Last year, we moved our school room from the little office/den to the family room.  When we ditched the office, we ditched the white board.

A year later, I finally got a clue and realized that I could reclaim this space for a home office instead of wasting it on mere homeschool storage.  And a whiteboard would come in handy in my new office.  I’m a list maker, and even though I’m kind of a techie, I prefer handwritten lists.  It helps me organize my thoughts.

Unfortunately, there was months of dried Expo marker on the board, mostly from the kids randomly using it to play school and tic-tac-toe.

My husband recommended spraying it with brake cleaner.  Um, yeah.  Not such a good idea in a small room with lots of little kids around.

However, I know a trick.

How to Clean a Whiteboard the Cheap, Non-Toxic Way

Toothpaste.  Get the cheapest toothpaste you can find (note: toothPASTE, not gel).  It’s best if it has baking soda, but if you can’t find that kind just add some from the orange box.

Apply toothpaste with a cloth.  Smear it all over the board in a thin layer.  Let it dry.

Then rinse out your cloth and wash the toothpaste off the board.  The marker comes with it!

Be prepared for 8 different people to ask you 8 different times why the house smells minty fresh. Try not to get annoyed.

You may get an extra special bonus, and find that someone has used Sharpie, not just Expo, on your whiteboard.  Use hand sanitizer to remove it.

If you’re really lucky, you’ll find the hole reinforcements you KNEW you bought at the back to school sales, but couldn’t find when you needed them.  A little Goo Gone or vegetable oil, and you’re good to go!

Ta-da!

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Tagged as: cleaning, dry erase, homeschool, office