Backstory: It was getting late and the HH asked if there was anything he could do for me {awww… give the man some bonus points} and out of the blue and kind of jokingly I said … You could put some toothpaste on my toothbrush?
And so he did and then he handed me my toothbrush and well… I guess I had a Seinfeld moment because the next thing you know I was questioning the last 30 years of my life with this man.
Can someone please tell me how I’ve managed to live with the same man for 30 years and only yesterday realized that he is putting the toothpaste on his toothbrush the WRONG way! different than I do!?
Yes, I do realize that on the back of the tube of toothpaste it does say to use a pea sized amount but that is only referring to the amount SIZE, right? It doesn’t actually mean to put a little pea of toothpaste on your toothbrush and then put the toothbrush in your mouth… right?
Because if you did that you’d be putting this glob {pea} of toothpaste in your mouth.
Wouldn’t the more civilized thing to do {the way I do it} would be to put a thin strip of toothpaste on your toothbrush so that you when you put your toothbrush in your mouth you’re not left wondering if the toothpaste is going to fall off, or have it feel like such an invasion with this giant glob of goo in your mouth?
Yes, I know the outcome is the same {clean teeth} but still.
And seriously, how did we even learn this behavior {pea vs strip} our parents?
So now I need to know how YOU are putting toothpaste on your toothbrush.
Which team are you on… Team HH {pea} or team Mavis {thin strip}?
I need to know.
Diana says
Team HH here. It all spreads just fine once it hits the teeth, lol.
Brianna says
Team Mavis…I find it satisfying to run a slow and steady line down the bristles.
My kids would be double or triple pea blob with a few blobs left in the sink when they are done brushing as it does not all get scrubbed around in their mouth. I spent years putting a strip on their toothbrushes and they are blobbers with it now.
Pauline in Upstate NY says
Sorry, Mavis. Team HH all the way.
Cindy Brick says
Me too, Mavis. Putting the strip would be using too much toothpaste, and wasting it. Anyways, the ‘pea’ spreads out pretty quick.
On the other hand, my HH proudly presented me with an electric toothbrush…and unfortunately, expected/expects me to use it. It’s like going to the dentist’s office before I go to bed every night. Yuck.
Yuck. But I do it.
Patti Vanderbloemen says
Thanks for the early morning laugh!
I hate to disagree with you, but your husband is correct!
Tamara says
As hard as it is to believe, you have too much time on your hands.
Mavis Butterfield says
HA HA HA. I know! 🙂
Lynda M McCrimmon says
Team HH, without a doubt.
Julie H says
Team Mavis! No blobs for me.
Alice says
It could have been worse. My husband puts the tube of toothpaste to his mouth and squeezes the blob onto his tongue then begins to brush. We have separate tubes of toothpaste. Your husband could have put the blob on his tongue directly squeezing it from the tube then loaded your toothbrush from the blob on his tongue. Don’t question blessings.
Lesley says
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Suzanne says
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tracy says
Bahaha…mine does this as well. The 1st time I saw this I think my mouth dropped open, and he was like “what??”
Ahhh Husbands…
Susie says
My bf does this as well, but for another reason! He’s legally blind, so this is the easiest way for him (and his blind compatriots!) rather than trying to get it on the brush. And yes, we have separate tubes!
Mel says
I hope this doesn’t post twice, but I have a friend whose husband doesn’t rinse his toothbrush, so toothpaste just accumulates on it. They just divorced, and I’m not saying the toothpaste was the reason, but it’s not *not* the reason.
Kath says
Yep, HH does it my way. Pea size blob on the brush.
Anna says
Strip all the way!
Mel says
I think I’m somewhere in between (flattened pea? Lentil?), but this reminds me of our nextdoor neighbors when I was a kid. They were leaving super early in the morning for a trip and joked they were going to put toothpaste on their toothbrushes the night before to save time.
Amy says
I’m Team Pea, but also Team Mel’s Childhood Neighbors – sometimes I preload my toothbrush before dinner and set out my jammies and then it’s like I have Bates, the valet from Downton Abbey, preparing the bathroom for me for the evening.
Donna says
I’m with you, Mavis. My husband is a blobber. He is forever telling me, “I just think differently than you do.”
Heather says
Team HH, all the way!
Wendy C says
Team HH – pea here.
Jennifer says
Strip for me and then I tap the bottom of the brush against the sink so it will settle into the bristles.
Side note – dh had a stroke and some things I just do for him to be nice and save time. If he said anything about the strip vs pea to me out loud, he’d be back to doing it.
Joyce says
Team Mavis
Elle says
Seriously, this is hilarious!
Oh, team Mavis. Yup, you have too much time on your hands 😉
And such a sweet sweet man to ask the question and then follow through on a small ask.
Linda Practical Parsimony says
Team Mavis. I don’t want the blob to dissolve too soon and in one place on my teeth. It would probably run out of my mouth. I once knew someone who put a long, fat line of toothpaste on the toothbrush. I asked why. Because that is how the picture on the toothpaste shows it. ??? For sixty years this person had used this much toothpaste every day.
Christie says
This is so great! As for me, whatever hits the brush goes in my mouth. Pea, strip, blob…the end result is still the same.
Cindy says
Team HH here.
Julie says
Team HH, it wastes less toothpaste.
Rodger says
If my wife were to ask me to put toothpaste on her toothbrush for her, I’d tell her to take said toothbrush and shove it where the sun don’t shine.
How lazy and abusive can one wife be?
Not Rodger’s Wife says
Apparently, not as lazy and abusive as some husbands, Rodger.
Mrs. M says
HE did ASK her if there was any thing he could do for her and followed through on a joking request.
We can all learn from their example about long, happy marriages.
It’s the little things every day, not the dozen roses on valentine’s, that make a marriage work. It’s also the choice to love your spouse no matter how silly the request or how they load a toothbrush. ♡
I’ve been married to my HH almost 29 years and he absolutley would have loaded my toothbrush if I had asked. (I’d do the same for him.)
We don’t ask/expect each other to do things, but we both offer all the time.
(I use a tooth powder, so I can’t pick a side today.)
Virginia says
Perhaps, Rodger, the next time you’re brushing your teeth in front of the bathroom mirror you can consider this question: How lazy and abusive can one husband be?
Janet Langlois says
I’m with you Mavis.
Dawn S says
Team HH
Kathy in PA says
Team HH! I follow a frugal FB page which stated only a little bit of toothpaste will do the job. The companies that make the toothpaste want you to put it on the full length of the toothbrush bristles so that you will use up your toothpaste tube quicker. That way you will have to buy toothpaste more often which is a win for the toothpaste manufacturer.
Susie says
I completely agree with Kathy in PA! Also, I use an electric Oral-B toothbrush with a small rounded head, so the pea-size, pea-shape is perfect.
Team HH! 🙂
And Rodger up there sounds like a peach.
Donna says
Team HH
Lana says
Team HH. Seriously I have no idea how my Hubby does this since his sink is in the bathroom and I have a separate dressing area with my sink. Been married 45 years though to the best Hubby on planet Earth!
Peg says
Have to side with your husband on this one.
Suzanne says
I think that there can be more than one way to do many things. I don’t think it matters one bit how you put the toothpaste on. In fact, I couldn’t tell you what technique I use because I just jam it on there and brush. It’s almost an unconscious act. I just like the fact that your husband put toothpast on your brush when you asked him to. He sounds like a keeper.
Lindsey says
My husband gets up before I do. He puts the toothpaste on my brush, so it is waiting for me when I go into the bathroom. For 40 years now…
Kelly-Jo says
Team HH all the way!
Daria says
Blob. I do my best to not touch the toothpaste tube with the brush, to avoid spreading germs.
Glenda Rainbolt says
I honestly have no idea why anyone would need to have someone else put their toothpaste on their toothbrush? But to each his own? Kinda Gross.
Lindsey says
I don’t “need” to have the husband put the paste on my brush. He does it as a show of love, just like making morning tea for me. I do other small acts of love for him. Like I said, 40 years going so it is working for us to see marriage as being of service to each other.
Mavis Butterfield says
I agree Lindsey, it’s the small gestures that mean the most. 🙂
Shari says
Team HH 100%!
Kim Reynolds says
As a marriage therapist (which you do not need btw) I would ask what had you come up with that request in the first place? Then I would have you say, I appreciate you putting the toothpaste on my toothbrush as I asked but I do not like it as a blob.
Congrats on never having this issue in 30 years of marriage lol
Kim
Teri says
Team Mavis! Curiosity got me to look at my toothpaste tube (sensodyne). The directions say “apply at least a 1″ strip of the product onto a soft bristle toothbrush”.
Maybe it depends on the toothpaste HAHA!!
Mavis Butterfield says
That is interesting!!! Ours says pea sized amount. Maybe there is a third option? 😉
Dianne says
Team Mavis – both HH and me. Must have learned it somewhere. Don’t the directions tell you a pea-sized amount? Or is that just for children? We do not share toothpaste tubes, EVER! We did as kids, eeewwww, their was 5 of us!
Anne says
I rarely use toothpaste at all, because toothpaste does not make any difference, according to the dentist. The dentist says the important thing is the brushing, disturbing the bacteria colonies. When I do use toothpaste, I use a teeny little bit, about 1/8 of a pea in size. It still foams up and fills my mouth with toothpaste foam, and leaves my mouth minty-fresh :-).
So I buy toothpaste pretty rarely. I usually buy the travel size and it lasts a very long time.
Gina says
Sorry Miss M- team HH all the way, lol
Sue D says
Neither. I use baking soda.
Julie says
Team HH!!! But the man of our house puts a THICK strip of toothpaste on his brush!!! AACCK!!
And to reply to the Sensodyne comment, you need lots of that, because it is a “medicine” to keep your teeth from being so sensitive!
Teri says
My husband uses Colgate. The directions are identical!! Team Mavis!!
Julie says
HH….definitely
eliz says
I put a small blob on the end of brush.
I don’t think my husband even uses toothpaste. 🙁
Jules says
A thick strip for me. I have no idea how my husband does it. I’ll have to watch tonight to see !
Holly S says
I used to do a small strip for same reasons when I used a manual toothbrush. Now I use an electric toothbrush and the brush head is tiny, so I’m forced to do the blob. It often falls off my toothbrush into the sink…..annoying…the only thing I don’t like about electric toothbrushes.
Nee Nee says
I don’t even have any idea I will let you know tonight after I bush my teeth!! As long as I have toothpaste don’t give a rats ass if it’s a pea or a strip!!
No right or wrong on this one!!
It’s like which way does the toilet paper hang
Julie P says
Team Hh! But Nee Nee on the toilet paper situation apparently over means less bacteria gets transferred to the roll! Apparently though someone carried out some research that less is used under as it’s harder to get it rolling! Who knew?
Nee Nee says
Good to know because I am a over
Can’t stand it the other way and I change it
Linda Sand says
Team HH here. The toothpaste only very rarely falls off the toothbrush before I get it into my mouth and that happens only when I get distracted by something so don’t move the toothbrush soon enough.
Angela W. says
My HH works in calibration, he asks: when it comes to sizing, is that a regular green pea, Le Suer pea, snow pea, sugar snap pea, English pea or a chick pea?
Mavis Butterfield says
My vote is for a Le Suer sized pea.
Mrs. M says
He’s hilarious!
Anne in PA says
My husband and I use different toothpastes so different tubes and I have no idea how he puts his toothpaste on. I am not so rigid that everyday is the same, but am more like HH, just use a bit would never cover the entire brush.
tia in boise says
Hmmmmmm–not sure who I’m siding with…I guess you.
I use a triple-pea amount (habits hard to break) but spread across the toothbrush.
Cynthia Parido says
My electric too small to take anything but a pea. Kudos to your husband for following the directions on the tube though!
Tiffany F says
Team Mavis!
Silki says
I’m a pea, dear HH is a strip. Do you wet your brush before putting the paste on or after the paste is on or brush with paste on a dry brush ?
CherylV says
Team Mavis here
Tracy T says
Team HH!
Dawn Marie says
Team Mavis here! I’ve never read the instructions on the box or tube of toothpaste. My mother did it this way. I do it this way and now my kids do it this way.
It might be interesting to ask your kids whose toothbrushing habits they picked up.
debbie in alaska says
So funny. Most of my life I was team strip (Mavis style) but I definitely used more than a pea size. Then I saw my friend post an image on instagram of her daughter laying out the toothbrush with toothpaste for her mom (very sweet) and the pea size was so cute and tidy. I switched! Now I do a pea size tear shaped dollop and my toothpaste lasts forever! Also the husband who never rinsed his toothbrush — BARF. The comment about that NOT not being why they divorced was hilarious.
Robyn says
Yup your HH is correct- I’m definitely on his team!