TAKE STOCK – WEEK 5

Piggybacking off last week’s review of food storage containers and supplies, this week let’s Take Stock of other paper and plastic products we use.

Do an inventory of:

Paper towels

Napkins

Toilet paper

Kitchen garbage bags

Kleenex

Paper plates

Paper/plastic cups

Plastic cutlery

These are not, strictly speaking, necessities in the home. Some would say they are wasteful. Nevertheless, they sure come in handy, not just for post-disaster emergencies but also for the everyday kind of emergencies we encounter.

The Great Toilet Paper Shortage of 2020 should still be in everyone’s remembrance, but it doesn’t take a worldwide pandemic to create problems. I remember in the 1970’s (when a trucking strike prevented shipments of goods coming from the Lower 48 to grocery stores in Anchorage, Alaska), looking down the empty toilet paper aisle with dismay. While, yes, there are non-disposable alternatives to toilet paper, if our modern-day sensibilities would rather not think about such things, we had better make sure we have enough toilet paper in our storage!

Paper plates and cups along with plastic cutlery are not just for picnics at the park or large informal gatherings. There are other ways these items can make our lives easier. On the disaster end of things, when there is no water at the house, you certainly don’t want to have a bunch of dishes to wash. At the other end of the “emergency” spectrum, when you are ill, just had a baby, or there is some other upheaval going on in your life, sometimes getting meals made is pushing it — looking at a pile of dishes afterward just makes you feel worse. In these events, just use the disposable goods!

So, this week, look at what you have on hand, determine what you would want to have in your supply for extraordinary – and not so extraordinary – circumstances and fill in the gaps.