Only in America

Yesterday I ventured into the room of my house I go the least often: The children's bathroom. The room many mothers avoid at all costs. It gets pretty gross. They drip toothpaste on the counter and the sink. The mirror gets very splotchy. Once in a while they "miss". They leave empty bottles of product and wet rags in the bottom of the tub. And despite the fact that there are 6 of them occasionally assigned to clean the tub, it never gets REALLY clean. I should probably spend more time in there but that has not yet become a burden on my heart.


Back to those bottles of product... Six of our children regularly shower in that bathroom. And yesterday there were 22 bottles of DIFFERENT product on the shelves. Shampoos, conditioners, body washes (both the female and male brands), all-in-one washes, shaving cream and bubbles. I have no idea how this has and continues to accumulate because I only buy them a bottle of Head and Shoulders now and then. The gross excess that this signifies leaves me more than a little embarrassed. Especially once I checked my own shower. Do I really need the hair masque AND the conditioner?



When my husband was growing up he had a bar of soap and ONE bottle of Head and Shoulders in the tub. When his younger sister reached her teen years a bottle of conditioner got added. How did we allow the ad men with their mad marketing skills to evolve us so quickly from people who shampooed twice a month into people who need 4-5 separate products to get clean?

Among the books I am currently reading is Amish Peace. There are a lot of tips in there to help simplify your life. Amish people only keep in their homes things they really need. I doubt there is more than a bar of soap and one bottle of 2 in 1 shampoo/conditioner in their showers.