I’m pretty old-school when it comes to my grocery shopping list – paper & pen on the fridge is still going strong in my house! Even though my grocery store has an app for creating a grocery list, and I can do it on their website and print it off as well (I have done both of these methods in the past), I still prefer to just keep a pad of paper on the fridge, tear off the paper, take it with me to the store and cross off items as I shop.
I usually would just buy magnetic notepads from the dollar bins at Target, but the last time I was there, they were out of all that style notepad…ughh! But it ended up working out in my favor, because I thought, why don’t I just make one?! One that looks a lot nicer than the cutesy options they usually offer and can last a lot longer! And so this wooden magnetic notepad came to be!
I did briefly consider some kind of hanging kraft paper roll because I think those are all kinds of wonderful, but realized I would look a bit silly wandering around the grocery store with a giant piece of kraft paper as my list! Mike came up with the idea of using receipt roll paper, so I looked for the widest roll of that and found these
on Amazon. What I didn’t pay any attention to was how fat the rolls were – they’re huge! But at least I won’t be running out of paper any time soon! Also, now my boys think we have a roll of toilet paper hanging in the kitchen! (Which I agree, this totally looks like!) Haa! When the roll does run out, it’s easy to change; the wire don’t connect in the inside of the roll, so you just gently pull one side of the wire out, replace the roll, and bend it back into place.
You can also leave the magnets off and use this on your desk for a handy to-do list! (See the photos at the bottom). Either way it’s used, I love how it looks and it’s super functional – my favorite kind of DIY!
What you need:
– Birch plywood ( we used a 1/4″x6″x12″ piece) – make sure it’s sized to fit your receipt rolls!
– Table saw
– Galvanized steel plate
– Tin snips
– Metal file
– Drill
– Sheet metal screws
– Flat washers
– Screw eye hooks
– Screw driver
– Measuring tape
– Galvanized wire (suspended ceiling wire)
– Pliers to bend wire
– Receipt Roll Paper
– Neodymium Magnets
– Two part epoxy glue
How to do it:
Cut wood to size using table saw, sizing it to fit the receipt rolls you buy. Use tin snips to cut steel plate to size. Drill holes in metal plate, one hole in each end. File edges of metal plate and flatten back out if necessary. Measure and mark pilot holes where the eye hooks and screws for the metal plates will go on your piece of wood. Drill holes and screw in eye hooks. Place washers under metal plates, this will provide space for the paper to slide thru, and screw plates to the wood. Cut a piece of the wire, making sure it’s long enough to go thru through the eye hooks and part way into the paper roll. Slide the wire thru the hooks and bend the ends down. Place the paper roll on the board and see where the wire will need to bend so that the roll hangs evenly, bend the wire at that spot. Put the paper roll on. Repeat on other side. If using as a magnetic pad, glue magnets to back of wood and once dry, hang.
So what about you? Do you keep a grocery shopping list? Are you with the times and use your phone to make your list? Anyone else still holding out with paper & pen?!
-Manda
