DIY reusable meal plan

What’s on the menu this week?

Good planning makes life so much easier – especially when it comes to planning meal times, because it avoids that age-old question: “What’s for dinner?” A DIY meal plan is an easy craft project and also makes an attractive kitchen feature. You can even get the whole family involved and let everyone incorporate their favourite dish. With a reusable planner you’ll know exactly what food items you need each week, meaning that - with the exception of really fresh produce - you can shop for them all in one go. This not only saves time and hassle, but can even help you eat a more balanced diet. Take enough wooden sticks to last a week. Next, use the fine-nibbed edding 400 permanent marker to label them with the names of the meals you’re going to make, before attaching them to the clipboard – that’s all there is to it! We used black for our sample planner, but you can choose any colour you like from the wide selection of shades in the permanent marker range. Follow our step-by-step instructions and see how easy it is to build a meal plan.

Category: Kitchen
Products: Permanent markers
Materials: Plastic and foil
Wood
Difficulty: Easy peasy
Downloads: Images (ZIP)

Step-by-step

Step 1

Our photo shows you all the materials you need at a glance. The edding 400 gives you a total of 10 smudge-proof, waterproof colours to choose from, so you can simply pick your favourites.

Step 2

First, glue the bulldog clips down the left-hand side of the clipboard from top to bottom. The opening of the clips should face inwards.

Step 3

Press the clips down firmly as they need to be secure enough to hold the wooden sticks

Step 4

Now it’s time to reach for the edding 400 and label the clips with the days of the week (abbreviations work best).

Step 5

Finally, use the permanent marker to write the names of the meals on the wooden sticks. If the surface of the wood is too rough, you may wish to apply a thin layer of clear lacquer beforehand. Make sure everyone in the family gets to add their favourite meal, and switch them round as and when desired. To ensure the permanent marker is close to hand at all times, tie a piece of string around the cap and hang the marker from the board.

Products and materials

edding 400 permanent marker

Other materials

Clipboard
7 brightly-coloured bulldog clips
A minimum of 7 wooden craft sticks/lolly sticks (you can get these from a specialist hobby or craft shop)
Clear lacquer (optional)
Hot glue gun
String