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Egg cartons and candy boxes as paint palettes

in: Organizing Time & Space

Many of you are about to have plenty of empty egg cartons cluttering your kitchens, and possibly some divided candy boxes. Parenthacker Liz wrote in to suggest using either item as a paint palette. The compartments keep the paint colors separated, and the whole thing can be tossed or recycled when the project is finished!

Other ideas for makeshift palettes: ice cube trays, muffin tins, and Dixie cups.

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About Asha Dornfest

Asha Dornfest is a writer, parent, and insistent optimist living in Portland, Oregon. She is the author of PARENT HACKS, co-author of MINIMALIST PARENTING, and co-host of the Edit Your Life podcast.

Comments

  1. Cathy says

    April 3, 2009 at 9:19 am

    We also use egg cartons to hold markers. We flip the carton over and poke holes in the “eggs”. They hold the markers upright and keep them from rolling all over the table during projects and coloring time.

  2. me says

    April 3, 2009 at 12:07 pm

    I don’t want to be a spoilsport, but our child care facilities are not allowed to re-use egg cartons because of the risk of Salmonella poisoning.

  3. Alex says

    April 3, 2009 at 1:49 pm

    We use egg cartons to save and sort ribbons from presents for later craft use. If you roll/wad them up into one space each you don’t end up with a big crazy tangle.

  4. Carly says

    April 3, 2009 at 5:02 pm

    We just started some seeds in a cardboard egg carton! One pea or pumpkin in each cup.

  5. Melanie says

    April 5, 2009 at 6:10 pm

    Regarding the threat of Salmonella: it is theoretically possible for it to be spread via egg cartons, but there has never been a single case of that according to the CDC. If you’re worried, spray with lysol first, wait a minute, then rinse before using the carton for a craft.

  6. Anna Alfafara says

    April 8, 2009 at 8:04 pm

    I agree with Melanie, we can use lysol to disinfect the egg carton trays, and any other stuff for the kids for that matter.

    We can also have it air dried for a bit to let out the moist since bacteria love to stay in them.

    As for the egg trays as marker and paint holders, this is simply an innovative and economical idea.

    Thanks!

    Anna

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About the Author

Asha Dornfest is an author, optimist, and mom of two. She started the Parent Hacks blog in 2005, and turned it into a book in 2016. More about Asha »

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