The Great Toilet Paper Shortage Of 2020. Remember that? I do! Are there lessons to be learned from that shortage?
For one, Is there such a thing as having too much toilet paper?
Forward-thinking people (e.g. preppers) likely were not caught ‘off guard’. The preparedness-minded among us tend to have extra quantities of regular consumables for ‘just in case’. It makes logical reasonable sense..
However, I do wonder how many preppers had enough extra toilet paper to last, say, one year! Who would’ve thought that toilet paper supply disruptions would last that long!
Lessons Learned from the Great Toilet Paper Shortage
A few thoughts off the top of my head…
When people notice a shortage, pretty much regardless of what it may be, they will instinctively want to get more of it.
This is natural instinct. I do believe that this human reaction exacerbated the many shortages that we saw during that time. I know that when I notice a shortage of something, I do run through a thought process of whether or not I should get some, the next time I see it.
The biggest takeaway lesson for me is to stay ahead of the curve, so to speak. Strive to have enough essential consumable supplies to make it through disruptions. The trick is.. how long of a disruption! Weeks? Months? A year? More?!
I’ve always had a decent supply of extra toilet paper. Fortunately I have plenty of room to store such supplies. As with any extra supply of (whatever), I do rotate and take oldest first – while backfilling with replacements.
Lets just say that Mrs. J and I could get through a year without store-bought toilet paper without issue :=)
Hey, there’s always the bidet concept, right?
Evidently people are mostly concerned about the uninterrupted ability to wipe their behinds.
It’s kind of funny in a way. Priority #1 isn’t necessarily food and water. Rather, toilet paper!
As news of lockdowns become more persistent, people rush out to get the things they feel that they need to get.
Thus, shortages. A stereotypical thing around here as a winter storm approaches.. People rush out to buy bread, milk, and eggs. The store shelves quickly become challenged.
Again, the lesson is to stay ahead of the masses who only think about getting extra supplies right before the ‘storm’ is about to hit. When the threat or danger has passed, most forget about it and go back to having ‘just enough’ to get by until their next grocery store run. Rinse and Repeat.
All supply chains are tuned to deliver “just enough” for “normal times”.
There isn’t any extra built into the entire supply chain from beginning to end of the process. They know the typical run-rate and they build the chain to fit exactly that.
When people panic-buy, or when there are legitimate disruptions, that’s when we see shortages.
The ripple effect of manufacturing and production of goods extends wider and longer than most realize.
The system is more complicated than most people may think. Therefore, a weakness or break in the chain will have ripple effects all the way down the line.
Panic mentality leads to more panic mentality.
It feeds on itself. People began to panic when they saw toilet paper shortages. Than in itself led to more panic. It’s not hard to imagine how the great toilet paper shortage of 2020 really got going..
Being prepared is a sensible thing.
The systems around us are fragile. Disruptions can happen fast. Supplies can get stripped quickly, resulting in — being without. It can take a long time to backfill inventories, depending on what happened.
Lesson learned? Be prepared. Take it as far as you wish..
By far, the two most popular toilet paper choices on amzn:
[ Read: How Many Rolls Of Toilet Paper Do You Use Every Week? ]
