Crest or Colgate?

My mother and father in law spent a weekend with us recently. They are easy house guests. No big fuss about how clean the house is, what the sleeping arrangements are, or which card games we'll play or puzzles we'll work. I try to have a bit of extra food in the house, maybe a few of the things they like, but I don't stress about stocking the house specifically for them.

I noticed this time that they brought their own bar soap. They never mentioned to me that they aren't so much into liquid body washes--the only way we cleanse in this house anymore--but they must have remembered that we never have bar soap for them, and they are polite enough not to make a big deal about it. They just brought their own soap.

I started to realize that I take certain household products for granted, and I, at 45, have become very much set in my ways about these things. Don't get me wrong, I do love trying new things and I just love being at a hotel and checking out the luxury grooming products on offer. But for the day to day, I am definitely particular about some of my personal care items.

A few years ago, I told my kids to choose their own toothpastes, and I was shocked when one of my kids came back with a tube of CREST TOOTHPASTE. We are a Colgate family, always have been. I felt betrayed. How could she choose Crest? I was so tempted to have her switch back to Colgate . Instead, I waited for what seemed like years for that toothpaste to find its way to the bottom of the garbage can in her bathroom. To this day, I try my hardest to buy a nice variety of Colgate products for my kids to choose from when their toothpastes run out. I do offer for them to choose toothpastes now, but I always steer them to the Colgate section.

My husband and I have different favorite toilet papers. No clear reason why, but he likes Quilted Northern and I like Charmin. I mostly buy Quilted Northern for our bathroom, but I do sneak in the Charmin every once in a while. If he's away for a few days, I definitely bring out the Charmin, and pop it back into our closet when he returns. He doesn't ask for much, so when he mentioned his preference for toilet paper, I was more than happy to oblige. I'm not sure where I read it, but I was a little miffed when I saw that Quilted Northern rated higher than Charmin in a toilet paper poll somewhere. I never did tell Ed that one.

I could probably go on and on about the (boring) things that we as Auslanders choose to stock our cupboards and bathrooms at home. But I have laundry to do (Tide and Downy), and bathrooms to clean (Scrubbing Bubbles, of course). It was a busy weekend, with company and a slew of Halloween and Birthday parties and lacrosse games. I need to get things back to normal, but I did notice one other thing when Ed's parents were here this past weekend--they use Colgate toothpaste, too!