It�s easy to assume that everyone else brushes their teeth, ties their shoelaces and washes their cat the same way you do. But here in the land of the free, we are free to disagree.

Many people position the toilet paper so that it goes against the wall. I don�t.

I know one family who thinks "room temperature" means 55 - 60 degrees. I don�t.

My parents arrive at airports hours in advance of departing (or arriving) flights. I don�t.

Yet the world doesn�t fall apart when you do something in a way that differs from mine. And vice versa.

You might be the kind of person who recalls the exact cost of a can of corn bought at Hannaford�s last week. Whereas I can�t remember from aisle to aisle how much things cost. Even when I�m carefully counting my pennies, wondering if I have enough money to buy something, the price of the borderline item is usually out of my brain by the time I get home.

I don�t use coupons. I don�t have the time or patience to clip, file and keep track of expiration dates. Besides, the money I might save would probably be eaten up by the armloads of unnecessary stuff I�d bring home. My house is already too cluttered for that.

Do you know that there are people who round every entry in their checkbook and never worry about balancing it? Although I�ve closed more than one account because things were hopelessly out of whack, I�ve never dared to be that cavalier with numbers. It seems rebellious�like refusing to play by the rules. (Sounds tempting.)

Are you the person who goes around turning lights on in the house? Or the person turning them off?

Some people think soda is flat when carbonation goes below volcanic levels, but I recently heard about someone who shakes his two-liter bottles and slowly vents the carbonation until it�s flatter than water. I�m more flexible when it comes to bubbles, but I avoid drinking from my husband�s glass of soda in because usually watered down from the amount of ice he puts in. Even in winter. It makes my teeth chatter to think about it.

Of course, he had to endure catsup stored in the refrigerator for many years.

Not even Emily Post tackles this question: do you put the salt in the shaker with bigger holes, or the pepper? Unless your shakers have holes in "S" and "P" designs, it seems to come down to personal preference of which you want to come out faster. For me, that�s the pepper.

I have a friend who prefers to store her cups and glasses upright in the cupboard. I put mine with the rim down. After years of reaching for glasses in her apartments this difference finally dawned on me when I helped her move and volunteered to put glasses away in the new place.

Speaking of glasses, never leave an empty one unattended in my mother�s house; if you walk away it might be in the dishwasher by the time you get back.

We once rented a townhouse from a woman who expected us to squeegee the fiberglass shower each day. Granted, she was trying to sell the condo and hoped we�d keep it spotless in case prospective buyers came along, but there are limits to the tenant-landlord relationship. She once noted that we weren�t keeping the microwave oven perfectly clean. We eventually explained, nicely, that she would get the property back in the condition she gave it to us.

Out on the road, I�m frustrated by drivers who stay in the middle lane, no matter the traffic conditions. Still, I�ll never understand those impatient drivers who comes up close on another car�s bumper, even though they�ve seen the other car for a mile or more.

I routinely leave caps off pens, yet I�m the person who always makes sure the copier lid is down.

Like many women, I take points off for men who leave the seat up.

I rarely read directions thoroughly, just scan them and plunge in, confident that I can refer to the diagrams for guidance. The text is just there if I run into trouble.

We all have our quirks. Our habits. Our accustomed ways of doing things. I�ll accept yours, if you accept mine.

On the Bright Side appears every other week in The Post-Star.