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Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Toothbrush Pockets


Awhile back I mentioned the big overhaul of my craft room/office space and various other places in my home. The transfer of my material stash from its hiding place under the window seat to the small cubby area in the craft room was involved. It was not pretty. Much wailing and gnashing of teeth transpired but in the end, (oh, I wish it were actually the end) it was worth it. I think.

I am a big believer in 'out of sight, out of mind' and how it is bad if you are talking about consumable things like craft supplies. So whenever possible I like to have any craft materials, or 'to do' projects organized, but kept in view. Seeing all the material after it had been stashed away brought to mind many projects that had disappeared into the back of my brain. So it was fun in that respect. And obviously, from this picture you can see that blue jeans were among the great material migration of 2010.

I have a small bathroom that is shared by everyone in the family. It can be interesting to say the least. But  one of my main issues was that I had no perfect place to store our toothbrushes except on shelves that were situated over the toilet. Yes. Ewww... And I am a germ person. I really, really hate it when someone else's toothbrush touches mine. Hate. It. Once, my husband even started laughing and saying something like, "You know you've been married a long time when you can accidently brush your teeth with your wife's toothbrush and it doesn't bother you." I was like, "Wow. I used to love you." And divorced him. The end...

No. But I threw that toothbrush out. Germ. Issues. So the over the toilet toothbrush storage was always bugging me and so I was always trying to work out a way for more storage in my bathroom.

I saw all the jeans and had an idea to use the pockets for the toothbrushes as they are flat enough to use behind the door that swings into the room. The door doesn't actually hit the pockets, but it would have hit a shelf or anything that stuck out too far, which had previously limited the use of that wall for storage. Now I am happy to report the toothbrushes live about as far away from the toilet as possible in the tiny room.

I cut out the pockets and sewed around them so they'd be strong enough to throw in the wash when needed. I then got fancy and sewed the little name tags on the front which probably won't survive being machine washed, but that is no big deal.  When the time comes I'll make new name tags if need be. Then, I put those little hooks that stick on the wall and hung the little toothbrush pockets.

The pockets have been a hit with the family. The kiddos can take their pockets down easily so they can reach their little toothpastes inside (to each his own germs I say). And yes, my dog has her own toothbrush pocket, with her own poultry flavored toothpaste. Mmmm... chickeny fresh! While she probably wouldn't mind her toothbrush being stored over the toilet, the sixth pocket makes everything nice and even.

Hey, it is the middle of February already! Woohoo! This time next month the blogs will all be filled with garden planning and fun spring stuff like that. Sometimes the whole time flying by thing feels like a good thing. Have a great week everyone!

11 comments:

K said...

Your pockets look really cool. I love this idea. They are the perfect size.

The kids have a bunch of toothbrushes. After they use one it goes in the dishwasher. Because, toothbrushes are NASTY. People will take a knife, cut a lovely (sterile on the inside) apple, and then wash the knife in hot soapy water. Right? Then they take a bristle brush, run it all around their gooey bacteria filled mouths, and give it a quick rinse. Sometimes they even forget about the rinse part. Ack, noooooo!

I have nightmares about toothbrushes I saw while being a nanny.

Deb said...

The pockets are a great idea! I'm with you on the toothbrush touching thing!

val said...

This will have you screaming--at the lake--Jay realized he'd been using our daughter in law's toothbrush all summer.

They both were blue.

He told her how sorry he was and offered her the toothbrush. She said that was all right.

Everyone survived.

But still. love, Val

Regularmom said...

They're wonderful. But they'd never last here in my house. (sigh) The girls would be all: "oooh! I love that! I want to use it in my room as a house for my Littlest Petshops!" And they'd take the pockets and hide them in the playroom. Again and again. (sigh)

How do you keep the kids from using toothbrush pockets only for toothbrushes?

Still... they are cute. You're awesome!

candyn said...

You wash your toothbrushes after each use, K? This intrigues me. Do they get stained or wear out quickly?

Deb, I'm glad I'm not alone with the toothbrush germ thing. Looks like there are a few of us out there at least!

Val, Your daughter in law = saint. I would have probably passed out. ;0) How brave of your husband to fess up though!

Regularmom, the kids have a million and two boxes, bags and cubbies to use for various kid purposes. I think mostly to hide toys away in and then stash somewhere, only to wail for it a few hours later when they can't find it. So maybe that is why they haven't carried off the pockets yet.

Or maybe they are afraid of me. Maybe I am just scarier than you are, and they've learned not to upset the balance that my silly little organizing projects bring to me. ;0) (I hope that was more funny than true, btw.)

Annienygma said...

This is a great idea with the pockets! I can think of some other things to store in them as well!

I take our toothbrushes and swirl them around in a boiling pot of water on the stove about once a month cause I don't like the thought of germs much either--also this gets rid of the buildup that invariably accumulates on daughter's brush!

Great blog! I enjoy reading you!

K said...

"You wash your toothbrushes after each use, K? This intrigues me. Do they get stained or wear out quickly?" The kids have about 10 or so toothbrushes which live in a glass in the bathroom. When they brush their teeth they rinse the brush and put it on the counter. They are supposed to put it in the kitchen like a dirty dish but that rarely happens. So every couple of days I swoop up the used toothbrushes and put them all in the dishwasher. They dishwash beautifully. I think it makes them last longer, actually. Then I put all the clean ones in a clean glass and replace the one in the bathroom. So the brushes and their glass are always fresh.

Magic and Mayhem said...

Truth be told, I'm not much bothered by germs (as anybody who's visited my house has probably surmised!) but I love these! They're adorable and would work perfectly in our tiny bathroom. :)

Now I'm off to print out Martha's checklist. Thanks! Maybe there's hope for me yet...

What goes on said...

These are so cool!
I would love to make these a for gift bags!

Agnes Sim said...

You did a good job! creative n nice idea. ;-)
agnes from swap-bot

Jessica said...

Those pockets are awesome. What a great idea.

j3ss1ca (SB)