..local disasters}preparedness}

[MarkP]

I believe that a 500 sheet roll lasts me longer than a month. I'm a folder not a wadder and I make a little go a long way. I won't go into the details but careful folding is involved. It is true that I bought a 45 roll pack at Costco over a year ago and I am almost halfway through it (14 rolls). Give or take, that is a roll a month.

Perhaps I am overly meticulous but only if TP availability is a trivial issue. If it is not, like if people rush out to stock up when they hear a storm is coming, that means they are modifying their behavior because of resource scarcity. They could also alter their behavior to make the same resource go further.

I am open to the possibility that my calculations are off and that my circumstances are different from others. I'm not trying to get into an argument. It just seems that TP should be a non-issue and that since it is one of those things held up as an example of what people rush out to buy when a storm approaches, it is representative of poor planning.

[jackson]

Way, way TMI

[MarkP]

Yeah, I can see that now. I just like a good debate and sort of get carried away. Anyway I guess I am sort of a freak both because of how little TP I use and because I am obviously willing to dedicate, well, any time to researching this.

I keep reading on the internet that the average american uses 57 sheets per day. That seems huge to me. Granted if I have a runny nose I would use more but on a normal day.... The other thing is that 57 sheets is the only number I read and I see it frequently. That means it is only one person's estimate but it is being repeated as though it is absolute universal truth. I also read that the British use the most of any country with Americans second. The Brits use 25 times as much as the Ukrainians supposedly and 2.5 times as much as Europeans in general. Now it might be fun to imply that the Ukrainians are dirty but I don't think that is necessarily so. TP is probably proportionately more expensive for them so they use it carefully. The topic was about disaster preparedness and under such conditions we must reassess the value of certain things.

I sometimes read about people who want to go off grid and start by saying that since their HELCO bill shows they use 15 kwh per day they ask how big a solar system they need to provide this. Well to truly succeed the first thing they must do is reassess how much power they really need so their power bill is not so relevant, based as it is on low cost and unlimited availability. Same with the TP. When I bought the 45 roll package it was so I could have a large supply to throw out the window of a glider and chase it as it streamed downward. I didn't even factor those rolls into my calculations. My bad although I think I had a few rolls on hand to start with so it probably averaged out. My point though is that almost all typical calculations of use reflect pre-SHTF availability and this is true for all commodities. I just happen to live like a doomer hermit already.