Well, times like these are when being a (mild) hoarder comes in handy. I always save the dish detergent bottles for the grands to use as squirt bottles in the summer. I have a couple of the big ones with homemade bubble solution from last year. (Detergent, water, glycerin--can be used for hand or dish washing in a pinch.) We keep cheap spray bottles for other uses--kids painting, all-natural window cleaner, etc.

I mentioned on another thread that I have a stock of fabrics and fabric scraps from my sewing days. (Not that long ago--I made three baby quilts in 2016.) If needed, it can be cut in small squares to be used for drying after the squirt, even washed and re-used, although I hate the thought of re-using the ones used for BM. I know--what a wimp. We've been using cloth napkins for a few years.

Not to get too personal, but my DDs have been using the menstrual cups, too, although those days are long gone for me.

Once a month, Walgreen's has a 'senior's day' and things are discounted. I go every month on that date. A good thing about being part of their loyalty program is that one can accumulate points and use those point to buy stuff.

Early this month, I had enough points and used them on 'senior day' and purchased two 9-roll packages of Mega TP. No charge. The two of us will make that last quite a while.

Next month, I will use points to stock up on M&Ms!

I hope it doesn't come to that, but it's always good to have options!

I don't have any squirt bottles saved up, but I have one of mustard and one of ketchup in the fridge and am now looking at them in a totally new way. ;-)

mamagoose, I know what you mean about re-using your cloth squares, but it wasn't that long ago that mothers were soaking cloth diapers and washing them to use over and over for their babies. I look at in the same way.

As a society, we've become quite soft and spoiled. We may find ourselves having to toughen up and do things we would have never consider just a few short weeks ago.

Awwww, Jim. I've been working on a grocery list and hubby told me to be sure and "put M&Ms on there!" I hope I can find some or he's going to be in a world of hurt.

That could be a useful idea, rita.

People pursuing this suggestion should be sure to know which ketchup bottle has water and soap in it and which still has ketchup. A mix up either way would be unpleasant.

Dawn, I have no idea what conditions are like in your area but my early morning jaunt to the grocery today saw shelves filed with Easter candy.....and M&M's were a big presence :-)

I was in walmart today, no toilet paper, but I did purchase an 18 pack of cotton washcloths so I'll have these to use to clean my bottom should it come to that. But we have tp and I've heard a number of times that one of the local mom & pop groceries seems to have it in stock unlike the big box stores.

Dawn, I used cloth diapers for all of my kids, and DD used them for the 3yr grandson. But baby poop doesn't compare to adult poop or even older toddler poop. I think it's the cuteness factor.

Yeah, believe me, if it gets to that point I'll be putting our names on separate bottles with a sharpie and I'll shoot DH if he tries to bring his in the kitchen or if I catch him using mine. I was telling a friend about that and we started laughing about how people at work would be handed their own s$%# kits and they'd be lined up in the bathrooms on a shelf with everyone's name on them. LOL!

Cherryfizz, I hope you are right but I still think all the stores should set up some kind of system where it's rationed. If people don't have memberships to Costco's or Sam's they probably don't ever have a stockpile and some people just can't afford to stockpile anything. We go for a TP run at Sam's on a regular basis but I've never thought I'd have to maybe be worried about not having any.

went to Bj's yesterday and they had one pallet of clorox wipes.... they did limit it to 2 per shopper, i did get mine-had none, gone in 10 minutes.

you will have to be at the right place, right time to get anything you need for this virus, i was lucky yesterday :)

point is, they are slowly getting COVID-19 supplies back on the shelves!!

in 2 months, we will be flooded with it, fingers crossed!!!

heard from a reputable source that the Purell Co. is working 24/7 to get hand sanitizer back to the public.

"... but I've never thought I'd have to maybe be worried about not having any."

I can relate to that, Rita! Who ever thought those aisles at the store would be empty? Yesterday my grocery store was restocking toilet paper and paper towels when I was there. Never in my life did I expect to be so elated at the sight of those items! They were allowing customers to buy one package of either TP or PT's...not one of each. People were grabbing more, but the checkers weren't allowing anyone to buy more than one.

Target is a good place to find big pkgs of TP if you don't belong to Costco. When this was just getting started, I ordered a large package (24 1000 sheet rolls maybe) to be delivered - they deliver for free if you have a card. When it arrived, the plastic packaging was ripped and the top layer of tp had something like blue ink on a few of the rolls. One night, after the hoarding had begun, I took it back to Target - knowing that I wouldn't be able to exchange it. As I loaded it into a cart in the parking lot, a couple walking by asked how much I wanted for the TP! They were joking, but it was funny.

The clerk was so sweet, she refunded my money, then we took out the damaged rolls and she sold me the opened package for a BIG discount. I was really happy about the way she handled it.

Did anyone see the stories about liquor distillers making hand sanitizer now with their alcohol? Yay for them.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/distilleries-using-high-proof-alcohol-make-hand-sanitizer-n1161371

Good to know gardengal. I'll have my eye out for them tomorrow when I go shopping.

Mamagoose, babies are like puppies and kittens. They are made extra special cute so that the big humans don't mind cleaning up their messes. ;-)

A paper/toilet paper company that is located about an hour and a half north of me was going to have people drive up and they could buy a large box of it that was normally just sold to hotels, etc. They were selling it at a discounted price but of course, some people wanted them to ship for free too. Since that amount would have been $50 or so to ship each order, they of course said no. A nice gesture for them to do in this time of " need." :)

Lowes has a top to screw onto a regular water bottle that turns it into a portable bidet. They are so so I had one in the rv before I had the hand held bidet installed.

Best would be to buy one of the add on bidets that fit under the toilet seat. I have had a few different versions of it. Ebay has lots of them. Price range from $20 - 50. The portion that extends out and the water comes out of retracts in to a hidden compartment. When you select to use it there's a self clean function and after use when it retracts it does another self clean. Mine goes behind a little door completely hidden.

They are super easy to connect to the water supply at the faucet that supplies the toilet.

After having them for so long I really hate to use others without them.

Screw on type for water bottle

https://www.amazon.com/Pocketshataf-the-minimalist-portable-bidet/dp/B075H43D57

Hmmm...I think our big mustard bottle is almost empty.

Fun2BHere, be sure to get your mustard bottle really clean before transforming it into a mini bidet. Yellow mustard stains everything and it's really hard, if not impossible, to get those stains out...

And it would sting, lol!

Turkey Baster but that wouldn't hold a lot!! :)

Ha Ha! That it would!

LOL!!! Hey, now everyone knows if they are at someone's house for Thanksgiving and they say they have to go in the bathroom to get the turkey baster - run away, just run away.

...babies are like puppies and kittens. They are made extra special cute
so that the big humans don't mind cleaning up their messes.

It's a good thing we think they're really cute when they are asleep, too. If we didn't, ancient humans would have left them beside the trail during one of the migrations.

Rita ... you devil!

I see a problem with the squeeze bottles: you'd hafta fill 'em full to overflowing ... and you'd only get one kick at the cat, so to speak: relax your grip after that first squeeze ..... and you get air (maybe good for drying - if you've progressed that far).

But ... space and maneuvering problem: bum on seat, how to get hand holding bottle into position ... plus avoiding getting bottom (of bottle, that is) going for a swim in the lower level (recently amended) water?

Sounds like a good idea for the bathroom at the shop/factory, too!

Do you think that would be a good idea for building a shelf for individualized mugs at Drunkin' Donuts?

They could even service both intake and outflow were they to rig the bathroom as you suggest.

'Nuff said?

ole joyful

What a timely thread - we have two squirty ketchup bottles ready for recycle ... think I'll hold on to them a while. Just in case.

On another note, has anyone else cut down on the number of sheets "per use"? I used to just give the roll a good strong yank, but now I'm carefully pulling just enough. So my mega-rolls should last almost twice as long as when I was careless.

I wonder if Grey Poupon makes a squirt bottle.

"People pursuing this suggestion should be sure to know which ketchup bottle has water and soap in it and which still has ketchup. A mix up either way would be unpleasant."

Really, elmer? You'd keep the squirt bottle of soap and water in the kitchen?

Ha! Nickel, just yesterday, I was thinking that it might be time to implement the four squares per usage rule.

Mamagoose, you got that right about those cute little critters!

Nickel, I have been watching now. I still find myself whipping it off the roll only to put half of it back. Two of our toilets have bidets the 3rd doesn't (master), because of a weird seat. So I have been favoring the ones with the bidets. Wish they came with blow dryers. Lol

All this talk makes me very happy we installed two Toto Washlets in our remodel.

...and that we buy the big packages of TP at Costco.

The beauty supply stores sell applicator bottles for applying hair dye. Some are even angled.

Not really relevant to most of this board but I'm glad I still have the peri bottle I got at the hospital when I had my last kid!

Costco is selling a Kohler combo toilet and bidet, but they may be sold out by now.

What ever bottle you use try to maneuver it before using. Depending on your toilet if the bottle is too long the bottom could be in the water or you might have to stand partly upright. Depending on your body shape you may need to do a yoga pose to position to use. Being of an age I have heard all the methods from people who for whatever reason after hemorrhoid surgery needed to use a squirt bottle. Stripping off your bottoms and climbing in the shower and using the hand hold wand sounds more my style even if I would have to disinfect the tub afterward.

Almost all the stores around here are rationing toilet paper and sanitizers and wipes 2 per person but I am sure people will take advantage of that and send in same household family members to buy more.

one of our local news stations Wed had a story about one of those guys buying up needed things - and reselling them at a very high price. He called the guy (who had placed an ad online) and scheduled a buy of 2 bottles of sanitizer at 40.00 $ each. they sell at about 7$ at walgreens. He didn't know his 'buyer' was a news reporter (on scams and ripoff businesses). from what he said there are no laws against price gouging or taking advantage (financially) in a crisis. I hope leaders in this state take swift action to fix that. All of those people (at least here in AZ) aren't buying up those huge quantities for their own personal use. they've also been reporting on the huge increase in purchases of bidets.

I went to my local W earlier and its canned good aisle, paper, detergent, cleaners, meat, cheese/butter /egg, and baking supply aisles were all totally wiped out. as were most of the frozen food cases and pet food aisles. I didn't get any paper items I need or dog food. my sister emailed me that her dh was going to Costco and asked what I needed. I sent her my list and I hope he can get at least a few things - especially the dog food. if anyone has a reddish color mutt appear at their door with a note on its collar asking to be fed, it might be my girl!

At last I can ask this question. I've wondered for years, if you use a bidet (or repurposed ketchup bottle) how then do you dry yourself! I just don't get pulling up your panties while you're dripping.

lacey, I assume that if you're now clean down there, you can use a dry washcloth or towel and throw it in with regular laundry. Or maybe the thought is you can get by with much less tp than otherwise? Hoping the supply chain catches up and we don't have to find out for sure....!

It would be best to skip Walgreens senior day in April, Jim.

Use a sports bottle that has a bent squirter like they use to squirt Gatorade into their mouths without touching it.

I remember rural life in the 70's. We had an indoor flushing toilet and running water. My old timer neighbors either used a water hose to get water in their house or carried it from the well. I'm not sure how they did it. They had an outhouse, but I'm pretty sure they used toilet paper. For some reason, my mind keeps going back to the old phone books with the newspaper like paper you can crumple. I realized I still have a wealth of those. They are on the top of my kitchen cabinets. I use them to prop up the decorative pottery. I had stocked up on toilet paper before this just because I like to keep a significant amount. I'm keeping those phone books in mind if I need them.

We went to a restaurant supply store in the are yesterday. We go there usually once a month for chicken wings, some meats and air fryer stuff like onion rings and fries as well as hush puppies. To our amazement there was a very large box of single rolls of TP right out front. They were only charging 49 cents per roll and people weren't going crazy over them. We purchased two and didn't get greedy. This type of store might be something to consider if you have one.

laceyvail, my washlet has a heated dryer, honestly I rarely use it, just because I'm impatient, but I do use much less TP with the bidet.

Online retailers sell personal bidet bottles, and local pharmacies may also sell them. There are different styles and appear to be available now. They're designed for the purpose, and surely work much better than regular, squeeze bottles. I have 2 I've used for several years.

If you need, in this situation, or if the plumbing doesn't work, you can create a "toilet" out of a 5 gallon bucket lined with a plastic bag and some kitty litter in the bottom of the bag. This, of course, doesn't solve the TP issue, but might come in handy at some point for someone.

We are set for awhile, though I might go to JoAnn fabrics for a quick thread run. I want to make some of the 100% cotton bowl cozies. I have the fabric and the special batting for the microwave, but I am lazy, and more lazy now that my hands don't work as well with the arthritis, so want enough of the cotton thread to be able to use the serger so I don't have to turn them inside out. Just layer them and serge the edges. But, I may just stay lazy and not make them!