I Cannot Wait To Have My Own Bathroom

It's been fifteen years since I've lived in a place with more than one bathroom, and I am so over it.

 

For the past couple of years, Jeff and I have been talking about buying a house and making a plan to save for the down payment. Part of my daydreaming about home ownership involves making lists of all the things I’d like in a house: a 1920s Spanish-style house, original tile work, three bedrooms or two bedrooms and a den, a dishwasher, and central air conditioning (my kingdom for central A/C! )

 

But recently, the item that has moved to the top of my wishlist is this: multiple bathrooms.

 

See, I’ve shared one tiny little bathroom with a significant other and a child for many years. And I am 100% over it. Not only is space limited for my personal care and beauty items, but three people in one bathroom equals more mess and less time in the bathroom for me.

 

 

I wrote previously about my quest to reclaim my bathroom. I fancied it up a bit, put all my favorite products on the top shelf in the shower, and started keeping cleaning products right under the bathroom sink so I can wipe everything down after my 9-year-old comes in from playing outside and washes all the dirt off his hands, leaving mud in the sink (it happens).

 

This all worked pretty well, except I still find myself being interrupted, either when I’m in the middle of a nice hot shower, or if I’m uh, taking care of business. Apparently, all the needs of nine-year-olds are immediate and require a conversation through the bathroom door, no matter how many times you tell them that sharing the funny cat video they just watched is NOT an emergency.

 

Aside from some very basic privacy needs, the other problem I haven’t been able to solve is getting myself ready in the morning. I would need to get up at 5:00 am every day to have enough uninterrupted time in the bathroom to: take a shower, moisturize my skin, dry and style my hair, and “put on my face” as someone’s wacky old aunt might say.

 

I’ve been paying close attention, and half the time, I’m applying my makeup while I stand in front of the full-length mirror in my bedroom. Or adding mascara at the dining room table with a tiny handheld mirror. A couple of times I’ve even brought my mascara to work and applied it at my desk (professional!)

 

It helps that I’ve put my everyday makeup in a little travel bag that I can take from room to room. But man, I am starting to resent the traveling makeup show. 

 

The other day, when my routine was interrupted for the thrid time that morning, I realized that the only time I’ve ever had full, uninterrupted access to my own bathroom was in 1999. That’s right, FIFTEEN YEARS AGO. I was living in a huge townhouse with two roommates, and I was lucky enough to have my very own bathroom. All living situations before and since have involved sharing a bathroom with roommates or family members.

 

I am so ready to have my own bathroom again. Unfortunately, we are stuck with just one shared bathroom for the time being. But when it comes time to look for a house to buy, you can be sure I’ll be counting the bathrooms first thing.