Do you own a whiteboard?
Whiteboards are found in many homes, offices, and schools around the world. They have many practical applications.
- Writing down your to-do lists, such as chores or shopping lists
- Leaving notes for other people (or reminders for yourself!)
- Visualing complex concepts that require charts or lists
- Creating art on an open canvas that can be easily erased
Whiteboards – especially large ones – are expensive!
I enjoy using whiteboards to write out my goals, track my progress, and make plans for my future. I find it helpful to physically write these things down rather than just recording them on my computer. Unfortunately, I need a fairly large whiteboard to do this.
How much does a large whiteboard cost? Often $200 USD or MORE!
Most dry erase white boards start at $200 USD but can cost significantly more. If you want a 48" x 96" magnetic whiteboard on wheels, you can easily spend $1000 USD! While this may be possible for schools or businesses to afford, it's definitely more than I want to spend.
Here's the secret to making a cheap whiteboard...
Photo courtesy of Fairy Dust Teaching
The secret is shower board! You can buy a large sheet of shower board from a home improvement store for just $10-15 USD. You can easily write and erase on this shower board with dry erase markers without any additional work at all.
Make sure you carefully inspect the sheet to make sure it's in good condition. Often, they are willing to trim down the shower board to another size for free, if you have specific dimensions in mind.
You'll notice that the shower board is fairly light and flimsy. I've successfully used two different options to work around this:
- "Permanently" secure the showerboard to the wall using screws or nails. If you own your home or have permission from your landlord, you can fix the showerboard directly to the wall. Use a level tool to make sure it's placed evenly on the wall, and choose a height that's convenient for you!
- Attach the showerboard to a sheet of plywood. You can use Liquid Nails, several small screws, or a very generous coat of adhesive spray (or maybe a combination of the above). If you are using a glue or adhesive, you'll want to make sure there are no "air bubbles" between the showerboard and the plywood sheet. While this option may not look as pretty, you can now move the whiteboard between rooms and don't need to put holes in the wall.
Congratulations, you've just saved $100+ or more by creating your own whiteboard!