• Toothbrush

The mouth contains maximum germs. When you share a toothbrush, you transfer the germs from one house to the other. Now that's one reason to have a separate toothbrush. The other is to use a brush that suits you.

• Towel

Dr. Joshi Neeta Vijay, a general practitioner, says, "It is proven that infections, such as cold, cough and fever are spread by sharing a towel."

Plus, if you wipe off sweat with a towel and let someone else use it, then you are spreading bacteria. Isn't that good enough reason to get a separate towel?

The easiest way to get your kids to use their respective towels is to buy them a towel with a print of their favourite cartoon character.

• Comb

Has your head been itching a lot these days? Check if someone else is using you comb.

There could be many things that you could pass on, just by using someone's comb. Head lice and dandruff are some of the common hair problems, which are easily spread in families where combs are often shared.

• Soap

This may gross you out, but how will you feel if one morning you go to your bathroom and find a tiny but thick, coarse speck of hair or your soap?

Makes you want to place a 'touch me not sign' on the soap, right? If you are sharing the bathroom with your family members, make sure you don't share your soap.

If you don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, then introduce your family to a shower gel. It will also help avoid the confusion of separate soap bars. But make sure you get separate loofahs, in different colours (for easy identification).

• Creams

Has your skin ever erupted with pimples after using someone else's face cream?

Your skin types might differ from that of your sister or cousin, so sharing creams is not such a good idea.