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Keep your enemies close, and your TP closer.
Movotti
Posts: 7,774 Member
Toilet paper hoarding has begun again.
I don't get it. Why are people so afraid of running out? Don't they wash?
I don't get it. Why are people so afraid of running out? Don't they wash?
2
Comments
because it is the sheep mentality, got to follow the Mob or you might miss out.
I don't get it either
But admit not needing TP here and get stared at in horror! xD
Let's make Liberty and Justice For All a reality.
*Kinda sorry but I'm frustrated of so many putting others down and making fun of them. I guess I get a bit triggered on this attitude stuff. Can you not actually see why some would do this? Are we not able to sympathize with it?
I find it to be a very odd item to be hoarding if one plans to"bunker down". Wouldn't food be a more important thing to stock up on? Without enough food, you'll have very little need for toilet paper.
Early on in our first round of lockdowns, I sacrificed an old towel, to make extra wash cloths, just in case the shortages went on for months. I am not afraid of washing my own backside, I do so every time I shower. Washing is superior to just wiping with a bit of dry paper. The bidet is quite popular in Europe and Asia for that very reason.
I honestly can't see why any logical minded person would panic buy and hoard toilet paper. I sympathise with the people who were affected by it. The elderly, and people with small children, who only by tp as needed, and got caught short by those who already had hoards of it, yet were still buying more.
The patterns with the panic buying were often quite strange. There was a soap shortage, almost as though this was the first time that many people had ever bought soap, or washed regularly.
There was a meat shortage here, which lead to a freezer shortage. For most of this year, it's been near impossible to buy a new freezer in this town. This also created a shortage of the cheaper options that the elderly and poor usually rely on. What was downright disgusting, were the people who were then trying to sell meat on FB marketplace, because they'd panic bought too much, and couldn't fit it in their freezer.
The other thing that people hoarded in their freezers was bread, creating yet another shortage.
There were also some shortages that were very interesting.
As was seen in many countries: flour. People were staying at home more, so they baked more, rather than going grocery shopping so often.
There were seed shortages, as many people were more cleverly planning ahead. Gardening gave them something more to do at home, and it would provide them with food in the future, which would be especially handy if food shortages became a bigger problem.
Bicycle shops had waiting lists, because cycling became really popular as exercise, and as a way to avoid crowded public transport.
The closest I came to 'hoarding' anything, was buying a few extra cans of chickpeas, and some packs of dried chickpeas, and split peas, and lentils, and some powdered milk.
I was also one of those who ordered seeds, and planted a veggie patch. It provided me with an outdoor activity, and some extra food for over winter. I was prepared to go meatless for several months if I needed to, I was prepared to go without toilet paper if I needed to.
When I went grocery shopping, I avoided the popular items that were in short supply.
The fruit and veg section never ran short, so it was easy to eat well.
Rice and pasta were in short supply, but polenta was plentiful. Pulse pasta was also still on the shelves, along with pesto... And that's a regular part of my menu.
I grew up in the sticks, where having a well stocked pantry is the norm, and having the ability to adjust your menu based on what you have available is a skill you develop to not be freaked out by shortages.
If you've ever seen Nat's What I Reckon (be warned, he uses some pretty wild language)... Well he's a comedian, who started a lockdown cooking show on youtube. He too noticed that the fruit and veg section was being left pretty much untouched, while the packet and jar food was flying off the shelves. Thus, he declared war on packet and jar food, and got people back into cooking healthier, less processed meals. His methods are very similar to mine, and he's been encouraging people to be flexible with their ingredients, to work with what they have, rather than worrying about what they cant get.
Oh, and I took a ramble.
And the ones who bought massive amounts of things and then put them for sale on line as massively inflated prices.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuW44b3uCMtCSaq4gwC8EZg
I hope those people who hoarded stuff are still trying to figure out what to do with it. They certainly didn't make our life any easier.
1) More people at home longer, so more people were needing to go get more for home, more frequently (the office supply stuff is often the big chunky rolls)
2) The Just In Time aspect of the supply system (which is why 1 is an issue)
3) Hoarding mentality, particularly once supply had run short.
Personally I've been buying largish packs (as I would pre-covid) and when I need to open another one, then it is time to get another pack (pre-covid I would wait until I only had a few rolls or so left). That way supply should last me past whatever shortage there is (or at least I should be able to buy some more before I run out).