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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: Dec 17 2015 at 11:07am | IP Logged
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Okay. We *just* got home from the dentist with our new toothbrushes. I can't even wrap my head around the lost toothbrushes in this house, but it happens a lot.  We have 1950s bathrooms with the wall tile and integrated holders, but modern toothbrushes, even the kiddie ones, do not fit in those holders. We also live in a split-level so the boys' rooms and bath are on the top level, master one down from that, main living one down from that. So, bedtime brushings are far removed and difficult to supervise. Very out of sight out of mind. Moving the toothbrushes to my bathroom would be annoying. So, I have considered that it might be best to keep the boys toothbrushes in the guest/powder bathroom off the schoolroom, one level down from the main living area.
Clear as mud?
Has anyone discovered a strategy for juggling keeping toothbrushes organized and sanitary and as a bonus, made supervision for the younger-olders easier? We keep the babies' and toddlers' brushes in our bathroom, but when they hit 3-4, it is a tricky age for a couple years, and my current 4 year old apparently could use some focused flossing over the next few years!
Thanks so much for any insight!
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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SeaStar
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| Posted: Dec 17 2015 at 11:17am | IP Logged
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Growing up my mom kept six toothbrush cups on the bathroom counter. Each child had his/her own cup, and after brushing, you just put your brush in your cup. Cups were cleaned twice a week, and we never lost a brush (that I remember), since there was only one place to put it when done.
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Booksnbabes
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| Posted: Dec 17 2015 at 12:29pm | IP Logged
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Maybe moving toothbrushes to the guest bathroom and just doing dental hygiene there every time would work best? You can supervise, then send them on to other bedtime activities. With it being the main bathroom for guests, the issue that comes to my mind is storage.
We only have one bathroom right now (remodel planned later this winter to give us a second), so toothbrushes only have one room to go in and it is really easy to supervise as we are all on the same level! We use these holders for the kids (dh and I have plain ones, not animals) since we have virtually no counter space in our bathroom, but lots of mirror and tile space (the upper two feet of the walls are mirrored tiles, the lower portion is all tile). They hold even the battery-operated toothbrushes and can be tossed into a travel bag easily. They work great for our camper too. I, personally, have come to accept having them out all the time, but if you don't want toothbrushes out for all the world to see they might not work well and this idea for under-cabinet storage might work better. We considered it, but opted for the portable holders due to their ability to be used when we travel. They do need to be cleaned periodically, but so do any holders in my experience.
When we have the new bathroom in, most of our bathroom items will move upstairs, as it will be come the main family bath. We will likely continue to use the holders for the kids as they work really well (and everyone got to choose their animal, so it is easy to tell them apart). If we are able to put in a vanity with any significant counter space we might retire the holders to travel only, but I hesitate to shake up a working system!
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countrymom
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| Posted: Dec 17 2015 at 12:44pm | IP Logged
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we have resale shop mugs for our toothbrushes. I find funny or pretty mugs for each person, so each person has a unique cup. Then if they break, you get another one, no set to worry about  We keep them all on a shelf in our large bathroom closet, and my husband supervises tooth brushing each evening. If they have special toothpaste, that gets stored in their mug as well.
I know a family that keeps the toothbrushes for the littles in the kitchen.
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JodieLyn
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Just keep buying $1 toothbrushes as you see them and tuck them away so that when someone comes to you with the "I can't find my toothbrush" you've got another one to give them. I don't have anywhere to put 12 cups sitting "in use" anywhere in my house 
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setonmom
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I keep the toothbrushes in a drawer divider like you would use for silverware. Each kid has their own compartment and then there is a compartment for toothpaste.
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CrunchyMom
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Booksnbabes wrote:
Maybe moving toothbrushes to the guest bathroom and just doing dental hygiene there every time would work best? You can supervise, then send them on to other bedtime activities. With it being the main bathroom for guests, the issue that comes to my mind is storage.
We only have one bathroom right now (remodel planned later this winter to give us a second), so toothbrushes only have one room to go in and it is really easy to supervise as we are all on the same level! We use these holders for the kids (dh and I have plain ones, not animals) since we have virtually no counter space in our bathroom, but lots of mirror and tile space (the upper two feet of the walls are mirrored tiles, the lower portion is all tile). They hold even the battery-operated toothbrushes and can be tossed into a travel bag easily. They work great for our camper too. I, personally, have come to accept having them out all the time, but if you don't want toothbrushes out for all the world to see they might not work well and this idea for under-cabinet storage might work better. We considered it, but opted for the portable holders due to their ability to be used when we travel. They do need to be cleaned periodically, but so do any holders in my experience.
When we have the new bathroom in, most of our bathroom items will move upstairs, as it will be come the main family bath. We will likely continue to use the holders for the kids as they work really well (and everyone got to choose their animal, so it is easy to tell them apart). If we are able to put in a vanity with any significant counter space we might retire the holders to travel only, but I hesitate to shake up a working system!
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These look really cute. I saw the Kikkerland brand on Amazon, and then a review said it was much cheaper to get them on the website, so it came out to $10.20 for four, including shipping, then I ordered one more on Amazon of a different animal. I figure it is worth a shot to try it, and I like the idea of the different animals so I can easily see whose is there and whose isn't at a glance. I have some things color coded, but I can't control what color toothbrushes the dentist gives or what is otherwise on sale, lol.
I love the idea of the silverware drawer, but my bathroom drawers won't fit that, and I just fear the PVC behind the door is a toddler crisis waiting to happen. Not that toothbrushes in general aren't, but if you don't even have to climb, it is just to easy. I at least want to make them work for it. 
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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Booksnbabes
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| Posted: Dec 17 2015 at 10:35pm | IP Logged
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CrunchyMom wrote:
I have some things color coded, but I can't control what color toothbrushes the dentist gives or what is otherwise on sale, lol.
I love the idea of the silverware drawer, but my bathroom drawers won't fit that, and I just fear the PVC behind the door is a toddler crisis waiting to happen. Not that toothbrushes in general aren't, but if you don't even have to climb, it is just to easy. I at least want to make them work for it. |
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I hear you on the toddler! Also a reason we passed on the pvc idea.
And yes, we were running into the whole problem of multiple people having the same color toothbrush, and the holders have taken care of that (as far as I know! ). That has been a benefit I did not foresee when purchasing.
I hope they work out for you! And I'll have to keep in mind the tip of shopping directly through Kikkerland should any of ours fail in the future (two years and still going strong though!).
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Erica Sanchez
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I have found random boxes inexpensively at places like Home Goods or Ross/Marshall's. They are wooden or metal and divided into four or six spaces. I find jars that fit in each space and each person keeps their toothbrush and paste in their jar. Years ago strep throat went through the family and came back over and over. I couldn't figure it out until I thought sharing toothpaste and having the brushes touching each other in one big holder could be the problem. It never occurred to me to have different toothpaste for each child. I think it has worked well and makes things look (relatively) tidy on the counter.
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3ringcircus
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I got some multicolored electrical tape and put the assigned colors on the toothbrushes so if they each want (or get from the dentist) the same exact color the tape color identifies the owner. I know there's a place that sells nearly every color under the sun for families w/ many kids, but I'm not sure what it is.
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JodieLyn
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With all the duct tape colors out there now.. it would be possible (not cheap) to get tape for tags.. that's a good idea!
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HSMama
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Toothbrush holders
^^These "hang away" holders are awesome and hold any size toothbrush
Or what about this? You may be able to find it without the toothpaste dispenser for less
other ideas
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Martha
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Socks and toothbrushes are the bane of my home management.
I have not had success with socks.
But I have with toothbrushes.
I bought cheap utensil dividers that go in kitchen drawers and put them in the bathroom.
Each utensil slot is the perfect size for a toothbrush and toothpaste and floss and holds for 5 kids. So in our upstairs bathroom there are two drawers with these utensil dividers that hold the toothbrushes and toothpaste for each kid. One drawer is shaving kits and hair combs for the boys (no utensil divider) that use them one drawer is hair brushes and combs for the girls divided in a utensil holder. One drawer is a utensil divider for the hair combs and misc other boys.
It stays fairly neat and it's rare for something to be lost thes days.
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herdingkittens
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We use these! They are not "lovely" , but they are perfect for keeping lots of brushes from touching each other or taking up counter space. They work with electric toothbrush heads as well as various sized regular toothbrushes.
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CrunchyMom
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So those of you using utensil sorters, do they fit in your drawers or do you have the out somehow. Our bathroom drawers seem too narrow for those, but maybe I'm looking at the wrong kind?
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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Martha
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CrunchyMom wrote:
| So those of you using utensil sorters, do they fit in your drawers or do you have the out somehow. Our bathroom drawers seem too narrow for those, but maybe I'm looking at the wrong kind? |
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Mine all fit as is. You can buy all kinds of different sizes of utensil drawers. Some of mine are really large and some are very small and fit in a drawer that only about 14 inches wide.
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CrunchyMom
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I guess that is the problem. My drawers are only 8 inches wide.
I did get the animal sorters for Christmas, but we left town in a hurry the day after Christmas for several days of funeral services, so things are still crazy, and I'm not sure what happened to all the animals or all the toothbrushes  .
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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CrunchyMom
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Martha wrote:
Socks and toothbrushes are the bane of my home management.
I have not had success with socks.
But I have with toothbrushes.
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I was just writing some notes and to-dos during my son't vision therapy appointment and wrote, "brainstorm sock solution" on my list and then laughed because I immediately remembered your post.
Never would I have imagined the energy I would some day devote to either of these. 
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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Becky Parker
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JodieLyn wrote:
| Just keep buying $1 toothbrushes as you see them and tuck them away so that when someone comes to you with the "I can't find my toothbrush" you've got another one to give them. I don't have anywhere to put 12 cups sitting "in use" anywhere in my house |
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This is my method, Jodie! I also like the duct tape idea. I have been through all sorts of holders but my boys just lose them or break them or knock them off the wall. My daughter, on the other hand, probably still has the first one she ever got squirreled away in her room somewhere, saving it for posterity!
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Becky Parker
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Socks? I would love to show you my sock basket. It's always overflowing. It makes a great activity for the occasional "I'm bored!" comments. But if it's the littles doing the matching we can't be too picky about whether or not they actually match!
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Becky
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4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: Toothbrush Strategies
