How many of us still have those dry erase boards? Over the last several years, my school has installed Interactive White Boards in every classroom (YES!) and decided to keep the dry erase boards as well (UGH!). When I first began teaching, I was at a newly constructed building with all new furniture, equipment, and the smell of fresh paint. When I transferred to my present school 7 years ago, I sacrificed everything new...including the magnetic, flawless dry erase boards that would easily clean on a daily basis with an old shirt/sock or even a damp paper towel. I walked into a building nearly 100 years old, with dirty smelly carpet, dusty room dividers containing asbestos, dingy chipped paint, and makeshift dry erase boards. I learned quickly that my dry erase boards were really not dry erase boards at all...they were big sheets of "shower board" that were purchased at Lowe's and attached to brown chalk boards. (Yes, those are still on the wall, too.) I also learned that my shower boards did not clean very easily and every color of dry erase marker left unsightly stains.
Frugal Teaching Tip #2 - It's OK to Use Alcohol!
Well, I was accustomed to using approximately half a bottle of dry erase board cleaner each year when I did a deep cleaning during our intercessions, which figured to about $2.00 per year. I learned quickly my half bottle would multiply after using a whole bottle the first couple months of school. So, I began looking for other ways to clean and happened upon simple rubbing alcohol. Neither product is easy on the nose, but the rubbing alcohol cleans the stains off my beloved shower boards and is much less expensive than the official dry erase board cleaner. I simply fill a spray bottle with the alcohol, label it, and keep it in my closet. I've even used the alcohol to clean my Interactive White Board surface and it does a fantastic job!
The best part is that rubbing alcohol can be picked up at just about any store and is very inexpensive. I manage to use one large bottle of alcohol throughout the school year and I'm still only spending about $2.00!
| approximately $2.00 |
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