I put my 1Thrive Command Center to the test to see if other brands of chalk markers worked just as well as the 1Thrive markers.
I shared a video on TikTok of me prepping my 1Thrive Susan for the month, and I got an interesting question that I hadn’t thought about before. Someone asked if it was possible to use other brands of chalk markers on a 1Thrive Command Center and I honestly didn’t know.
So in true blogger fashion, I ordered a few brands of chalk markers, hosted an experiment process, and was willing to sacrifice my own 1Thrive center at the expense of knowledge. (Wowza, that sounds a little dramatic for a marker test…but I stand by it)
Testing Other Chalk Markers On 1Thrive Command Centers
I started my experiment by ordering a few different types of popular chalk markers online. I read the reviews and got the ones that had the most raving happy customers. I also gathered my own 1Thrive chalk markers to use as the control group. Once I had everything together, I took down my Susan’s calendar board and hoped I didn’t ruin it.
Looking back, I should have just ordered a small board to test with, but add-on boards are not cheap and I’m impatient. It all worked out just fine though.
The Test Surfaces:
To make it a fair test, I used the white board calendar and the blackboard to-do list components of my 1Thrive system. I wanted to make sure the chalk markers were tested on both light and dark backgrounds to see if they came off as easily as they should.
The Markers I Tested:
I wanted to make sure I tested a variety of different chalk markers to see if the 1Thrive system really only worked with its own branded markers. For the control group, I used 1Thrive Amber and Raspberry chalk markers since they have been the best ones I’ve used out of my whole collection.
I put the 1Thrive markers up against the following:
- Mr. Pen Chalk Marker in Green (Amazon’s Choice)
- Yoobi Chalk Marker in Purple (Cheapest Set)
- Kassa Metallic Chalk Marker in Silver (Fancy Looking Colors)
- Bistro Fine Point Orange Chalk Marker (My personal brand preference for chalkboard labels)
- Generic White Chalk Marker (Came with my pantry storage containers)
The Test Process:
I started by writing with each chalk marker on both boards. To get an accurate representation of how the markers would hold up, I left them on the boards for a full 30 days, just like they would be if you were using them on your calendar.
After the 30 days had passed, I wiped them away with a damp paper towel just as I do for my 1Thrive brand chalk markers. I didn’t scrub hard, just normal, and snapped a photo of the residue leftover from a normal swipe.
The Results:
Are you ready for this? You can see from the photo above that they ALL came off equally as well. Actually, the 1Thrive Raspberry left the most residue. The other brands came off even easier than the 1Thrive.
I filmed the whole process and I’ll put it on Instagram and TikTok for you to see the real-time video, but I can safely say that without any hard scrubbing, every single chalk marker came off easily.
Honestly, the Yoobis were my favorite. It wrote really easily, came off smoothly, and was super vibrant. I’ll definitely be using those more often.
So Can You Use Other Brands Of Chalk Markers With 1Thrive Command Centers?
Absolutely. After testing five different brands and leaving them on the board for 30 days, and only removing them with a damp paper towel, they all came off easily.
I would definitely recommend doing a test with any chalk marker before you write all over your 1Thrive board though. Just write a small word in an inconspicuous spot and leave it on for a full 30 days. If it comes off easily, you can feel safe knowing it’s ok to use on your board.
More 1Thrive Ideas
Here’s how I use my own 1Thrive Calendar, and how I set it up every month. I’ll be adding more 1Thrive command center blog posts soon, because I’ve been getting a lot of questions about it lately. I can’t wait to share more experiments, hacks, and tips for other 1Thrive lovers!
