I knew it was going to happen. I knew I would mess it up. I knew because I know myself so well. And really that’s it – I was the only one there was to blame. The only one not paying attention. Just me.
I make a lot of our home cleaning and body products. I don’t like ingredient lists that read like an upper-level chemistry text book and I’m cheap. There I said it. I’m cheap. So hunting down truly natural toothpaste or deodorant just isn’t super appealing to me in this season when I can just make it. So I do.
The problem of course is that the people who come up with the recipes don’t want to overwhelm people who are braving these things for the first time and so the quantities are all vaguely similar. And look similar. And all need to be stored in glass jars.
I try to differentiate with different lids, different types of jars, different essential oils. But at the end of the day, my bathroom cabinet looks like a cupboard of jars that all hold basically the same thing in some sort of weird science experiment.
Enter a problem that I can’t be alone in but I know belongs to a sub-group of the population: sometimes I mix up my tooth paste and deodorant.
99% of the time, I notice the different lid, the texture on the jar, or even the scent.
And there’s the 1% of the time that I am in go-mode and I whip open the jar of toothpaste and apply liberally to my arm pit.
There, I said it.
Hi, I’m Leah. And I used my toothpaste as deodorant.
Now I want you to know that with the exception of one ingredient, my toothpaste and deodorant are structurally the same. I also want you to know that I didn’t add sweetener to my toothpaste so there was no stickiness. I also really like orange essential oil and I just got some so my deodorant and toothpaste both have it.
I also want you to know that I noticed before armpit #2 and washed it off.
But then I thought, man, I cannot be the only one these things happen to, right? (Please, don’t let these things only happen to me then I tell the entire interwebs like duhh, I’m a dork fish.)
So here’s your chance to share your story – if you make your own stuff, or if you’re busy in the mornings, or you do things with eyeballs half closed – and you’ve even mixed up two things, I would love to hear about it. I’ll, I’m sure, make more blunders and add to this post as I do. What’s the good of having ridiculous toothpaste/armpit stories if you can’t share them with your friends?
Imagine it’s you and me and a cup of (warm beverage of your choice) coffee sitting around my kitchen table whilst the kids dump out every. single. drawer. full of toys in the toy room and that we are laughing so hard that someone (me) shoots coffee out of her nose. That’s what this will be like.
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*Creative Commons Attribution for Jar Photo to https://www.flickr.com/photos/nanpalmero/14698362413/in/photolist-ooQX4B-bq8sGm-bbT1Vc-jjWZeK-6pLHyj-nLD6Da-qGtJUb-k3XwjP-a6YNUw-hNiJf9-4qhfDg-ou6vHc-98kg32-bUNudZ-bdLMQH-6vDbds-jsQcTt-bq4MGe-q1LAM5-7VTFTh-piXmox-ahu46V-pDMS2f-4tUBQt-4PWZiU-auMxRy-pdiH4d-bhrmSx-96JkyT-r86gKG-bsfKRA-uTzBJ-3sajjZ-jTR8BR-kRNtUd-jCg1Cg-qN1kAc-a5uKoK-oo7fC1-2YKgJw-8sCTqY-4EuBUu-4eGDaL-zjfSQ-j1XvHh-jPc2t7-2ddFJ-838DFC-a6VXye-85F9Jg
Leona says
I’ve just gotten into the DIY world so it hasn’t happened yet, but I’ll keep you posted. But if you put bentonite clay into your deodorant I guarantee you will pause before putting it on your toothbrush. It makes it a gray green. 😀
Leah says
Leona – I do use bentonite clay in my toothpaste and deodorant. It makes it less white but not gray for me, at least not in the quantities I used. *shrugs*
Kendra says
Does it count that (somehow) deodorant has gotten under my fingernail and then chewed on said fingernail…..
Leah says
Kendra, girl, happens to me all the time. This is why I keep my nails short. -Leah
Leslie says
I have carried our toy cellphone all day on more than one occasion, mistaking it for mine. Must have secretly liked the peace and quiet of a phone-silent world!
Leah says
Leslie, That is AWESOME! I bet those days were delightful! My kids once got a floor model of a cell phone from Best Buy just to play with. I think the only reason I never carried it around by mistake is because it’s WAY nicer than my actual phone. HA -Leah