Shortages and abundances

In Las Cruces NM grocery stores (Walmart included) the shelves on the aisles for toilet paper and paper towels are bare. Many types of soups are out of stock. There are bare spaces in the shelves where Ramen noodle type meals are sold. On the last visit to Walmart, there was only one brand of (dry) spaghetti in stock. (They did have a variety of other dry pasta such as noodles and linquini.) The only gallon jugs of water were distilled water. Some brands of hot dogs are out of stock. The Oscar Meyer brand is available. There is less non-frozen chicken available.

There is no shortage of most other things, including beer, wine, coffee, and steaks.

With stay at home in place many people buy groceries for a week or two at a time.

Pasta is quick and easy.

Everyone is terrified of running out of TP. Maybe folks will catch on to the idea of increased fiber in your diet reduces the need for TP.

Dang, now Meta Mucil will be gone from the shelves.

jtk

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Stephen Tashiro

In Las Cruces NM grocery stores (Walmart included) the shelves on the aisles for toilet paper and paper towels are bare. Many types of soups are out of stock. There are bare spaces in the shelves where Ramen noodle type meals are sold. On the last visit to Walmart, there was only one brand of (dry) spaghetti in stock. (They did have a variety of other dry pasta such as noodles and linquini.) The only gallon jugs of water were distilled water. Some brands of hot dogs are out of stock. The Oscar Meyer brand is available. There is less non-frozen chicken available.

There is no shortage of most other things, including beer, wine, coffee, and steaks.

---

I went on a grocery run yesterday morning (fully prepped for surgery) and the paper products shelves were fully stocked.

Shortly thereafter I entered Satan's Lair (Costco) and they were handing out TP at the door. "You want some?" "No, I already went. But that's very thoughtful of you."

On our last trip out (Wednesday) Walmart, Aldi's and Harris Teeter (local grocery chain) all had toilet paper, and some Kleenx. All had ground beef, plus most other meats. I don't understand the water shortages, turn on the spigot and run a cooler full. Due to frequent power outages since Duke took over our service, we keep a five gallon cooler in downstairs show to flush commode. We are on a well, so no electricity means no water till generator is up and running.

2 weeks ago there wasn't a paper product or any chicken anywhere. Now everything is pretty normal. Well, I don't know about hand sanitizer; turns out the 2 bottle I had will last months. There just isn't much use for it.

I am however prepared for the stores to shut down completely. I figure I have enough "food" for a month, and 500B gallons of water in my backyard. I just hope they keep the sewer department going, though my neighbor is on septic....

I read an article that gave some sense to the toilet paper shortage. Yes there are people hoarding. (Why do you need a closet full when you never did before?) With all the stay at home going on home usage is up about 40%. Consumer toilet paper is usually 100% virgin fiber. The toilet paper used commercially is produced in different plants with some percentage of recycled content. The rolls are usually either the very large ones or tubeless but either way different than the consumer brands. So it isn't an easy thing to convert to a different product. I would expect toilet paper usage is usually a pretty standard volume with small blips. This is a huge blip and then with hoarding compounded to an even bigger issue. It also is worse in metropolitan areas. I shipped 36 rolls to my daughter last Saturday because they were down to using Kleenex in the bathroom. Cleveland metro area. That will last them a couple months so hopefully this will all be in the rear view mirror by then.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ronald Blue

I read an article that gave some sense to the toilet paper shortage. ....

---

A story was relayed to me, so can't cite the source, about the psychology behind the butt tape shortage: basically it is cheap, big (packages), and makes people feel that they are doing something to prep for the worst.

As of the past weeks, toilet paper and paper towels are back in stock at a local Walmart and Albertsons

When I went to Lowes Hardware, looking for a corded orbital sander, they had six models on display, but none for sale. Sutherlands had one model (Makita) on display and none for sale. Harbor Freight had no model on display, but 3 of a model in stock.