I took my car into the shop for an overdue oil change last week. While there, they found the oil pump seal was leaking and there was a maintenance notice to replace the wiring and whatnot that goes with the pump. *sigh*
I took it back into the shop today. When I went to pick it up, I decided to get a grocery shopping out of the way too. In particular, I’m getting a bit low on toilet paper. I’m down to two rolls. (I was able to reinstate a roll when I bought a box of tissues for my allergies.) After a couple of weeks of COVID-19 craziness, I was sure the shelves would be restocked.
So I made my way to Aldi. As I entered a lady gave her cart to me. Part of me wanted to decline, because I don’t know where her hands have been! But I took the cart.
I circulated the store and picked up the other items I needed. Finally I made it to the paper goods aisle. No TP.
A friend posted a day or two ago that the Walmart down the street had toilet paper. They were rationing it, which is more than fair. I headed that way, thinking with the rationing and the bigger store size of a Walmart would mean they would still have some.
I walked directly to the TP aisle, trying to avoid even eye contact with anyone. There were a lot of folks there, and maintaining a 6-foot perimeter around my body proved challenging sometimes. At one point, an old lady with a walker and I nearly knocked the products off of our respective shelves we were trying so hard to avoid each other.
And my main thought about this is, what the fuck is wrong with people?! What are they doing with all of that toilet paper? If I buy a 12-pack it lasts me for months. I realize that folks with more people in their house will go through it faster. Are they social distancing by TP-ing their neighbors’ houses? Are they creating plaster effigies of their favorite superheroes? Are they creating TP couches and chairs to lounge upon?
Once I got home, I started Googling. I checked Amazon for TP. Sold out. I Googled ecofriendly TP and found a few companies that make and sell it on a subscription basis. (WhoGivesACrap.com, ReelPaper.com, HelloTushy.com if you are interested). Sold out.
So I started thinking outside of the tube. What about putting a bidet on my toilet? A little pricy. Don’t really want to spend a lot, though I’d obviously save on buying toilet paper in the future.
While learning about bidets, I learned that there are handheld ones. More cost-effective, but those too seem to be sold out. The earliest Amazon could get one here is mid-April. I also checked Ace Hardware, Lowe’s, and Home Depot. Sold out online. Not available in stores. No go.
But I remembered when looking for the eco-friendly TP, HelloTushy.com had a travel bidet. Cost-effective. Portable. Faster shipping than good, old Amazon. Not as convenient as the one that hooks up to the toilet water source, but all I have to do with this one is fill it up and keep it clean. Winner!
And it turns out they do good work by building toilets in India to help folks not die from poop-related diseases. Yay!
So now you know way more about my bum than you ever wanted to. (You’re welcome!!)
And maybe you’ll reconsider your toilet paper use. Being more sustainable is a good thing, and toilet paper is certainly something we don’t need. Other countries do without, and they do Ok. Using a bidet is supposed to be more hygienic than using TP. Considering COVID-19, that’s something we should all be considering.
So here’s to thinking about doing things differently and better as we progress through COVID-19. May your bums and hands be clean, and your families and friends healthy!