Spring Cleaning

It's a spring, time to clean and renew, time to bring fresh life into your home! Spring cleaning is also a time to reassess the kids' chores in my home. My daughter will not remember if she did her chores and as a busy mom, it is tiring reminding her to do the same things day in and day out.

I figured I needed a chore chart that she could fill out on a daily basis, on her own. I also wanted a chart that was easy to update or change. The best way to get a customized chore chart would be to make it! I used the Bind It All because as our needs change, I can remove the old chart papers and bind in new ones with my Bind It All.

Here's the supplies you'll need to create this project:

• Clipboard Wood Cover (8" x 10" size)
  
• Bind It All
• 3/4" or 1" O-Wires ( I used black but any color is fine)
• Paper trimmed to 8" x 10" plus a few scraps for decorating
  
• Alphabet Stickers or Diecut Letters
• Paint and Brush
• Crop-A-Dile
• Ribbon
• Pen (Sharpie)
  
• Word Processing Program and Plain White Printer Paper
  

I recently got my hands on some Clipboard Wood Covers from Zutter. I covered the cover with patterned paper and then painted the edges of the wood with a coordinating paint. I used the paint kind of like ink to give the edges of the wood dimension.



I chose to use Clipboard Wood Covers because they are sturdier than regular chipboard. This chart will be handled daily and then have the force of someone ripping off a new tear sheet each week--it needs to hold up because I plan to use for years to come. So Clipboard Wood Covers were an obvious good choice since they are durable, completely customizable, and easy to use with the Bind It All.


I went into Microsoft Word (or you can use any word processing program on your computer) to create the pages for the chart. I set the page up for landscape orientation with 0.5" page margins and two columns, with 0.5" space between the columns.

I created a Chart with the tool in the Word program (Insert > Table) and filled in the spaces that I needed with columns for the days of the week. Then I started entering my daughter's chores on the chart. Since she's a tween, she has some new additions to her hygiene regimen that she needs reminders to do that I included. We just got a new dog so she also needs reminders to feed and water the dog. Whatever your needs are, you can totally customize the chart to suit them.

Since there was space on the bottom of the page, I added my family household chores too, making sure every room gets a little attention each week. This has really helped me to stay on top of things and minimize my stress - I just follow my little schedule. On Friday mornings I am always panicked that the trash did not get put out on the street for pickup so I included a reminder for that as well.

To make the "check ovals" like I have on my chart you'll go to Insert > Picture > AutoShape in Microsoft Word and then select the oval shape. After that you can copy and paste it where ever you need it, as many times as you need it.

I printed 25 sheets of the chore chart, two per page, on white printer paper (nothing fancy). I cut the pages in half between the columns to measure 8.5" x 5.5".

I set the Bind It All on the "C" setting and punched binding holes on one side of the clipboard wood. Then I moved it to the "A" setting and slid the Wood Cover over so that I would punch a total of 9 holes in the Wood. I am punching 9 holes since the paper is 5.5" wide when cut. I inserted the little black tab into the second hole from the end, then punched again to get a total of 9 holes. I also punched 9 holes in the pages, on the "C" Setting and then bound them to the Clipboard Wood.

Why the "C" Setting? Because the Bind It All punches holes every 0.5". On the "C" Setting the Bind It All punches the holes with a 0.5" margin on either side -- this means a 0.5" space will be on each side of the page if I punch it on "C" from the left side and then punch the page again on "C" from the right hand side. Just a note in case you are making custom projects like this yourself--make sure your projects measure in half inch incremements (4.5", 5", 5.5", 6", 6.5" and so on) and binding will be super easy!

I could not use the C Setting on both sides of the clipboard wood because my binding holes only went partway across the top of the clipboard. But on projects where the wires will go the length of the your project, if the project measures in half inch incremements you can use the "C" setting to punch binding holes for the entire project.


I used a Crop-A-Dile to punch holes in the two upper corners of the Clipboard Wood and then I tied ribbon to make a hanger, putting a bow on one side. Then I added some strips of coordinating paper and "Daily Duties" using sticker and diecut letters to the chart.


To make a pen holder, I looped a piece of ribon around a Sharpie marker. Then I glued the loose ends of the ribbon to the back of the chart, securing underneath a strip of paper to make it extra strong.

The chart now hangs in a hallway we walk in everyday so we can be reminded of what we need to do:

My daughter loves it and enjoys checking off the boxes. It helps her feel a sense of accomplishment to have completed her daily tasks. It also helps me because I don't have to remember to remind her to do all of her chores since she enjoys using the chart. And I don't forget to do my chores either.

Happy Creating ~~~ Jennifer Priest

P.S. Don't forget to enter our Springtime Challenge to win a Round It All!! It rounds Clipboard Wood too!!!