Dirty Toothpicks

Once upon a time, when I was a little girl, my mom dropped a container of Party Picks all over the floor.

My mother does not waste a thing. She rinses out plastic sandwich bags with soap and water, and she saves foil for re-use. Plastic cups and silverware could last for decades. (I think we may still have a spoon from a Baskin Robbins that went out of business when I was in middle school).

So, keeping with this tradition of conservation, she picked up the multi-colored toothpicks and put them back into the container, which she labeled "Dirty Toothpicks."

This container was not kept with the other craft items. It was kept in the kitchen cabinet along with clean toothpicks (always just plain wooden), ibuprofen, cupcake liners, and a nut grinder.

In my mind, colorful toothpicks will forever remain "Dirty Toothpicks."