Lessons Learned From The Great Toilet Paper Shortage of 2020
Is there ever such a thing as too much toilet paper?
Well here’s a picture of just part of NRP’s toilet paper stash. NRP (a regular commenter here on the blog), is a frequent advocate of essential storage of TP!
Apparently, he had so much TP, stacked so high, that while reaching for a new roll… whoops…
All kidding aside, I do believe he has some significant TP stacks!
Note that he, and many other preparedness-minded folks, had already purchased extra supply PRIOR to the onset of the Great 2020 Toilet Paper Shortage. Therefore, these forward-thinking people did not further contribute to the shortage situation.
About one year later, toilet paper is readily back in stock at most every store location. But oh boy was that a different story a year ago!
Lessons Learned from the Great Toilet Paper Shortage
My primary motivation here is to get your input, so we can all share lessons learned. So lets hear from you.
A few thoughts off the top of my head…
When people notice a shortage, pretty much regardless of what it may be, they will instinctively want to get more of it.
Most people are mostly concerned about the uninterrupted ability to wipe their behinds.
As news of lockdowns become more persistent, people rush to get the things they feel they need to get.
All supply chains are tuned to deliver “just enough” for “normal times”.
The ripple effect of manufacturing and production of goods extends wider and longer than most realize.
Panic mentality leads to more panic mentality.
Mainstream News has enormous influence over pubic behavior.
Being prepared is a wise and good thing.
If you think this was a “one and done” event, think again. 2020 proved that we all live on a thin veneer of perceived safety. The fact is the systems around us are often fragile and even stretched… Disruptions can happen fast. Supplies get stripped quickly. And if and when things get back to normal, it can take a long time to backfill inventories.
I’ll bet there are a lot more “preppers” now than before!
[ Read: How Many Rolls Of Toilet Paper Do You Use Every Week? ]
[ Read: Toilet Paper – Everything You Wanted To Know ]
The worst thing for us was seeing my stash go down! It’s nice to be able to add to the supply again, even though I can’t always find the brand my DW likes. I was at Sam’s club over the weekend, and found a HUUUGE pack of TP to help replenish the supply. :)
I take a monthly inventory and for 2 years, calculated monthly usage at 11 rolls per month. So I have 3 months supply on hand right now. At the start of the pandemic I had a little over 4 months supply which was nice. I expect when we fully retire I will need to study this again because our diet and physical activity will change plus we will be more remote. May need to up the on hand level. Right now I just replace whenever I empty a package.
That’s the usage of my household. ,,….1 every 3 days or 10 rolls a month.
Yeah, something about the extra night time visits after the ‘mpause’.
MamaLark,
Yes, as you are home more your needs on paper supplies could double.
I replace when open a package, purchase 2 +2 kinds because of a difference in needs..slowly building above present- getting one that last each family member longer. rather than inventory of roll, keep up with which pks last 2 or 3 months.
. I add an extra months supply for 2 x a year.. counting 14 mos. as 1 yr. This off sets stomach issues and use for tissue or picking up scat/accidents. Easiest way to determine need-monitor use by dating rolls when ppl in home are sick. date inside of roll.
.Soft kinds last 3-5 days. single ply extended rolls often last same user 12-18 days.
Lessons learned-#1 Keep supplies topped off. Having secured items in advance- w could center our purchases on comfort items we wished to top of.- hard candy,
#2, Add items that extend supply of TP and reduce work load.
#3 We added a garden sprayer for JIC -need of portable bidet, will add a second one this spring.
#4 We added more indivdually wrapped feminine products to use for sterile dressings.generics in several absorbencies.
We never ran out of TP. It pays to stock up. What concerned me more than the TP shortage was the meat shortage. The meat coolers were empty for a long time around here. People say I’m crazy because we have 3 deep freezers but we never ran short of anything. I also keep a years supply of coffee, just in case.
Ken,
Nice pictures of NRP’s “short-term stash”. (no pictures of his long-term stash are known, the existance is only verifiable by occasional fluccuations of magnatometer readings on Lightning Point when he is moving it around doing inventory).
One thing we have learned is that stocking bulk goods takes a lot more room than we imagined. I am now looking at wasted space behind short walls in the attic loft as potential storage for many items. we will be buying as we find good prices. Had planned on putting some building supplies away for future use, but lumber has gone through the roof in the West. (7/16″ osb board now at a stunning $37.86 a sheet! that is up by 3X in two years!) Still, i will be gathering “raw” materials so i can build, rather than buy a lot of equipment and farm supplies. (stock up on welding rod/wire, grinder wheels, nails, screws, plasma torch consumables too)
We had plenty of TP, even if the shortage was to go on for 6 months. However, the shortage did encourage me to try the switch to “family cloth” for wiping #1 (hope that’s not TMI). Gave me a chance to practice a preparedness skill, as it were.
Gotta have bleach!
..and extra small buckets, for treating stains./soaking.
Beach or Vinegar to keep the smells down between washing loads.
Has anyone given thought to growing your own reusable “Family Cloths” luffa sponges? Worked well long before the idea of toilet paper or even the Sears Catalogue (remember them?)
Also in lesson learned anybody expecting garden seed shortages or chicks shortages? Seems a LOT more interest in gardens and chickens lately.
NH Michael, Yes. Clerk at local store week or so ago said they got their seeds in early. They expect to run out early like last year and encouraged me to purchase what I needed.
NHM, also scads of peroxide, It kills certain bacteria that bleach will not kill…ie serratia. Food grade peroxide is highly concentrated and would be good choice for this.
..also doubles as a laundry treatment, and increases oxygenation in the blood and to the supply if one knows the dilution to use…
Yes grew up with the catalogues, sale papers and newsprints- next to last was scanning for news items… last use was outhouse. Tp could be purchased but tight incomes for family-meant there was only so much moolah to buy unnecessary things.- with a present supply any extra was un necessary. Already raised desired chicks should be laying in 2 months or less.,have purchased seed,will purchase more for more options..in coming 3 weeks.( couple different things want to add.) Do have plan to add a separate flock of another breed. for hatching
TOJS
Thank you for your knowledge on the Food Grade Peroxide. Many do not realize if it is not being used quick enough as I recall it can be frozen. Should state that was the instructions on the bottle which I had purchased from a health food store.
Lesson – It’s never just one thing. Coming into 2020 off a year of poor harvests. Antifa beating up Portland, OR regularly and spatting with Proud Boys. Tariffs used by guv to force economic change. Then covid and int’l travel shutdown. Then state and local authorities panic and shut down businesses and schools. Wet spring impacts grain harvests again. Virus in China halts manufacturing and shipping. Halts food processing in US. BLM joins anarchists to riot in 220 cities, burning down stores. Everyone stuck at home means more supplies needed there. Shortages of lots of items everywhere. Panic buying. Civil authorities fail to control rampant criminality, empty jails, stop prosecuting most crimes, LEOs retire, so guns and ammo go from scarce to out. Biden shuts down Keystone upsetting oil markets. Polar winter blasts through center of country and spreads east stopping truck traffic. Illegal immigration surges creating more demand in border and destination states. Biden promised a long, dark winter. It may only look like spring. Prep while the preppin’s good.
Well said, AM.
“Mainstream News has enormous influence over pubic behavior.”
Really ? :-) !
<bb
yes, reposting again about the Johnny Carson show back in the ?? days, where he mentioned a toilet paper shortage on his show and the next there was a ‘run’ on TP.
Read comprehensively, Mrs U…:-)
<bb
No problem with TP at our house as we had huge supply. But the question being asked are what are the lessons.
I prepared for different methods of cleaning the bum like you did. There will be more shortages if the COVID shots give half the population with auto-immune diseases, dementia, and death. Over 58 million have taken them now. Worse case scenario.
Stardust,
When that happens- Cleaning the bum will be least of worries.IT will be major as etra people are multipled on households left..Taking in grandchildren or neighbors,nieces and nephews- will become the norm..everyone will be homeschooling whether they want it or not. Anyone who has little ones, need to be prepared with a minimum of 2 years teaching mateial, paper, pencils, workbooks to enforce readng and writing skills.Every “labor field” will be in short supply in areas they have already targeted for distribution, boost the supplys needed to: teach, treat self medically, fight fire, keep your family safe.
NRP mentioned the way to store TP and I am putting that on my agenda. Vac Pac without the cardboard.
There were members of my family that ran out or came close to running out last Spring. They remember now. Ordeals like this mean they will never forget. I remember people talking about being hungry during the Great Depression or coming into this country via refugee camps. They all remember being hungry, not being able to obtain more and vowing that it will never happen to them again. Their determination could be seen in their eyes.
In my home, my wife no longer gives me grief about my messy storage system. ( a work in progress ). She no longer complains about my abundance of materials from canned soup to propane, little buddy heater, headlamps, guns, ammo or reloading supplies. I am not a rich man. Purchasing extra over many decades tends to add up and when the time comes where you have to tap into your accumulated stock, you get minimal warning. ( ie: last months Ice Storm and resultant power outages.)
I purchase supplies much the way NRP/TP King has advocated over the years: If you like it and you see it for sale, do not buy one. Buy multiples if allowed.
Second lesson: From my own experience from decades ago: Put some thought into storage for your recently purchased supplies. ( Can you picture mice coming upon this stash and creating nests and burrows within this TP wonderland?). Decades ago, I lost several hundred dollars worth of freeze dried food to mice due to improper storage on my part. I thought about going out and purchasing a metal garbage can with tight fitting lid for this storage butt I was too cheap back then.
Learn from my mistake and learn from the mistakes of others. In addition to safe storage, put some thought into fire suppression and safety.
Last lesson from me: When planning for the future, take into account the occasional episode of gastric distress, case of food poisoning or simply episodes of recurrent Irritable Bowel Syndrome. S/Sx of flu include puking while sitting on the toilet so plan accordingly. You think you will need amount: “X” based upon past months usage. Have on hand 1.5 to 2x the amount you think you will need for the unexpected.
I would like to take this time in order to remind people to be kind and reasonable with the store managers when we make our purchases. i saw many actively arguing with store managers last spring when they were out purchasing supplies. I try not to “burn” my suppliers because I know it is not always their fault. They may be taking orders from higher up the pay grade. By being a good customer, following the purchase limit and paying without creation of a scene, I can maintain being the gray man and leave quickly.
Last Spring, I was rewarded for this behavior by my local pharmacy when I was purchasing my usual 2 boxes of facial tissue for my hay fever. ( store limit of 2 boxes ) I was obviously suffering/ sniffling beneath my mask with red eyes and antihistamines in my basket. The store manager told me to go get myself 2 more boxes of facial tissue. That small store has me as a customer for life now.
Calirefugee,
well said. I can’t stress on shopping local from time to time, even if it is more expensive. I like to make purchases at hardware store at a little town near us, and have gotten to know the owner’s son. Once they know you as a local, and someone that patronizes their place often, you get treated like family. There have been times they could get items through their suppliers when i could not get them through a big box store.
There were and are shortages of many things. As I found, sewing machine needles could not be found for months. Thread and many types of cloth, gone. Cleaning supplies, Ham radios, batteries, seeds, canned meats of all types, bread, eggs, ammo… Make a list of all the items that went missing off the shelves and what you think you might need and stock them, stock them as deep as you can.
supplies to repair anything you have ability or need. Velcro, safety pins of several types, thread, scissors in multiples… Medical supplies, sterile cleaned packed in double wrappers..clearly labeled… as many as you can afford. If you do not have knowledge they can be traded for care by someone who knows. Alternates for standard cleaners. baking soda, borax,
Birth control items.men and womens
Last year was a good dry run to see where holes in preps were. We had plenty of TP, and had plan B and C, as well. Different colored cloth for each family member, bleach, laundry line, buckets for sorting, were all on hand just in case. I appreciated what Calirefugee said about storage for preps. It’s as important a consideration as supplies, ’cause if the rodents get them, you don’t!
We’re focusing on next level preparedness: gathering materials that will generate on-going self-sufficiency. Tools to build things, harvest/process materials from the land, permaculture projects. We’ll still utilize the stores while they’re open, but are putting more resources in to things that build resiliency.
Metal trash cans are a very good storage item! Need to get some more of those.
I am able to get metal 55 gallon food grade drums. I got them from the plant that fills up those half gallon cartons of fruit punch/other flavor drinks you see by the milk coolers. It holds concentrated juice. They sell them for ten bucks. They have a lid and the ring too. Great for rodent control and hold alot of supplies.
Might be worth looking into it if there is a filling plant near you. They seem to be happy to get them out of their yard…
Bill Jenkins Horse,
Thank you for that tip! I will see if I can find those in my area. Lots of livestock feed of various types is necessitating a need for better storage. This would be a good solution. Last time I bought metal garbage cans w/ tight fitting lids it was $23.00 each. Kind of spendy!
Farmgirl, Recent video over on the pig blog shows them using old chest freezer for feed. Could probably do same with old fridge laid on its back. Guy here in town gives them away now that scrap metal prices have tanked.
Anony Mee,—That’s a really good idea. I’ll keep my eyes open.
Just watch them. Mom and Dad used one for a “root cellar” for years, but didn’t notice when the back rusted out and gophers got in.
Calirefugee,
That might explain the UFO reports coming out of NM. As far as i know, only the above ground stuff can be seen from the NRO satellites. Below ground stashes only detected by magnatometer.
Some observations on the great T P shortage of 2020 .
How fragile the supply system is as stores rapidly run out of supplies of all types.
That there were food and supply rationing in the once richest and greatest country on the planet.
People had no idea how much products they consumed over a few months time.
How thin that first outer veneer of civility really is on civilized people.
Time will tell us how many really learned any lessons from year 2020.
We were prepared to get along just fine during that TP shortage. Because we are seniors, we were allowed to shop early hours in the stores & often bought the limited supplies which were restricted & in high demand, like TP, disinfecting wipes, Lysol, even though we did not need them. …BUT we would take those things by our church or to homebound folks who were in need.
The recent freeze in Texas was more critical for us because family stayed @ our house for the week since we had both electricity & water. They came w/ their suitcases & electronics & no extra food or TP! They treated us to a meal after the event was over & marveled that we were so prepared for everything. Hopefully, that week lit a little fire under their butts about their own lack of preparedness. I answered most of their questions but declined showing them all of our preps.
Those pictures are just heavenly, ain’t they, NRP?
Joe c:
Actually…….that’s kinda lite.
“Is 600 rolls really enough?”
BTW screw “heavenly” we’er talking FACT here old man.
Old man?
You only wish you were as young as I.
…and that’s old.
Wishing I was younger
Lol
Just purchased a bidet toilet seat for the next shortage. Only good if water continues to flow so it will not work after an earthquake. These are the norm in Japan. Haven’t installed yet but its on hot stand by.
Will be revisiting this Article tomorrow BEFORE 2 Martinis.
This is NOT about TP.
Butt the entire world we now live in.
Just wait till Fuel is $5 a gallon…
Think it’s not coming, you need to talk to the producers I know.
$5 a gallon? That will be cheap once Hyper-inflation arrives. Only a matter of time due to the never ending quantitative easing and the decline of the Petro dollar. One will be able to use the dollar as toilet paper.
– Just as an aside, dollar bills make terrible toilet paper. That’s the only thing I know of worse than the ‘John Wayne” toilet paper we use to get in Mostly Repulsive Eats. ( You know, ‘Rough, tough and doesn’t take cr*p off of anybody! LOL)
– Papa S.
We also never ran out of TP due to inventory on-hand and my buying on each store visit before supplies started drying up and the panic set in. Same with meats, canned goods, gloves, masks, OTC meds, disinfectants and anti-virals. Thankfully, most of us here were well ahead of the curve.
The only problem with this is that DH commented a few months ago that the shortages were not as bad as everyone was talking about because we never ran out of anything ourselves. I had to have a chat with him about why we did not run out – it was certainly not due to luck, or the stores having plentiful supplies last year. He really believed no one ran out of anything because we didn’t. I obviously made it waaaay too comfortable. It’s plain to see who does the grocery shopping in our household. Sigh.
Sadly, several friends and family members are falling back into their normalcy bias as many items are returning to grocery shelves. Most people seem to figure that was a one-off and feel better believing things are almost back to “normal”.
So Cal Gal,
Sadly ,your last paragraph seems to be happening all around. We have noticed so many people have pretty short memories from only 6 months ago.
First thing … it validated the preparedness mindset of procuring supplies long before an emergency or shortages occur.
Second, the expected crazy behavior (oftentimes dangerous) of a large percentage of the population under stress and panic during a real or imagined emergency.
Third, the safest place for you and your family is at home during a nationwide emergency. Made easier/less stressful if you have at least a few weeks of the basics .Obviously more is preferable.
Finally, having the discipline to hold on to some cash to take advantage of good deals when you come across them in stores. Ken, NRP, many others have posted many times on how much is enough to see you through. That was good advice then and definitely good advice now…
A late friend worked at our little grocery store and said they were mobbed by downstate people grabbing everything they could , they cleaned out the tp and everything else , meat , canned goods and bakery goods , did the same at the dollar store I heard . Some drove three or four hours to get here now mind you alot of old folks in that town dont drive and are low income , they depend on that store and they were hit the hardest . So much for your fellow man ! Fear turns people into animals , the start of news outlets controlling the publics action at its finest !
I bought in February before the Great TP Shortage of 2020. I also bought the last eight N-95 masks in town at the same time. This enabled me to supply my lids when there was none to be found.
Predicting what will run out next is proving difficult. There are some things I am certain will be in short supply in 2021 and some I am not sure about. I now basically have a grocery store in my garage. Shopping trips are mostly to replenish what we use. I plan on increasing the shelf space in my grocery store this year. I need space for grain storage.
I bought my tp stash over the last three years, when the mask stupidity started I picked up more than 30 N95 masks, never used any, i get my masks free from the local big stores one at a time.
The one cloth mask I have, found in a parking lot drainage puddle, rinsed and used minutes later.
-TP was not a problem; where I found the holes in my own preps were reloading supplies (primers way too low, and not looking like any more showing up soon). Mostly a case of not keeping a close eye on levels, my own normalcy bias. I have enough, just no extra.
Still restocking from our ‘polar vortex’ incident, making sure I have over-priced gasoline on hand. Also trying to adjust to change in income after retiring early (only age 67) due to Covid. I need to get out and put the truck and chainsaw to use. Wood is available, just not in my wood racks.
In general, doing well here. Trying to see what the next shortage coming down the line is, and how to deal with it before it gets here.
– Papa S.
Reading some of the comments that are posted i think a good article would be what are the next items that might come up short in your area. I would like to know what other people are thinking so i can look at my preps and see if i should have a concern.
FactFinder, This is going to sound like a flippant answer, but it isn’t.—Inside of a year, everything useful is probably going to be difficult or very expensive to acquire. That’s my take, anyway.—A useful exercise is to mentally ‘live’ through the year, taking into account every project you have planned, all physical needs, and include maintenance of tools/machines/appliances. Make a list from that and make sure you have what you need to last a good long time.—Make sure you have several ways to accomplish vital tasks, so if one way won’t work, you have another waiting to implement. Example would be multiple ways of cooking, using multiple fuel sources – propane/firewood/solar. Redundancy is desirable; and the less complex the systems you set up, the better. Just my two cents.
farmgirl
Thats what i have been doing, going thru and buying the items i used the most last year and build my supplies, Going to yard sales and flea markets to find deals on somethings that i think will be short supple.
FactFinder,—Yard sales, estate sales, flea markets, pawn shops and even antique stores are great resources. It’s amazing what people get rid of! One man’s junk, and all that. —I’ve noticed shortages around some fencing supplies and hardware; certain kinds of wire, like what’s used to make welded wire hog/cattle panels, are in short supply according to my local feed store owner. —And the usual suspects when people get antsy about food prices – seeds and chicks, and everything related.—It’s already been mentioned, and Ice Age Farmer has some good vids about this, but grains for people and animals are likely to get even more expensive. It would be a good idea to stock up on both, and be ready with a backup feed/dietary flexibility should they be hard to come by. I’m planning to have more root crops than usual this year, and grow things chickens can eat like black oil sunflowers, and maybe some flax if I can find room for it. I have mangel seed – a root crop used by early homesteaders and European ancestors to supplement livestock feed in the winter months. Backups and more backups!
Found something today that made me laugh. I was in a thrift store and it looked like they had some really old cast iron so I went over to look.
They all had WOOD handles! While it may have been old, it obviously wasn’t meant to be used for anything other than decoration.
I can tell you replacement parts for vehicles like upper arm and ball joints. Still waiting. Also having some body work done on our 9 yr old truck…our body guy said we got two of the last 10 rocker panels in the US. Not having tires available delayed availability of Pioneer 1000 side by sides hitting the sales rooms. Had a hard time finding hog panels.
Guy I know ordered new boots, redwings back in late september and he paid in advance.
They still are not in today when we checked 3/9/21
Store people decided to reorder.
This entire TP thing, was not a real but an artificial shortage that resulted from hoarding and a fantastic one at that.
I bought mine more than a year prior and didn’t need any of it.
What I learned, get it while you can.
That phrase “buy it cheap, stack it deep”
When the gas price dropped to $1 I was telling people to fill everything up.
I have no clue if anyone listened but I did it.
Now I see $4 gas in the near future and possibly $5. I’ll have to stop
visiting family and friends.
America last policy with thousands flooding in daily.
Just take in what you see daily and use that info, look ahead to what might happen, enough here do that already and as easy as it is most refuse to even try.
The sad thing is that those who bought ahead are considered “hoarders” by those who didn’t even have a week’s worth and scream bloody murder because they can’t get what they think they deserve!
What is your approach to helping family members who have not prepped?
family members is a dangerous slope to go down with prepping and OPSEC, if they are not like minded and working on their preps, do you allow them to know about yours or when something happens like hurricane how much do you help or are they just using up all your preps and not contributing to the cause. Im lucky enought that my family is all like minded so we help each other out. I would think some people would have to make hard decisions when it comes to family members showing up unprepared. I have allways tried to help people out by teaching them something that would them out in bad situtations. but never show my preps or offer to give them supplys for them to get by,
Yes, this very difficult. I’ve advised some family members on specific preps, showing them some of what we have as examples. Unfortunately, they are don’t see the threats as credible, and they do not have any sense of urgency to even start prepping. One elderly member has basically decided that everyone else around her will be taking care of her. I hope my wife & I never find ourselves in a situation when we need to use our preps.
Last Stand
Did you ask the elderly person WHY they thought they should be taken care of?
Not being rude or snide but, they need a better answer than that. In a firm manner tell them that bit of news. Place them outside their comfort zone, an let them know only those who prepare are not seen as a burden.
Sorry there is no gentle way to put this on the table-tough prepare love.
Basically, a sense of entitlement, no matter the cost to the others around her. It’s a simple as that.
Last Stand
Will take this over to Open Forum because of the topic you wish to discuss.
Thank you.
I had plenty of TP before The Great Toilet Paper Shortage (TGTPS). Thanks to some really unfortunate timing, my freezer was near empty. While I had food, it wasn’t the “meals” we were used to. Obviously if things were really bad, we would have eaten what we had and been grateful.
I have learned that even if a product was available one week, it didn’t mean it would be available the following week.
At the height of the TP craziness I made a trip to Home Depot to acquire some electrical supplies. They had a huge amount of TP for sale. One package per customer. It was White cloud 2 ply 400 sheet 12 pack. If memory serves it was $12or $13 a package. Just about everyone had a package on their cart or wagon.
I’m thinking it was like 6 weeks before I went back to replenish exterior screws that had been used up on a project. Right by the door was a huge display of the same TP. But now it was $5 a package and they had alot of it. No limit either. They were in a a clear bag with 6 12 packs. So I bought 4. Spent a little over $120 for 288 rolls of pretty hefty TP.
The reason I am mentioning it is NO ONE WAS BUYING IT AT DISCOUNT!!
I didn’t see anyone with even one package. You would think that people would of bought some “just in case” but that was not the case. I didn’t go there to buy it but I wasn’t gonna pass it up. Talking about buying 55 gallon drums reminded me of it because I have it stored in a drum. Calirefugee reminded me to check on it in one of his posts. That’s why it’s important to take some cash with you when you’re out to take advantage of deals you come across…
Using normal usage figures before lockdown underestimated use as it was based on Work and School hours, which in a SHTF situation is replaced with Bugging in. New estimates are now needed and has increased the amount by about 50%
TP was about the only thing we were short on when the Plandemic Panic started. I started seeing stories on line about the Great TP Run, and told my wife to make a Costco trip. I told her to get TP, and anything else she could think of; especially in the food department. We were OK with food, but more is always better. By the time the masses had started saying “HEY; what about FOOD???” we were there and gone.
The Plandemic was a wakeup call for some. For us, it was more a “dry run,” and showed us the holes in our preps.
…I don’t see us running out of paper products anytime soon…
Tom, first to know first to act. Good to hear it…
My dil got an e-mail that said “lettuce is the new TP”. To explain, she is a scout leader & Scouts Canada had a deal with a seed co. which people could order groups of seeds & part of the price went back to the scout troop. One of the groups had lettuce but lettuce was flying out so fast this year that the co. ran out so they have had to substitute something else for the later orders. Nice to know lots of people are still planting gardens this year & that it wasn’t just a 1 year blip.
canadagirl
That reminds me of a time I had to go while hiking in the country and used Mullein leaves growing in a weed patch. First year’s bi annual leaves are the softest, fuzziest, crap grapping substitute you can use.
Better known as Cowboy TP. So you can tell ’em to move along little doggies, we’re bringing up the rear!
Stardust, an old man with just an outhouse kept a tub of ball moss as backup. He said you can run out of paper and corn cob’s don’t decompose well, but you never run out of ball moss, at least not in South Texas!
TXDAN,
Half my yard is moss way up north here. Never run out of it either! And for those who have hemorrhoids, crushed wintergreen to add to it to sooth and numb the rhoids or cure the itchy butt. You got that down there? …I mean itchy butt? lol
First thing that comes to mind..
Y’all need to thank GOD Ken did not use that photo of me sitting on the “Thorn” HAHAHA
Ok, Personally I did not know there was a TP shortage, or really anything else in short supply, Is that not why one “prepares”? I do remember seeing HUGE lines at stores all over town, but phhhhh Not my problem.
I will admit I did visit a local Safeway Store to pick up some odds & ends. but looked at the line and drove off, A Line at a Safeway store in Po-Dunk-Egypt? Really? Sheeeesh
Butt back to reality for a minute, Shortages are NOT over by any means, sure there is “Stuff” in the stores, butt the warehouses are totally empty, do some research. JIT Inventory is running full speed, and prices are starting to skyrocket on just about everything. Seriously, look at the price of Fuel. Do you really think the “stores” and everyone involved in getting you goods are going to eat that cost?
My Opinion, Ya had better get your butt down and get supplied on things you need… NOW, do NOT put yourself into debt to do so, get what you can…
AND as far as my TP “allowance”, nooo you can not see it from Space. Nor is it disrupting the balance of the Earths rotation LOLOL
They are all stories that are not verified…… yet.
I do want to add, the saying I use “Is 600 rolls really enough?” is not really totally about Toilet Paper.
Use that thinking on any/everything you will need in a “Lessons Learned From The Great Toilet Paper Shortage of 2020″This “thing” is far FAR from over.
FYI, Diesel went up $o.40 overnight last night here, up almost a full buck in the last 20 days…..
And you thought the Shortages are over???? Really?
If so I have some TP for sale, $35.99 per roll…… Unused HAHAHAHA
Hmm, I think that you could be in denial. Would be heck to pay if they figured out all the plate shifting going on was due to the imbalance caused by your tp stash. : )
aka:
It’s always been questioned why the Earth’s Axis is not “straight Up and Down” as to the position of the Sun…..
I keep telling ya all, I been doing this stuff for a very long time HAHAHA
NRP & Blue,
Well, many have had your place pegged for years. Your area has been tagged as one of the highest “fugative methane” areas in the nation.Seems to me that would go right along with a huge TP stash.LOL. As for shortages… it is going to get real interesting. Hide and watch.
minerjim:
You are more right that you probably know…
San Juan Basin, aka Four Corners, sits on one of the largest Nat-Gas deposits in the world.
LOT’S of Methane around here for sure.
I just try to be ready for the after math LOL
NRP,
Oh, I know. Coal bed methane. Used to work for Big oil company that had all that area until a few years. Always wondered about those anomalies we’d see on the geophysical logs centered around Lightning Point, now I know, …I know.lol.
Never a problem. We stayed out of the fray. We keep a decent supply on hand.
I was uh… lucky? I ended up “panic” buying before the pandemic because the brand I normally buy was not going to be produced the same way anymore. So I bought enough of that brand until I could force myself to adapt to another lol.
Unfortunately, I don’t think many people learned their lesson from that experience.
GTPS2020 resulted in my company’s office being inundated by donations of TP, gloves, masks, and hand sanitizer from people who had buyers remorse. Why not just hold onto what they bought and use it?
But nope. It’ll never happen again, no need for all this…