgically rustic about seeing words written imperfectly in chalk. Reminds you of your childhood, doesn’t it? They’re just perfect for the cottage-chic aesthetic.
With that said, many of us prefer our decor not only to be pretty – we like for it to be practical, too. That means we need to find some useful ways to put these farmhouse chalkboards of ours to work. So, without further adieu, here are six of our favorite practical ways to use a chalkboard in your home:
For To-Do Lists
This one’s a no-brainer. Chalkboards are a common staple in what many homemakers call “command centers.” A command center is the central hub of the home, the place you keep all of your family’s activities organized in one place.
Use a decorative chalkboard as part of your command center to keep track of all your to-do lists. If it’s big enough, you can even section off areas for each family member.
Plus, isn’t there something incredibly pleasing about crossing off an item from a to-do list? It’s gotta be up there with finishing all your laundry.
For Grocery Lists
There is nothing more annoying than making a huge trip to the grocery store, trudging all of your groceries into the house, getting started on dinner, and then realizing you completely forgot that you were out of the foil you needed for the meal.
Having a chalkboard handy in your kitchen is useful so that you can easily and quickly make note of a required item as soon as you realize it’s running low instead of trying to remember it later. If you have a barn door chalkboard message board that includes a magnetic area, you can also stick useful coupons up there where you will be sure to remember to bring them along to the store for your next trip.
For Keeping Track of Recipes
Without a doubt, cooking is an artform. If you’re savvy in the kitchen, you know that, often times, recipes and other ideas come to you while you’re busy cooking something else. Message boards with magnetic strips can be used to post a recipe you took out of a magazine. This is just another reason it’s useful to have a chalkboard in the kitchen.
A related use would be to write little cooking-related reminders while you’re whipping something up. Make note of what time you put that casserole in the oven or what time you need to turn off the crockpot. A chalkboard can be a cook’s best friend, for sure!
As a Gameroom Scorekeeper
If you’ve got a competitive family, you’ve all probably had a few game nights together. Chalkboards are awesome for keep track when shooting pool, during foosball matches, or even for the more out-of-hand board game sessions.
Chalkboards can also be fun for games as is! Get the kids together for a game of hangman or tic tac toe to get them off of their screens. Younger kids can even use them to practice writing letters and numbers.
For a List of Chores
Speaking of kids, they’ll probably need to do a few chores before gametime. Chalkboards are also useful in those handy command centers for keeping track of who needs to do what around the house. Tally up the days the chores are completed as a reward system or just use it as a general reminder of household tasks. Organization for the win!
For Sweet Notes to the Family
Last but certainly not least, chalkboard message boards are great for leaving sentimental notes to the ones you love. Remind your significant other how much they mean to you or leave a message of encouragement for a nervous kid before a big test.
Many families also choose to use their chalkboards for scripture passages or for inspirational quotes. And – let’s face it – sometimes we just need to remind our better halves not to forget dance practice or to pay the water bill!
How do you like to use chalkboards around your home? How many do you have? Do you use a command center to keep your family organized?
