Color Me Bad
Streamline
Do Less. Live More.
This week’s post is a simple one: an ode to the humble colored pencil. Last weekend I fell on my pillow Sunday night exhausted and resentful. I’d done four loads of dishes, cooked at least four meals, and picked up the same toys about a zillion thousand kabillion times. Whoever gave my children four giant pads of stickers should be shot. Shot.
Photo by Kelli Tungay on Unsplash
Why Colored Pencils Rock My World…and Maybe Yours Too
The average caregiver does not need another menial task to fill her or his day. I try to be Zen about it (when you wash the dishes, really wash the dishes), and I try to be really grateful (I love folding these tiny underpants and putting them away because they belong to the children I adore and am so grateful to have), but sometimes I’d rather be, say, writing the great American novel or, less aspirationally, just lounging on the couch for five uninterrupted minutes. The better strategy, of course, would be to just lower my housekeeping standards, but it’s apparently some part of my blood type that I can’t do this—at least not enough.
Photo by Agence Olloweb on Unsplash
At the same time, I want my kids to have the freedom to play, explore, and create. So we have a little art station set up with a variety of materials. Gradually, however, we’ve really winnowed this down to a big stack of paper and a basket of colored pencils. Why?
The Do A Dot Paints, though awesome, have been used to embellish our glider
Pens have been used to decorate our couch, walls, and doors
Markers seem to lose their caps, which are then scattered all over the floor. See also “decorate our couch, walls, and doors” above
Crayons get eaten. You heard me. Eaten. I won’t say which kid in my house is obsessed with chewing tasteless, colorful wax art supplies, because that might be embarrassing for him/her later on. I’ll just say it’s probably not good for him/her and it makes tooth brushing more challenging than normal.
…Which brings me to colored pencils. Pencil is easy to remove from pretty much any surface. No one, except our dog, uses the colored pencils as chew toys. There are no caps and, special bonus, mama can use them too…for exactly three minutes of adult coloring before someone needs something.
Do you have a tip for streamlining your kids toys or art supplies? Share your suggestions in the Comments section below.
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