A House of Order

Toothbrushing Drama-Simplified
1) If you have a 2 story house with bathrooms up and downstairs, keep 1 toothbrush upstairs and 1 downstairs for each family member (children in particular) No more not brushing during the morning zoom out the door because running upstairs takes too much time. The same for dental floss.... One story house? One specific place for children's toothbrushing.
2) Label, Label, Label. Yet another use for Sharpies Pens and Markers. On the handle of each child's toothbrush, simply place their initial(s) or a shape or color. Children will not engage in a "that is not mine or that is mine" battle when items are labeled. In your absence, i.e a babysitter, relative, sleepovers, nanny, etc. there is no question as to who uses which toothbrush.
3) Use the 'Pump' toothpaste dispensers when possible. Much easier for a child and less mess for all!
4) Have a specific place for toothbrushes, a mounted holder inside the cabinet or a free standing holder, a drawer with a plastic basket, whatever works for your family.
For countless children's items, labeling has been a huge sanity saver. Develop a labelling system that works for you and your family, i.e. initials, shapes, colors for each child, etc. Something that each child will easily recognize, yet is discreet.
See my previous post on Taming The Laundry Monster for other Sharpie labeling Ideas that include:
1) Label the inside tag of underwear- upon arrival from the store (especially helpful when children are close in size and/or the same gender) Children, or others, such as housekeepers, can fold and put away laundry without asking which child each item belongs to.
2) Label the insides of shoes, not the bottoms. A child can look right inside and slip them on, put them away. (You will also know who left their shoes in the middle of the hallway...nuff said)
Having children of the same gender and close in size, many of their clothing items are the same (see Matchy, Matchy, Matchy post)
3) Label the toes of socks, matching socks is already a nightmare, make it somewhat easier by labling the socks right out of the package. A child can fold a pile of socks, matching the dots on the toes.