THE BOTTOM LINE

Toilet Paper (TP) seems to be rarely mentioned among many preppers but here are some things to think about. Have you ever had to actually use Nature’s bounty to wipe yourself clean? Heck, just try using newspaper or paper towels for a week. I guarantee you that for the initial onset period you will likely have a chafed/chapped rear end! When was the last time you tried hiking any distance at all with a raw butt? Or tried to sit or get quality sleep with a sore butt? Beyond all that there are the added facts that pain can detract from sound thinking and that a raw enough butt could easily lead to a dangerous infection.

So what to do? Well, my suggestion, speaking from experience, is that nothing beats the little “compressed” towelettes. They are about the size of two stacked quarters and “swell” to size when added to water. They are inexpensive, very compact, and extremely light-weight. They are advertised as disposable though they are very durable (same rayon/nylon used in many higher dollar dishrags) and can be washed for repeated use - think of cloth diapers - it works. For the space and weight of one roll of TP you could store/carry a 100 of these little gems. These actually, because they work wet, clean better than regular TP. By rotating the use of these with Nature’s bounty you’d give yourself a chance to develop tolerance to whatever may be handy as time goes by.

These little towelettes are also good for doing dishes, regular hygiene (bucket bathing), first aid wound cleansing, etc. - of course I recommend designating which towel is used for which task! Wet down they would make an adequate emergency face mask against smoke, gas, etc. Heck, I guess you could use them still compressed to plug a puncture/bullet wound - the ladies could even use them as emergency tampons! As with all your Bug In or B.O.B. gear the more multipurpose an item is the better - as long as you don’t sacrifice quality. Cheap is not the same as inexpensive. You can even get these individually sealed and still in bulk.

Never overlook the difference it can make when you at least try to pamper the ladies a little too. So use your head and remember your bottom - you’ll be glad you did. Don’t just survive - thrive.