Now, we all know about saving dryer lint for a firestarter, and even about saving used toilet paper rolls to fill with said lint. But something rarely discussed, after SHTF, is toilet paper itself – or the lack thereof.

I saw a post on FB about, um, what to do, and I can tell you from experience to be very, very careful which leaves you grab to er, take care of your business. All of this prompted me to look into – yep, the history of toilet paper.

Best I can tell, from my “in-depth” research, is that toilet paper wasn’t widely available in the US until the mid- to late-1800s. I’m sure we’ve all heard about using catalog pages for this chore, and all I can think when I remember reading this is OUCH. Talk about scratchy, but guess it’s better than nothing. Maybe.

My point is that toilet paper might be something you stock up on for SHTF. You know, for Number Two only – I mean, seriously, this is going to have to be rationed. It takes up a lot of space. Now, guys, obviously for Number One you don’t have this issue, but ladies, I have two words for you: drip dry.

Gross? A little. Deal with it.

How many of you, when camping, use those disgusting vault toilets? All of you? Really? I’ll take a tree or a shrub any day over those. Ick. Yes, I can be a little squeamish, but think about it – you’re sitting on a metal can-like object, hovering over a small lake of… Okay, let’s not go there. Sure, if you use the woods you do run the risk of, oh, small insects getting up in your business, but to me it’s more preferable than… Alright, I’m done!

So, to wrap this up: stock up on toilet paper, learn to drip dry, ration what you have, and hope for the best. I’d also suggest saving some of those catalogs, too. Fortunately, today, many are printed on recycled paper so they’re a bit… softer. Maybe. Or, there’s always a squirt bottle. Seriously.