I’m no grassroots minimalist. My family has a storage room full of boxes: camping supplies, Christmas decorations, a few Macaroni-and-clay creations from the preschool era. Marie Kondo could surely help us find lots to purge. But, we appreciate clean aesthetics and are always looking for ways to reduce friction with regard to how our home functions.
Take toothpaste.
When our daughter was young, I remember debating – for an inordinate amount of time – what toothpaste flavour to select for her maturing teeth. The pharmacy aisle was full of options. Would she prefer Berry Blast, Strawberry Swirl, or Bubble Gum Twist. Each brand – and there were many – had its own combination of tube characteristics (twist cap vs. flip; hard tube vs. soft). I hadn’t even gotten to the fluoride vs. no fluoride conundrum yet and was already completely overwhelmed. Should buying toothpaste for a 3-year old really be this hard?
Then one day, during a well-visit at the doctors office, my GP happened to bring up teeth-brushing. She mentioned, in an off-hand way: “Feel free to use a rice-sized amount of whatever toothpaste you’re using.”
Surely it wasn’t right to deprive my firstborn of whatever bold-coloured, highly-flavoured concoction the big conglomerates told me she should have? But, I grew up on good ol’ Crest…and I don’t think it held me back in life.
Since then, our entire family has used the same toothpaste (Colgate with Scope); my kids don’t even know they could be frothing at the mouth with Minion-themed Cotton Candy.
Not only does it make fewer decisions at the store, since we all use the toothpaste interchangeably, I only pack a single tube when we travel (we do the same with shampoo).
What supply could you share?
This is a GAME CHANGER! The kids’ toothpaste companies have really had one over on us…. no more! 😁 I can’t wait to tell Cedar grandly that he’s graduating to grown-up toothpaste (it’s all in how you pitch it right?).
Hope Cedar feels like quite the little man…one minute they’re babies and the next they have a mouth full of sweet little “chicklets” to keep pearly white! Happy brushing…