Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Colors

I don’t know if it is me, and my family, or if other people have their own personal colors for household items. Growing up, my siblings and I all had our own drinking cups. Plastic cups with our names written on them with magic marker. We were responsible for our cups at all times. We had to clean them and put them away. It helped reduce the amount of dishes that needed to be cleaned at the end of the day. It also gave my mom the ability to reprimand anyone who left their cups on the kitchen table, coffee table or end tables or anywhere else around the house. The plastic drinking cups at that time were only produced in 4 colors, Red, Orange, Blue and Green. With nine kids some of us shared the same colors but that is where the magic markers came in. I remember having a blue cup.

My mom did the same thing with socks. We all had socks with colored stripes at the top and we each were assigned a color; Red, Blue, Green, and Black. They were the standard colors at that time. My mom would write our initials on the toes of the socks so she could seperate them for laundry and so she could reprimand the person who left their socks on the kitchen table, coffee table or end table or anywhere else around the house. I remember having black striped socks.

Toothbrushes were something else entirely. I vaguely remember that we all kept our toothbrushes in our rooms. There were two reasons for this. One, so there would be no confusion as to whose brush was whose. And two, I don’t think anyone of us trusted the rest to not drop our toothbrush in the toilet. I remember my toothbrush was blue. I always got a blue toothbrush.

I still, at 37 and having a smaller family, get a blue toothbrush. The blue one in the cup on the sink is my toothbrush. The other color, whatever it may be, is Lauren’s. A few months ago we bought new toothbrushes for the family. They were out of blue so I picked up dark purple and white one and Lauren picked up a light green one. Now every morning when I go to brush my teeth, I have to stop and think about which brush is mine. It is very confusing not having a blue toothbrush.

What color is your toothbrush?

36 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have one of those Braun electric ones, so it's mostly white with a little ring of color on it. I have the light one and hubby gets the dark one. Not sure what color it really is.

Unknown said...

Blue. When Hubby and I shared a medicine cabinet (two vanities now), he always got blue and I always had a variation of red.

The kids share a bathroom, but the holder has three spots in a row. The farthest to the left is Punkin's, the middle is Sweet Pea's, and the farthest to the right is Buddy's. If Sweet Pea and Buddy wind up with the same toothbrush, I mark the handle with the first letter of their name with a permanent marker.

sherrypg said...

Purple. But the color is not what differentiates our toothbrushes. It is the brand. I only like Mentadent brushes. The hubby? He couldn't care less. Usually the freebies from the dentist.

Anonymous said...

Right now it is lite green. Which, like your purple one, is confusing. Usually, Mrs. Joe gets me blue and herself red. The kids are smaller than ours so no mixup there.

Just Jan said...

WE DID THE SAME THING...COLOR COORDINATING THINGS...MAKES IT SIMPLE. EVEN WHEN I LIVED ALONE, I ALWAYS HAVE A BLUE TOOTHBRUSH.

OhTheJoys said...

Dear Lauren,

FIFTY YEARS!!!

Best wishes,
OTJ

Wendy said...

I am sorry to tell you, but I have a blue toothbrush. I suggest you get an battery operated tootbrush where you only to change the brush part and not the whole thing.

I totally understand your dilemma. When we go on vacation we use regular toothbrushes. The free ones the dentist gives you for being a good patient. I have no idea what color is suppose to be for whom (who?). I am sure I have mixed up the toothbrushes.

A. Nonny Mouse said...

My husband's family had the one cup per kid thing, too.

Toothbrush color doesn't matter so much to me, though I usually head for a variation on blue (my favorite color) for me and NOT PINK for my husband. He'll use any color as long as it is NOT PINK, because pink is NOT a color men use. Ever.

Chris H said...

I always have blue mate! I love blue... he has dark blue, me light blue. You are a dork btw.

Creative-Type Dad said...

Wow! 9 kids

Yeah, I'd imagine you would need some system

Anonymous said...

My toothbrush is purple to match the towels in my bathroom. However, I've recently changed the decor in there and so I need a new toothbrush. Because the toothbrush must match the bathroom....because I'm anal.

Wendy said...

We keep our toothbrushes in different colored holders. Mine is purple. The toothbrush color doesn't matter.

Unknown said...

I always got red things and my sister always got blue things.

Our first cars that we purchased ourselves? Mine was blue and hers red.

Scottsdale Girl said...

White - Sonicare. Best.Toothbrush.Ever.

It vibrates. A lot.

Denise B. said...

I usually get purple or orange or green (whichever favorite color is my most favorite at the time.) Terry always gets blue of some shade. Isaac's is Buzz Lightyear, of course.

Unknown said...

Green.

Anonymous said...

Hey your toothbrush matches your balls since you are living with your parents?

Kate Giovinco Photography said...

ALWAYS pink! ALWAYS!

Anonymous said...

Mine is light green and white right now. :)

Kami said...

I change it up. Doesn't matter to me what color it is.

Nine kids... Man.

Patience said...

Toothbrush??

White sonicare. Da best!!

My husband doesn't like electric so he uses whatever I buy for him.

Stepping Over the Junk said...

my toothbrush is the color of whatever is on sale. :) But my girls, my 6 year old has pink stuff and my 4 year old has purple stuff. Somehow it works. Helps me keep track, unless they decide to trade and then I get all messed up.

Charlotte in Pa said...

I always have green. That way when the bristles match the rest of it, I know it's time for a new one. JUST KIDDING! I do always have green, though... not sure why.

Michelle said...

I have a Vitality brush. It charges for enough brushes for one week. It had a little blue ring on the brush part so I know it's mine and not my hubby's. Before that, I always had the purple toothbrus.

Chris Cactus said...

Green! My favorite color. I always buy green. Sometimes I have another color but that's only because I decided my green one was crappy and picked up whichever color new one we had lying around.

Amber said...

Mine was always blue, but that was before...before I went to see Dr. Sexy Eyes and he told me I was too aggressive with my brushing and I needed to get a sonicare to regulate me. So now, my toothbrush is white and I am blu :(

Anonymous said...

There are 12 of us in our family and each one of us had our own color... On our bed sheets my mom would sew a few strands around the edge of them same with tshirts and pants and SOCKS... I was yellow and I tend to stear towards yellow items alot...

And to be creative with the colors... my two older sisters both had pink but different shades of it... same with 2 of my brothers with blue...

now my toothbrush is of course yellow...

Nature Girl said...

Alien Green. EVERY. TIME. If the store is out, I go somewhere else and get one.
Stacie

Effie said...

it changes every time I get a new toothbrush. Apparently though, my hubby doesn't notice that--he sometimes doesn't pay attention and when I go to brush my teeth, my toothbrush is already wet--eeew!I always put my toothbrush in a certain spot so you'd think that would deter him, but it doesn't...yuck

Ern said...

We usually get a "girly" color (pink, yellow) for me and a "boyish" color for my husband (blue, green). I suppose we might have to solidify our system if we have kids someday.

Anonymous said...

Sonicare toothbrush - a little blue line, hubby takes the all white one. Toothbrush heads come two per pckg. Hubby took the white one and I get either blue or green or pink. Doesn't matter to me.

Charlotta-love said...

mine changes every 6 months. Slightly confusing those first few days. :o)

sari said...

I usually go for some variety of blue, but I keep mine in my medicine chest and my husband keeps his on his side so there's no mixing up anyway. The boys keep theirs one on each side of the sink in their own cups (and yes, we have the NO PINK rule for our house for all the boys as well).

When I was little, my sister and I would always get the same thing but different colors. I would always get blue and she would always get pink.

Once in a while, my grandparents would try to mix it up and give me pink and her blue, but we'd just look at each other, look at our stuff and switch right then.

Anonymous said...

...and how many times did you use each others socks and cups and leave em laying around just waiting for the other brother to get in trouble...

mrtl said...

Your mom is a freakin' genius.

btw, have you seen this? The blog is pretty funny; I'm sure your mother could relate and then some.

Unknown said...

Mine was red. It was "red for Fred' Blue for Boo" (boo being my brother Ronalds nickname) I still tend to gravitate towards red objects