I don't have anything earthshaking on this topic, really. I used to have the nice little toothbrush holders with the four holes in the top. They didn't last long. First of all, how many can I put on one little countertop? Secondly, they are one more thing to clean, which I do NOT need, and a place for germs to grow. Thirdly, how often do the toothbrushes actually get put away and worse, do they even fit?!
I get the cheapest toothbrushes I can find in each child's color*, you know, the plain Jane handles-- like we used to have growing up! But the dentist office stocks the ones with Shrek, Dora, all the characters my kids really don't know because they don't watch contemporary tv and movies. And inevitably, they are the same ones with the thick handles that do not fit in organizers! Soooo following the example of a dear friend and mom to six, I have made it very simple.
In each of our two bathrooms, there is a small wide mouth glass jar on the countertop, and the kids who use that bathroom toss their toothbrushes in there at night. My current jars happen to be from natural peanut butter, but wide mouth canning pints are also fine, and in fact perhaps more sturdy. I keep one tube of toothpaste for each bathroom for the kids too. I am using Tom's natural strawberry toothpaste for them, and it fits in the jar too. Of course they each get one of those little samples from the dentist twice a year, and I let them use them as long as 1)they last, 2)no one is arguing over using each other's toothpaste, and 3)they are not in my way or a mess, whichever comes first. Then I pitch them, whether they are gone or not, because it is just not worth it!, and we go back to the community toothpaste tube. I know some might tell me it's not "clean" to keep toothbrushes together like that, but tell me, are they getting any of each other's germs that they don't get anyway? And it's cleaner than finding them on the floor all the time, near (or in) the toilet, etc.
Mom and Dad's toothbrushes/paste are kept in the medicine cabinet, by the way.
*see post on color-coding children
2 comments:
I hate those stupid-handled toothbrushes. Not only are they to knobbly for the holder, but it's also really difficult to explain to our kids why other kids think an animate sponge is cool.
Don't you just? If it weren't for the fact that it's a free set of toothbrushes, I'd pass on them in a heartbeat!
SpongebBob? Ooooh, don't get me started. Just another reminder of how much we make out of some really silly things in this culture.
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