I've been reading about supermarket shelves being stripped of toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and canned foods, among other items. I thought of our own well-stocked pantry and all the folks at the local food pantry who don't have the means to "stock up". Their means are limited, and are often living week to week on a very limited income. If there is a shortage of sanitary wipes, canned foods, and toilet paper, and you fortunately have access to some, please consider donating to those who can't "stock up." Monday I'll be dropping off hand wipes, a large pack of toilet paper, and two bottles of hand soap. This will deplete my pantry supply, but we'll get by. So many may not get by without a little help.
I was out shopping today,. contrary to the photos in the papers of deserted streets etc., (I suppose they can be if you get up early enough to take a photo), our local town was packed with shoppers and I had a hard time finding a parking space, in Sainsbury's. There were few shortages on the shelves. Panic buying is fueled by media scare stories. As a retired Superstore general manager, I can remember scare stories in the press about a "bread strike" by bakery workers in the nineteen seventies. People were buying four or five loaves at a time. Thousands more die each year from influenza than are going to die from the Corona virus.
The makers of toilet paper have already commented about the run on their product saying that they have no problem making more and keeping the stores stocked. And you can make your own hand sanitizer with Everclear and Aloe vera jell. If you can find Everclear at the liquor store, some have run out of that with all the former boy scouts remembering the good old days.
@marlingardener thanks for that posting. Good point!! It is something positive we can do to help others. There is so little we can do about this coronavirus rolling in. It always feels better to take some action.
Well,, I did buy one extra package of toilet paper ! There were only two left of my brand so I figured I would get them before someone else did ! I am a bit picky about toilet paper ! And I bought a bottle of 91% alcohol ! I didn`t know they still made Everclear ! But alcohol is cheaper ! I just put it in a small spray bottle with a squirt of hand lotion so it isn`t so drying ! All anyone really needs is a bottle of alcohol,, gallon of Clorox and plenty of dish soap ! You can make anything you need and its less expensive !
We already had a lot of loo rolls, hubby always buy them when on offer. Yes there's only one make that we have. Never buy hand cleaners only use soap and water, I always put hand cream on after washing my hands.
What a wonderful reminder, Jane. I told my Bride about your posting above and she liked it as well. We are not hoarding with this Corona thing. Hopefully there will be enough for all folks to get what they need, and giving away some things from time to time is a good idea. Chapeau to you.
Sjoerd, thank you and thanks to your bride, also. Giving is a double pleasure--the act and then the warm feeling of being helpful. Making your own hand sanitizer (thank you, Mart for the how-to) is quite possible for many folks. I'll buy some alcohol and tie a little "how-to" tag for hand sanitizer on each bottle so folks at the pantry can make their own if needed.
The psychology behind panic buying is interesting. There's a good writeup here: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/11/heres-why-people-are-panic-buying-and-stockpiling-toilet-paper.html?__source=twitter%7Cmain Making your own hand sanitizer is far cheaper and so much better than buying, even in times of no panic. Isopropyl alcohol will kill both bacteria and virii, but the higher alcohol content can actually lower the effect of the alcohol. Isopropyl alcohol, aka rubbing alcohol, is around 70% alcohol. The rest is either oil (that helps with the rubbing part), or water, or some combination of the two. Killing bacteria and virii is done by dissolving the cell wall that protects the proteins inside the cell. If the alcohol content is too high, the cell wall, known as the lipid layer since it's basically fat, becomes a dehydrated barrier to the alcohol and the cell, be it bacteria or virus, can recover. A good spritz with 91% alcohol will leave the stronger cells alive, and anything you put on after that helps them recover. A good spritz with alcohol in the 70% range has enough non-alcohol in it to keep the lipid layer just soft enough to still allow the alcohol to penetrate and destroy the proteins. When you add pure Aloe Vera (not the stuff that's been processed and has added ingredients), which is also an antimicrobial, antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal agent, you hit the cells with a double whammy. Mixing the two to a 70% alcohol/30% Aloe Vera ratio give you the best shot at killing the bugs. Now, how about your skin. 70+% alcohol will also damage your skin. Even the brief exposure of 70% isopropyl alcohol will start the drying process. Those oils on your skin are there to protect you from damage. Stripping them away and replacing them with something artificial feels good, but isn't quite as good as the real thing. That's where the Aloe Vera really shines. It protects against the bad, and is the best replacement for your natural oils. If you choose to make your own hand sanitizer, get as close to 100% alcohol as possible, and as close to pure Aloe Vera as possible. When you finish mixing the two, get as close to a 70/30 mix as you can. Your skin will thank you (you can use this on your face, but avoid your lips and eyes, and be ready to fan the fumes away) and the little nasties will never know what hit them.
i have 1 year worth of toilet paper, a lifetime supply of hand sanitizer, and stole all the coupons for the 1$ off all you can eat Chinese buffet resto ( good till April 20th ). I'm all set! lol joking.
I get a kick out of stocking up when there are sales, a couple of month ago there was a red hot sale of can soups, and I bought 24! I've been doing this for all kinds of non-perishables for years, stock-up, consume it, restock when there are sales (this saves me lots of money ), poeple would make fun of it sometimes, " Damn you like spaghetti sauce " they said... turns out I saved money and am now well prepared, so HA! I bet you this... within a few weeks, EVERYONE will have bought a very good supply of TP. and then TP will go on a massive sale, and that's when ill buy buy buy !! i can hold out until then, and only buy the bare minimum TP until that sweet sweet sale ( which we all know is coming )
When I went for my regular shopping trip last Thursday, it was before all the panic began. I was 2 hours earlier than my usual time and the store wasn't as well stocked as it usually is ... I thought it was because it was early and they just hadn't finished stocking the shelves yet. Very few paper products, but I did manage to get some toilet paper (I actually needed some!) but there was no Lysol wipes, no dry pasta (I thought that was odd), no orange juice, very little bottled water, few eggs. I didn't shop any differently than I usually do ... ever since moving to a rural area I have always kept a good stock of food in the house, plus my home canned goods. Not sure how the stores in my area are stocked now ... I probably wont find out until my regular shopping day on Thursday. I have checked in with a few elderly couples to see if they needed anything, so far they are fine. At least they know they can call me if they need anything.
I ran across a couple of good articles on why shelves are bare, and why it'll take a few days for the stores to catch up. Why people are panic buying. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/11/heres-why-people-are-panic-buying-and-stockpiling-toilet-paper.html What it will take for stores to catch up. https://theconservativetreehouse.co...supply-chains-logistics-and-recovery-efforts/ As Pogo said: "We have met the enemy, and he is us."
it's going to be interesting to see how long this panic buying mode will last. and will it get worst? first poeple are buying extra because they fear they will run out. next, they will buy extra in fear that the grocery store will run out! which is clearly a self-fulfilling prophecy... TP could just be the beginning...
