Unfortunately, Joann, picking up a pack or two of toilet paper in a grocery store for an office full of people isn't going to cut it.

Back in February when the virus was not important I did buy two packs of tp rather than my normal one. Then what it seems like every other month trip to wally world for cat food I purchased extra tp and paper towels. I always stock extra for winter having a driveway that is "interesting" to drive up the first ten or so feet. Unless I die or must go to a nursing home I should have enough paper goods to last until spring.

On the BBC website this afternoon someone in Europe is projecting the virus will last for another six months even with the various vaccines. I saw where another congress person raised the idea of paying people to stay home. That was voiced by someone in another party back in July and quickly dropped. I do not think there will be a lockdown until at least 5,000 a day are dying and even then people will not think it is necessary.

My parents lived through the Great Doression so our hosue was always well stocked. I learned form them.

My usual routine is to buy paper goods 4 times a year so I do stock up. I had just made my quarterly purchase when the Covid lockdown occured in March. In early June, I purchased my next quarterly order and again in late August and late October so a little early for year end. This is our normal purchasing pattern. Our shelves are well stocked.

For the folks that are hoarding and selling at inflated prices, shame on you.

We were getting lower on TP so I started watching Sams for when they had it in stock. Finally did a few weeks later along with paper towels so I grabbed both. Few days later it was cleared out again.

I can't imagine people are already through their previous horde buying. I just bought what we needed the first time around and could have waited a bit longer before buying TP again.

If you have fur kids you might want to make certain you have enough food for them. Since this started I have been purchasing from Amazon. By the magic of tele transportation a kitten showed up and taught the one cat that never ate soft food to want it so I was getting low. Amazon had it at inflated prices. I looked at Walmart and found it in large packages. Not certain I approve of what they did because I thought the food would be shipped from the warehouse and not from the backroom of the local store. I also thought it was strange that DoorDash made the delivery.

SEA SEA, I too use Scott single ply (septic tank) and on Monday I was at a CVS and they had the 12 packs on sale for $7.99. I didn’t need any so I passed on by. Now I wish I had bought one!

Yea Kathy, you might want to go back and pick up a pack or two in case they still have some. I have to wait until Dec 21st for new TP. We will make due with rationing. Looks like we are back to no supply again...

I am always well stocked on TP and paper towels so didn't have to hoard or worry when it was in short supply. I probably had enough for a while but got a little anxious as the covid numbers kept rising, the crazy acting people about the upcoming election, so I got on Staples website (as someone here recommended). They did have Scott one ply that I always buy, but also had a house brand with exactly the same number of sheets and size roll for much less - I figured it was manufactured by Scott. So I ordered two packages of that - it arrived the next day and I now have TP for a long time. It's not the softest tp made, but it's septic safe and I don't mind the texture of it.

It was delivered by ONTRACK instead of UPS or USPS and they just left it out in the weather instead of bringing it up on my covered porch, placing it right in front of the sign I'd left that said "Please do not leave packages here but place on covered porch, Thank you!" I was FURIOUS, as it sat in the rain. They'd draped some plastic over top but was sitting on the wet ground. Luckily, I came home soon after delivery and was able to get it into the house before it was damaged. Staples sent a survey and I told them how unhappy I was with the delivery, happy with the quickness, but not where ontrack left it. They wrote immediately with an apology and said they'd make note of it and when I order next time I can specify a different service. Great customer service.

I use the Members Mark toilet paper from Sam's. I was ok when the first wave of hoarding hit because the pack lasts me several months and I had purchased it in January. I was looking to get another pack about 3 months ago but they never seemed to have in stock. Then my daughter called me one day and said "Right now get on your computer and order toilet paper from Sam's. They have it available to buy online" so I did, along with paper towels so I'm good.

I've just been picking it up here and there when it's on sale, so we're okay. I hear the shelves are cleared out.

We had a huge wave of panic buying last week when we went back into lockdown. We had another one today in my town when the biggest grocery store and Sam's were both closed for two weeks. The state closed them down due to too many cases among employees.

I don't get it. The stores aren't closing. I don't get why people think they need more TP than they usually have at home. The buying more "just in case" is what eliminates it for others who don't have enough to begin with.

There will probably be another rush on bidet toilet seats. I have had them for years now and much prefer having them. It really cuts down on the paper use and is much easier on the septic system.

What is MD?

It's a brand name Hot Rod. Produced by Georgia Pacific. MD 2-Ply.

the W in my nearby town was out of TP today, tissue and PT. I was going to pick up some TP and Puffs even tho I have some still. I've been trying to stay ahead of things but not the hoarding, but for myself physically and budget wise. I space things out. didn't need a whole lot of other things today so figured I'd pick up paper products today, that way it's not so much to load into the car, then take out of it and carry into the house. I have enough TP and puffs for a month or so. I bought another 6 pk of PT last month because I was there, they had it and I couldn't remember how much I had left at home - and it isn't like it'd go bad. I got home and saw that I had a 6 pk in my storage area already. well, I'll eventually use it up and that'll be one thing I won't have to haul home and into the house. I did pick up dog food today 'cause I'm almost out of it and got another box of her cookies. W did have some DOW bathroom cleaner - maybe 3 or so of them so I took one and then the guy behind me took one also. with the 2 I have that should last me for some time (2 bathrooms and kitchen). it was $3.13 I think. the last one I bought (when things were really scarce) at the local grocery was almost $6.00.

I don't plan to go back to W until after the TG weekend. I think that'll be a mess to get into from now until then. in 3-4 days I'll probably go to the local grocery for a few things I normally buy there (like eggs, meat and bakery items), but it won't be as busy as W.

I did hear that our stores are putting a limit again on certain things - like paper products.

Went to BJ's today, first time in a long time. People were pouring out with carts loaded w paper goods. DD says always like that. Also noticed lots of those said 3 ply.

I recently bought a 6pack of Quilted Northern as a trial, because I was tired of deciding between other brands Soft or Strong. QN says soft AND strong. Woohoo! Also 1=4 in their new toilet paper math. So that's 24. Liked it so picked up a 12 pack (=48) when at Walmart. so guess I've got 72 rolls. Sounds like enough. Doesn't take up a lot of space.

I blame the media for this. I went to our megastar grocery store and there was not one roll of paper towels...not even the cheapies. No toilet paper either except for the one-ply which is awful. I have no idea why. There are one per person signs all over the place. On the cleaning aisle, all they had were a gazillion bottle of Softsoap. No toilet bowl cleaners, or any cleaners at all except for wood like Murphy's.

Maybe it’s time to ditch paper towels? What do people use them for?

Didn't anyone learn from the last time? A shut down should only last a few weeks. Any store that has groceries and/or a pharmacy will be open and they'll have the toilet paper in stock all the time if people don't hoard it. The store I work in had to limit it to 1 package of ANY size per customer. So the whole fam damily would come in one-by-one and each of them would by a package of toilet paper.... I really wish our points cards limited households by address like Safeway used to (maybe they still do?). Our canned goods were wiped out. Household cleaners wiped out. It's been 8 months and I think our household cleaners are finally fully stocked up again. We have to keep the lysol wipes and sprays behind the counter at the main cash register to make sure we limit them to one per person as well. People will go through the self checkouts with a cart full if we are busy and don't see them. Those same people will complain that we're out of stock on the items they just hoarded the day before....

Check ALDI near you, they have a lot of TPs in stock near me. We are in orange zone now in NY state by the Great Lakes. So I ordered 2 cases of TPs (96 rolls per case, 192 rolls) for just in case. even we still have plenty left from March’s purchase. About two weeks ago we bought a lot of paper towels and tissues from BJ’s. I like to stock up supplies.

Huh - I've never heard of or seen MD. By the way - Lowe's, Home Depot, and Office Depot have stocks of toilet paper.

I'm with floral_uk. A roll of paper towels lasts me for MONTHS. I use paper to scrub the sink and cooktop with Bon Ami and to cook bacon in the M/W. I use a dish cloth on countertops and for spills...or a rag if sanitation isn't an issue. Whoops, one more use: Cleaning mirrors w/vinegar. (Could use newspaper.)

Wow, and I thought I was hoarding because I currently have four cans of chopped tomatoes!

I don't use many paper towels. I do use them to clean bits of food out of the strainer in my kitchen sink, no garbage disposal. I also use one when I clean my glass cooktop with Windex. I have a basket of cleaning rags ; what else can you do with old towels

For environmental reasons I’ve never bought a roll of paper towels. I also never use any kind of wipes. I’ve never had a garbage disposal unit. I have e cloths and a compost pot. And there’s nothing better than a chamois leather for glass and windows.

I get my toilet paper and paper towels at Costco. I prefer the Kirkland brand for both. I didn't buy when I didn't need the last time when I was there and they had it, but now I'm kinda mad at myself for not just grabbing an extra pack. I do my weekly shopping at Wal Mart and ever since the first shutdown and it's constantly been wiped out of paper towels and toilet paper, cleaning supplies and antibacterial hand soap.

ETA: I agree, you would think people would learned from the 1st round...no need to HOARD!!

I haven’t noticed any hoarding but maybe I haven’t really been paying attention as I do not go into WM and rarely into Sams. I do try to stay on top of things we are getting low on, so I bought a large roll of Charmin about a week ago since I was working on our last package. The same day, DH went to Sams and came home with a big pack of TP too so I guess we are set for a while.

I’m with Sephia, and just don’t get the hoarding or multiple purchases just because it’s available. It’s what got us in trouble back in March. Things were getting back to normal as far as most things were concerned and now we are just bringing this on ourselves again?

I tried to order my favorite deodorant on Amazon a few weeks ago. It was somewhere around $35! I was shocked. It’s a simple Mitchum fragrance free/sensitive skin formula. I can never find it in stores. Guess I will be finding another brand to try.

One of my cats is apparently bulimic. I would waste more water washing any cloth that use both cleaning up the vomit, rinsing out a cloth, then washing the cloth. He has been checked for fur balls so that is not the reason.

Outside the reason that you only find it on Amazon sold by a third party is that it has probably been discontinued or renamed. PG is known for simply changing a name to increase sales. We used to have one of their plants in this area.

Floral, we had never been big users of papers towels but have been this year. I do have a washer and dryer, but somehow we're using disposable often (the frequent hand washing, surface cleaning) where it hadn't been such a habit before virus. I have paper towels in 3 baths, kitchen, laundry and garage. You'd think we've had a house full of people for as many as we're going through, and of course we haven't. I do have some guilt over the waste and expect to be back to our more normal habits when all of this is over.

Luckily I don’t have a vomiting cat 😕. I can see that using cloths would not be pleasant. The e cloths go in the laundry basket every day. Then they get a hot wash when the basket’s full. I don’t have a drier. In good weather I line dry. In bad weather I use a ceiling airer.

You still can order TP and paper towels online. But you have to be quick before the prices jump high again.

We only use paper towels for draining fatty meat, cleaning up messes (like cat vomit, mud), or washing windows/mirrors. We use cloth napkins, which get washed along with our face masks in hot water, with bleach.

Yesterday at Walmart they had several boxes of 4 packs of Charmin left so I bought one package. Since that disaster months ago where there was no TP I have been buying one package now and then. They had plenty of masks and hand sanitizer, I have enough of both.

I find those stiff advertising cards that come in the mail ideal for picking up animal vomit. Slide on, slide off. Toss. Loads from recent election.

And newspaper under top layer of PT to drain bacon.

Our preferred paper towels and toilet paper have been kind of on again off again throughout so I buy a package when I see some but don’t hoard on any particular shopping trip. I just went to costco today and they had both again so I bought one package of each. Putting them away in my store room downstairs I see that I’ve accumulated enough to last me into spring. I guess you could call that hoarding, but I haven’t bought more than I will use and I won’t be competing with others if and when it gets really bad again, so I don’t feel guilty.

I don't hoard but am always stocked up. Got 16 rolls of TP in closet, 4 cans of Lysol spay and 3 containers of Clorox wipes. Spray and wipes I bought last year. Tp I only use 1 roll a week so I'm set for 4 months.

We’re half way through a second national lockdown here in England and, unlike the first weeks of the last one, there’s no shortage of anything that I can detect. But I did have to have my last grocery order delivered at 9.30 at night due to high demand. The other countries of the UK are implementing different degrees and timing of their lockdowns.

I have been buying TP online by case since March this year. I like purchase in large quantities to supply two houses, and now we have a family member temporarily living at the weekend place. I don’t have to worry about running out of TP for a long time. It’s better to be prepared. You might like to have a case for your family too. There are still plenty online. :-)

maifleur....my new kitten Ivan eats till he pukes. I feed him about 6 times a day, a spoonful at a time.

My DH uses paper towels to heat his frozen home-made-breakfast-burrito every morning. We use about 2 rolls a year.

breenthumb.....☺ Northern Quilted...my favorite! The math works!

It does not seem to matter how much he eats or if it is wet or dry. Yesterday was trying because he puked several times hours apart. He is a big boy 17 pounds of almost all muscles. Now that he is 3 1/2 he is starting to eat less. Since he is FIV positive I do not expect him to be one of my late teen cats but it is what it is. He has a home with me for as long as he lives and I am able.

I've been buying TP online, by the case, for years. I don't use paper towels much so I buy a multi-roll package locally. A single roll will last a couple of months.

I have never used the cleaning wipes but bought a single container back in March or April. Have used maybe 4 or 5 wipes out of the container. Already had a can of Lysol spray pre Covid. Still lots left in the can.

Mostly just DH & I here at home so there is little reason to think any bad bugs have invaded. Bowl or ice cream bucket of hot water & Dawn plus a cleaning rag or a spritz of 409 and I'm satisfied that I've knocked back any lurking nasties.

When I do go out, I used hand sanitizer, a mask, store provided cleaning wipe for the handle of the grocery cart... Don't touch any door handles if it can be avoided--or shrink my arm up in a jacket sleeve and use the cloth as a barrier--or use just two fingers on the door handle on the part of the handle that is seldom touched by anyone (next to where it is attached to the door--not the grabby part.). Hand sanitizer when I get back to my car and then wash hands immediately when I get home.

I actually started doing the door handle dance routine several years ago to avoid getting a cold or flu-bug. So it is an ingrained habit now. (Not rubbing my eyes was the hardest habit to break.) Seems to have worked because I very, very seldom pick up a cold/ flu since starting to take those precautions.

Outside Playing -- You might like the Tom's of Maine brand deodorant. DH started using it when he developed skin reactions to products he'd used all of his life. (We age; we lose our immunitites.)

I still have one large unopened package of Northern Quilted 3-ply from the inadvertent 'stockpile' I'd accumulated last winter, pre-Covid. It had been on sale. There were coupons. Before I realized it I had sixty rolls! Now...maybe I should consider resupply.

I'm wondering what foodstuffs may be in short supply, or what other 'pipelines' will be affected if many people are out of commission due to the virus over a lengthy period of time. (Remember the devastation in meat packing plants?)

What I have noticed is that supplies of certain items have declined over the last few months and now seem to be missing entirely. The brand of wet food my dog preferred has declined in availability and is now is not currently available at all! It is a store house brand so also not available online. But he is a robust eater regardless so we are making do :-)

A couple of other items come to mind as well but I don't know if just pandemic related shortages or simply discontinued items.

I purchase tp and paper towels in 24 and 12 packs respectively and usually replace when down to a third. I had half of a pack of tp and just one roll of paper towels. Last week I heard there was very little tp to be had and zero paper towels. I have been shopping only once a month at a grocery store and picking up curbside bundle at local farm market.

I was able to get tp at my monthly shopping. For paper towels I got this brand I have never seen before and the rolls are about 2/3 of the height of “regular” paper towels; they will do.

I'm wondering what foodstuffs may be in short supply

About half the time when I've ordered ham hocks I don't get them because they are sold out, but there are plenty of hams available. Odd?

Since the great TP shortage of 2020, I have kept a few extra packages in the closet. I shopped the aisles last week and the paper aisle was nearly wiped out. I bought one of a big package of my favorite brand. I do not want to be a hoarder but .....but...but...what if I run out and can't get any! I really feel the urge to stock up.

When I went to Costco last week they were out of paper towels. Unfortunately so was I, that was why I was there, Luckily found a 6 pack at the grocery store. Costco did have TP but I had just bought a pack last trip so I am good for awhile. So far no problem getting anything else I need.

DH wants us to have 10 packs like we used to. I didn't know this till a few months ago and so started ordering one on every shopping day. I have gotten up to five packs. I feel pretty good about five packs. DH still wants 10.

Last time I ordered for curbside pick up our brand of TP was on sale so it was not available. To appease him I will have to order two packs next time. 🤷🤔

We used to store 10 packs all the time but we grew complacent. That all went away for him with covid.

^^Is that 10 packs of 24 rolls? ^^ Oh, if that's what you folks are storing I have far too little.