We've all been there. Out of toilet paper, paper towels, (or both ). Using old restaurant napkins and facial tissue will only get you so far. Well, at least since I started getting serious about earthquake prep I can honestly say I have never run out of paper towels and toilet paper. I also keep paper plates on hand as I'd rather not waste valuable water on dishes during an emergency. What I've noticed is these basic items are rarely talked about for disaster prep. Either we all assume everyone's pantry is stuffed with charmin and bounty or we're underestimating their usefulness in an emergency. Sure, you can wash your snot rag, but wouldn't it be nice to have the option of blowing your nose and tossing the tissue into the bin? And then there's the health aspect. Sanitation is critical, and paper towels make cleaning up messes far easier and lessen the risk of contamination. IMO, toilet paper should actually be in the top 5 of an emergency items list. A sore and itchy bum will make surviving without running water and electricity that much more uncomfortable. Anyway, just thought I'd pay tribute to the unsung heroes of survival prep. I'm not saying we need those items but they sure are nice to have.

Agree completely. We have space for some storage, so we never get below 100 rolls of TP in our survival cache. Once you build a stock (purchased at sale prices) there is no extra expense. Just rotate out the old as needed, and replace with new when our brand goes on sale again.

TP - 2 large packs plus what is in the Master Bath. 72 rolls+

Paper towels - 1 large package plus one in use. 24 rolls+

Kleenex - 10 large boxes plus several smaller car sized, plus the 4 in the house.

Paper plates/cups - a lot, some in the pantry, some in the garage storage area.

DW is semi-paranoid about running out of TP. From several fishing trips she took with her Dad. For that matter, when I was a grunt, TP was one of the items I always packed, no matter the season or duration of the exercise. We tend to buy in bulk at Sams.

Yes, it's rarely mentioned, but we should all remember Burt Gummer's wise words (esp in respect to toilet paper):

"When you need it and don't have it, you sing a different tune."

Esp when you have a serious intestinal upset.

Sue

The way we handled dishware, cups and utensils while camping is that everyone has their own set. You lick them clean and polish, if you please, with your bandanna. Everyone has three bandannas minimum. That eliminated the paper plates, disposable plastic utensils, napkins and paper towels.

We never stopped using toilet paper but a Roman 'swabium', a communal hand mop used to clean the backside that is boiled out with wood ash, is an option. Newsprint or other paper can be allowed to weather to soften it. If water is available a water rinse and drip-dry is an option.

I don't use paper towels much except to dump out coffee grounds from the french press, but I keep several hundred rolls of toilet paper in reserve for a rainy day; I don't shop at Costco much so I tend to buy a bulk pack of the Charmin just about every time I stop in. And I'm not very eco friendly on the utensils, plates and cups, I stock a couple hundred plastic or chinette plates for neighborhood or maybe long term use. I don't think the biodegradable options stand up to food that well, and when wet they become worthless. The plastic/chinette plates and cups can soak in the rain all day and still hold food. I bought my supply for the proverbial dollar at the Dollar Store one day, and have never used them - so maybe that counts almost like taking it out of the waste stream.

Toilet Paper is in The Top 3 for Me! Hoo-Ahhs Do The Trick,When you get to a point in Life,Where you realize,You No Longer have a Cast Iron Belly,& Them Chili Peppers bypass The processing center,& Go Straight out the Hatch!You have to Be Prepared to Survive....Comfortably!

I hear ya Art. In my hardcore backpacking days I had 1 pot and a bandana or two. But I guess I've gotten soft (or lazy) over the years and find the paper stuff invaluable for certain tasks. As far as the Roman swabium goes, I'll cross that bridge when I get there (which is hopefully never). I know, I know, spoken like a spoiled westerner. Guilty as charged.

Seldom mentioned solution to a very common issue.

Another option is to use a PERSONAL!!! sponge for backdoor maintanance.
I have this setup for emergencies (i.e. ran outta TP in the middle of nowhere).
Yes it uses water but it works. The sponge is kept in a sealable Tupperware container or similar and is kept clean and sanitized utilising PolarPure iodine solution so you don't have to use your drinking water persé.
When out on the trail for extended periods with no way to keep numerous rolls of TP handy, this works.

Of course I'll choose TP over this option anyday, but backups usualy save the day don't they.
Disgusting you say?
Having an emergency outlasting your TP stash and then have no alternatives... Now THAT'S disgusting!

Regards, Pharaoh.

I have so much extra toilet paper and paper towels that an outsider would probably think I have a compulsion. My bigger fear is being away from home and completely running out of toilet paper and toilet paper substitutes.

Almost any clean paper will do well, especially when crumpled (do not be confused with plastic "paper"). Dangers of a modern printing ink chemistry are overrated, imo, especially in a survival scenario. So I'm stashing real paper (e.g. mail ads and old phone books) invisibly under the furniture. It's filling the volume otherwise occupied by dust, have more uses than typical TP, e.g. burns much better, mechanically stronger, have some information printed on it to occupy your mind, and is virtually free.

By the way, plastic "paper" is not that bad either, e.g. as a single use plate/platter, cutting board, and wrapping material. So' I'm stashing it too but separately from the real one.

Where is the Sears and Roebuck catalog when you really need it? Some of you younger ones may not get the reference. Your grandparents can explain...

Maybe you shouldn't be too quick to toss all your old phonebooks: lots of paper in the most confined space possible. And, unlike junk mail, are easy to stack.

Sue

According to my mom, one of the benefits of growing up on a farm in Iowa in the old days was corncobs--one tool, many uses. First, you ate the corn off the cob, then you used the cob in the outhouse (firstly to knock the point off the spicule of frozen urine that steadily grew up towards your heinie from the glory hole underneath the outhouse, and then to clean your heinie once your duty was done). And corncobs also apparently were excellent hot-burning fuel for the wood cookstove. And then there was the ubiquitous corncob pipe. Since most farms had upwards of a 100 acres or more of corn, this was one of the original sustainable sources of food, TP, recreation, and stove fuel.

Personal wipes, unscented.