[beatgammit]

In my area, that's closer to 6 months supply. I went to Costco right after the coronavirus data hit the mainstream news and before Costco put limits on basic items like TP, and a lot of people were buying 2 packages of TP. In fact, one of the Costco stores had to close because of a fight over TP. Each package at Costco has 36 rolls, so if you use 1 roll/week, that's well over a year's supply. For my family of 4, a 36-pack lasts >6 months (probably closer to a year, I haven't bothered to calculate it), and we picked some up about 2-3 months ago, so we didn't bother buying more.

That's why it's so weird to me that people are buying so much. How long do people expect this to last? I'm guessing it'll be resolved within a couple months in most places, so what's the point in buying >6 months worth of TP?

Honestly, I think everyone with means should have 1-2 months of basic necessities on hand in case of emergencies (job loss, natural disaster, etc), especially for shelf-stable stuff like TP and soap. However, the time to stock up isn't when an emergency happens, but after an emergency happens (presumably your stock is a bit low).

[TheSpiceIsLife]

> For my family of 4, a 36-pack lasts >6 months (probably closer to a year, I haven't bothered to calculate it),

One roll per week? That seems frugal.

180 pieces per roll x 36 rolls is 6480 pieces of toilet paper. (Guessing the 180, fairly standard-ish here in Australia).

Divide that by days in half a year 6480 / 182 = 35 pieces per day divided by 4 family members in the house is 9 pieces of toilet paper each per day.

[topologistics]

If you're pooping two to three times per day, that's like three or four squares of TP per dump, which seems quite reasonable.

(not wasteful) != frugal

[downerending]

It's very TMI, but some people really do need a lot more than this. Have a little empathy for your fellow man/woman.

In any case, using a lot of TP might be unfortunate, but it's hardly a sin.