Sunday, January 22, 2012

Toilet Paper, How Much to Store

Here’s a subject that gets little attention until it run’s out! Don’t be caught empty handed as this is one of the easier things to calculate the amount needed of.

Storing paper products requires typical long term storage methods in that you must protect it from rodents, they like to make beds out of it and general bugs also love to eat the stuff. Storage temperature and humidity is not an issue so you can store it in a shed, attic, basement or garage providing its in air tight sealed plastic bags.

Any paper products must be stored in plastic containers like the typical plastic storage bins, garbage cans or metal containers like a 55 gallon barrel that have lids. You also must use a plastic bag for a liner to keep humidity out of the paper products. Line the container with a sturdy bag. Close the bag tightly with a twist tie or a heavy string to secure it and your paper products are safe. The same method applies to boxes of tissues or rolls of paper towels.

How to calculate the amount needed:
To calculate the amount of paper products needed for the time you what to store for simply pick a day, any day, I used Saturday. Very first thing Saturday morning, I walked around the house and counted all the full rolls of toilet paper or other paper products and write the number of each of them down. The next Saturday morning I did the same thing, walked around and counted all the full rolls again. Subtract that number from last week’s number and you have all the rolls used in a week for everyone in the home. If you want to store a months worth multiply that number by four, etc. This same method applies to all your paper products. It’s that simple!

17 comments:

  1. Figure a 4 pack a day, or a box of baby wipes. We buy Double rolls seems to last longer, but we have a family of 7. The more you have the better. You can always trade when push comes too shove.

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  2. Rob, with a family of 7 I'm sure you do use at least a 4 pack a day! Everything you need to stock up on for large families, as you must know, takes a lot of storage space even for a short event duration (Your Bunker is how big?) not to mention money.

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  3. TP is one of those bulky items and takes up a lot of space. We don't have ours stored in plastic containers or bins (costs too much money for our budget) so ours is in the house. Hopefully, the rodents don't find their way in, and we don't get a roof leak, or other water hazard. Stock up when it's on a good sale.

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  4. i guess you probably have unlimited space to store toilet paper..i usually have to buy one of those 12-20 roll packages about every 6-8weeks...and always have an unopened package that size sitting in the bathroom closet. but, and i know folks just cringe at the thought of this, i also have a huge bucket filled with clean rolled up washcloths at the ready for when the doo doo hits the fan big time...the bucket takes up less space and everything in it is washable/reusable...and i wont have to use precious energy trying to find more toilet paper at stores that will not have what i need. actually, i dont know why we dont start using them now and spend our toilet paper money on something else. i can remember as a youngster using a privvy and wiping with the pages of an old sears catalog or old phone book.

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  5. IMO, tp rolls are too bulky to store. My solution? I bought a 10 box pack of Kleenex (184 double ply/box) at Sam's Club for $12.98. I removed the tissues from the box and vacuum sealed each. This got the entire amt of tissues down to 1/3 the original volume of space and waterproofed and protected at the same time. Leave it to a woman to come up with a better mousetrap ;)

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  6. Rose,
    If you have the room to store it in the house that’s great and it should need no other protection. But for people like myself and others who must long term store in a shed or garage then containers are required.

    Mike

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    Anon 8:25,
    I wish I had unlimited space but I’m no different that the rest of us. I use one closet in an extra bedroom and that room is also used for a computer/craft room. The other space is in the garage that uses three, dedicated to Survival storage items. They’re 4 foot wide wire shelving units for long term food storage and the rest of the survival gear.
    As for t-paper storage I only have a months worth stored and in plastic bins because of the chance of a critter making a home in it. After that’s gone then it’s time for rags that can be washed like diapers and reused for a long time.
    You’re right about saving money because if we look around at all the convenience items we buy and monthly fees for other services there is a lot of money to be saved.

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    Anon 1:27
    That's a clever idea. Thanks for sharing it!

    Mike

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  7. toilet paper is a very modern invention. most people on the earth even today don't use it, thats why they don't eat or shake hands with thier left hand.they wash with water and or sand. some like our ancestors used washable cloth or smooth sticks. many with plant matter. i find it interesting that survivalists would not be able to live with out TP. everyone should really rethink about there ability to truely survive if something so fundamental and small can take them down.

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  8. Anon,
    While this may be true, it is a modern convenience that most modern people would rather not live without until the last of it is gone! Then yes there are other ways of handling the job!

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  9. I am planning on taking the cardboard middle out, flattening and vaacume sealing. It will save space and be water proof. I was thinking four rolls per gallon bag.

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  10. Anon 4:54
    Interesting idea. Lets us know how the vacuum sealing goes for you.

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  11. I do that...remove the cardboard middle and it flattens out really nice. You can store twice as much that way. Same with paper towels. I read an interesting article on flatening the paper towels and using a sharp knife to cut it in half. Most people wast paper towels by using more than is necessary. This would help cut down on waste. And if you use a vacuum sealer I'm sure you could gain a bit more room! Also take the Kleenex out of the boxes and vacuum seal them as well. Keeps the paper products dry and uses way less room to store (wherever you store it)

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    1. I've try'd that and had a mess on my hands. It wasn't easy to cut the tube out and for me not worth the effort except if you are a back-packer and space is critical.

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    3. I have taken advantage of a lot of TP and PT sales/coupon deals etc. since last fall. I now have about 4 years worth of TP and about one year's worth of PT stored in my rv which is not only mouse proof, but also inside our garage. It was an ideal short-term idea, but not sure where all those paper products are going to live with camping season just around the corner! Lol

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  12. I have taken advantage of a lot of TP and PT sales/coupon deals etc. since last fall. I now have about 4 years worth of TP and about one year's worth of PT stored in my rv which is not only mouse proof, but also inside our garage. It was an ideal short-term idea, but not sure where all those paper products are going to live with camping season just around the corner! Lol

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    Replies
    1. Well you're certainly prepared. Hope you have enough food to match your TP stash. :-)

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