How to Share a Bathroom With a Spouse
with
Jonathon E. Stewart
Living together can require a little compromise - sharing a bathroom takes a full-on treatise. Find out a few ways that can help husbands and wives can share the commode peacefully.
Transcript: How to Share a Bathroom With a Spouse
Hey guys - Jonathon Stewart here for About.com. Being married is about sharing your unconditional love with another person, sharing your dreams and goals and innermost feelings, and sometimes about sharing the bathroom. Which can be tough. But take a look at the following tips, and make sure your relationship doesn't end up down the drain. Check it out.Designate Bathroom Spaces
If you live in a house or apartment that has only one bathroom, your number one issue will likely be about space. Things like razors, hair products, skin products, tooth-cleaning products, toilet paper and other sundries all take up space, and since very few of these items are shared by men and women, it's probably best to divide your physical space accordingly. Designate his and hers drawers, shelf area, shower and sink surfaces, and minimize accusations about missing items or used up products.Now before we get any deeper here, let's face it -- dudes generally need way less bathroom than women do. Things like hair curlers, hair flatteners, loofas, and seven varieties of skin lotion aren't generally part of a guy's routine, so remember that this division of space probably shouldn't be exactly 50/50.
Sharing Bathroom Time
Once you've got the territory marked off, it's important to be respectful of each other's time. Sit down and discuss your schedules so you can develop a routine that doesn't involve battles over the mirror, sink, or shower.And once again, guys, let's be frank -- even if you use a conditioner that's separate from your shampoo, shave, and moisturize, you're still looking at a fraction of the time it takes to do all that lady stuff. That said, even though you ladies probably need more total time in the bathroom, it's important to allow the man in your life the time he needs to do his biz.
Share Bathroom Cleaning Duties
Keeping the bathroom clean is another key ingredient to happily sharing one. Take turns on cleaning the whole bathroom, or divvy up responsibilities and be sure to stay on top of them. Always be sure to return your bathroom stuff to its assigned space, remove things like dirty clothes, tidy towels, and replace empty rolls of toilet paper. Do your best to leave the bathroom as clean and fresh as possible, every time you're finished using it.Basically, it all boils down to respecting one another, setting a few ground rules, and being as patient as possible with each other. And, if that doesn't work, there's always the kitchen sink. For brushing your teeth, that is.
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