The Perils of Sharing a Bathroom

The Perils of Sharing a Bathroom

In my head my bathroom is an oasis of pampering bliss. In reality it is becoming a war zone. No really: a war zone. Suddenly I am the proud owner of both a new man, who has the cheek to shave his whiskers all over the sink and an eleven year old boy given to taking the kind of long showers that steam up the entire house. Obviously I consider both actions to be the height of rudeness when all a girl wants to do is perform her absolutions, wrapped in fluffy towels in an immaculately clean, candlelit bathroom, completely undisturbed by the demands of her family…
But alas peace is elusive. Grabbing an hour or two to look ridiculous in a face mask and attend to one’s hairy legs in total privacy is a rare thing indeed when one’s child believes he has a god given right to use the loo whenever it takes his fancy and one’s man believe that the most heartfelt conversations are best conducted when you are in the bath and he is busy plucking stray hairs out of his nose.
In a teeny-tiny house like my little two up-two down, there is just one bathroom for residents and guests alike. One room in which we all have to attend to our most private, human needs. One room in which to seek sanity when the day has been long and hard. One room in which a little boy must turn in to a teenager. And one room in which I do believe it is necessary to try to maintain an air of mystery so a relatively new relationship is not compromised by the harsh business of personal grooming.
Tis a tall order for one room. And so I do believe it is necessary to draw up a list of boundaries. So heaven knows this post from Bathroom Deal was timely! A list of do’s and don’ts for sharing a bathroom, without killing each other in the process or feeling as if your privacy is constantly compromised and your hygiene standards persistently challenged, was exactly what I needed now that I am adapting to sharing my one and only lovely bathroom with not one but two messy men, though it strikes me that it contains good (and humorous!) advice whether you are sharing your bathroom with a spouse, a housemate or an entire family…
A policy of always knocking would be heaven. Establishing separate storage areas would be useful, even if that only means a basket each for all the unguents we consider necessary in the bathroom. Keeping the toilet seat down is best for decent feng shui and preventing trips to the divorce court. And children need to be taught to respect adult’s privacy and be courteous about the state in which they leave the bathroom after they have spent an hour or two trying to turn their natural curls into gel-held spikes.
None of this is rocket science: but hells bells it might just restore peace and prevent murder!