Powder room etiquette: How to avoid a potty foul

Since I started college, I've been exposed to the concept of a co-ed dorm. This entails that boys and girls sleep in separate rooms, but share the common room, the laundry facilities, and more importantly, the bathroom. I myself live in an all-girls dorm in Maple, so I don't have this exact situation: I have something much worse.

See, girls take the time to shower and use the toilet and do everything else they need to do. I should know because I do as well; once I get in the bath­room, you won't see me for half an hour, maybe less, on a good day. Many of us have 8:00 a.m. classes, so one can only imag­ine the rush to the bathroom at 7:00 in the morning. We take our time in the bathroom, one girl at a time, usually not more than half an hour, but still long enough to keep one waiting impatiently to brush her teeth or take a shower.

Now I know I'm only a mere freshman and I have much to learn about sharing a bathroom with how ever many people who are living on the floor, but I have come up with sugges­tions so one can get ready in the morning and still make it to class on time. For example, instead of showering an hour before classes begin, take a shower the night before. At night, nobody's in a huge rush to use the bathroom and you can take your time without being pressed for time. In do­ing so, you save yourself the trouble of rushing to get ready and you allow other people to use the bathroom more ef­ficiently in the morning.

Another way of saving time is to wake up earlier than you normally would. I know this is a pain, but getting up five or 10 minutes before you nor­mally do makes more of a dif­ference than one would think. How long does it take to brush your teeth or use the toilet or wash your face? Not long at all. In those 10 minutes, you can get all of that done instead of waiting 30 minutes for someone to exit the bathroom. If you don't want to wake up earlier than you normally do or don't want to shower at night, you can also try using a differ­ent bathroom. Go to a differ­ent floor in the morning and see if it's available for your own usage. Hopefully, these small tips can help you can avoid a huge problem and start the day stress-free.