Do you put your hand soap near your right or left faucets?

United States
August 3, 2007 1:22pm CST
Whenever I am washing my hands in the bathroom or kitchen, my first instinct is to reach to my right for the soap. Perhaps it's because I am right handed or that is the way I have always done things. For that reason, I keep my hand soap to the right of my bathroom faucets. It's easy to reach and I don't have to put special thought or effort into washing my hands. But, for some reason, I've chosen to make things difficult for myself elsewhere in the house. In my kitchen, the dish soap and hand soap are always located to the left, so that I have to reach across the faucets to get to what I need. Today I made the bold decision to relocate everything I use to the right for future use. Of course it won't save much time or effort. But, at this point even five seconds time saved is an extra five seconds free time I can spend sitting down. So, how about you? When you are washing your hands at home or in a public restroom, do you naturally reach to the right or left to locate the soap? When you are at home, do you put your soap near the cold water faucet or the hot water faucet?
3 people like this
16 responses
@jolenegreen (1209)
• United States
3 Aug 07
LOL. Funny that you asked this because earlier this morning I yelled at hbby for moving the soap dispenser. I ALWAYS put it to my right and for some reason he always moves it to the left. weirdo. He is right handed like I am too so I dont know why he is moving it. When I asked him he didnt have an answer
2 people like this
• United States
3 Aug 07
I'm right handed, so I don't know why I want things to be to my right! I guess it's just the way my brain is wired. I am super picky about this kind of minutia. Can you tell? LOL!
@carlaabt (3504)
• United States
3 Aug 07
I have the soap on the left side of the sink in both bathrooms and in the kitchen. But at the last house, we had the soap on the right side in the bathroom. The reason it was on the right side at that house was because there was a built in toothbrush holder on the left side, so there wasn't room for the soap bottles. I'm not sure why we put the soap on the left side here. My husband and I both just naturally go that way to get soap I guess. Because even if I move it, I always put it back in the same spot.
1 person likes this
• United States
5 Aug 07
Some habits are definitely hard to break, that is for sure. The day I posted this, I moved my dish detergent and soaps to the right of my kitchen sink faucets, but now they are back in place. Can you believe that? Now, that's a tough habit. I will have to move them again.
• India
4 Aug 07
well..i am right handed too however i keep the soap towards the left hand side..i reach for it with my right hand though...
@tinybop (113)
• United States
4 Aug 07
My soaps are always located to the left, I am right handed but it just feels natural to go left for soap.
• Sweden
4 Aug 07
Right ofc!
4 Aug 07
In my home, the hot water faucet is on the left and the cold is on the right. Since everyone in our household is right handed, the soap/ soap dispenser is normally put to the right but in one of our bathrooms, we place it in between the two faucets. It's closer to the cold water faucet which is normally used most when washing hands - well I don't tend to use the hot water faucet to wash my hands. I naturally reach towards the right and I also think that in most public toilets, the soap is placed on the right?
• Pakistan
4 Aug 07
yes i do this because soap is the essential thing of today man ... ic ant live without it ammm
@AmbiePam (85417)
• United States
3 Aug 07
You know, I never thought about it, but I place my soap differently in the two places they are. By my kitchen sink, I place the soap on the right side, but the cold water knob. I am right handed. But in my bathroom, I place the soap on the left side, by the hot water knob. In the shower, I'm not sure. I just put it wherever nothing else is. LOL
@maddysmommy (16230)
• United States
3 Aug 07
Funny you ask this but I put all my soaps and dishes to the left only because there is more room there on our basin. Weird but true. Even on the kitchen sink the washing liquid is on the left LOL funny since I am right handed LOL
@raychill (6525)
• United States
3 Aug 07
My soap in the bathroom is on the right...because my toothbrush is on the left. The electric socket is on the left and my toothbrush is a rechargeable one. The soap in the kitchen is usually on the left because I put the sponges/rags on the right. I've always done that. Not sure why.
• Australia
3 Aug 07
i tend to use both sides, if i clean the sink everything gets swapped to the other side, this must be my gemini nature so one day its on the left the next day its on the right. this confuses my children they often go for the soap and or toothpaste only to find its on the otherside because mummy has cleaned up
@amyann16 (414)
• United States
3 Aug 07
You know, I've never thought about this before.... All of the soaps in our house (we use liquid soaps) are on the left hand side. I've never really noticed it to be a pain or anything, we are all right handed. Now I may be paying attention to it the next time I wash my hands!! :)
• Canada
3 Aug 07
I reach for the left side for soap. It is odd how some things have become custom in society. Perhaps I will switch sides just to make someone annoyed with me :P...
@TawnyJo (131)
• United States
3 Aug 07
I have my soap on the left. I'm not really sure why. I'm right-handed. Maybe because my toothbrush is on the right? I really don't know.
@sunshine4 (8703)
• United States
3 Aug 07
I have 3 bathrooms in my house. In two of the bathrooms I put the soap on the right side of the sink. In the 3rd bathroom, there are 2 sinks and the soap is in the middle. At the kitchen sink I have dishsoap and handsoap both on the left. I bet the placement of soap actually means something about our personalities.
• United States
3 Aug 07
I always go to the left. All of my soaps are placed to the left at all of my sinks at home. I think I do this because I am right handed and I was a bowler for many years. When you bowl, you have to use your opposite hand for everything such as drinks, food, whatever might make your fingers stick or slip in your ball.