Let’s rip the Band-Aid off—meal planning sucks.It’s not fun. It’s not sexy. And it’s definitely not the life-changing Pinterest fantasy where your fridge looks like it belongs to a personal chef and everyone magically eats broccoli.
Meal planning is survival.
And a DIY kitchen menu board is your battle plan.
Because if you’ve ever stood in front of the fridge at 6:42 p.m. with the same dead stare you use during Zoom meetings, wondering if ketchup counts as dinner—then yeah, this is for you.
Why Meal Planning Fails (Hint: It’s Not You)
The internet lied to you. Again.
It told you that meal planning is this serene, color-coded experience full of joy and quinoa. But real life? It’s spaghetti three times a week and “oops, cereal again.”
Most people don’t fail at meal planning because they’re lazy.
They fail because they’re trying to keep it all in their head, or worse, on some app they open once and forget exists.
Enter: the DIY kitchen menu board.
It’s not cute. It’s not perfect. But it’s loud, visible, and makes dinner decisions for you before your brain checks out.
The DIY Kitchen Menu Board That Doesn’t Suck
Forget fancy chalkboards, vinyl decals, or whatever Etsy’s peddling today.
Here’s what you actually need:
A whiteboard, corkboard, or even a blank wall
Sticky notes or index cards
A Sharpie
Tape (literal or metaphorical—you’ll need to hold it all together)
Make seven columns—one for each day.
Now grab your sticky notes and write down every meal you know how to make without Googling. That’s your meal library.
Stick ‘em up. Rotate them weekly. Done.
It’s visual. It’s flexible. It’s DIY meal planning without the mental gymnastics.
The Magic Is in the Visibility
Out of sight, out of mind? Yeah. That’s exactly how your half-hearted meal plan ends up buried under mail and shame.
The power of a DIY kitchen menu board isn’t aesthetics—it’s location.
Put it where you can’t avoid it:
On the fridge
Next to the coffee maker
Above your wine stash (no judgment)
This thing isn’t for guests. It’s for you.
It’s your way of saying: “I don’t have everything together, but at least I know what’s for dinner.”
That’s real power.
Turn “What’s for Dinner?” Into a Non-Issue
If you live with other humans, you know the most rage-inducing question in existence is: “What’s for dinner?”
With a kitchen menu board, that question dies a glorious death.
No more:
Opening the fridge like it’s a surprise party
Panic-ordering takeout
Passive-aggressively eating chips for dinner
Everyone knows the plan. Everyone sees the board.
No excuses. No whining. Just food.
Meal Planning Isn’t About Food. It’s About Sanity.
Here’s what no one tells you: meal planning doesn’t make you a better cook.
It makes you a less stressed human.
A DIY kitchen menu board doesn’t care about macros, plating, or Pinterest.
It cares that you fed yourself and your people without losing your damn mind.
It’s not a miracle. It’s a margin-maker.
A tiny square of structure in the tornado of your week.
Build It Today, Use It Tonight
Stop planning to plan.
Stop waiting until you “have time.”
You already spent more time scrolling than it’ll take to slap this board together.
Here’s your move:
Grab a board, wall, or whatever’s flat and visible.
Write down 5–10 meals you actually eat.
Stick ‘em up under the days of the week.
High-five yourself for doing something proactive that doesn’t involve therapy or wine (unless you want it to).
That’s it. You just made a DIY kitchen menu board for meal planning that actually works in the real world.
Now go feed your people.
Or yourself.
Or your ego.