Remember those weeks during the spring of 2020 when toilet paper was suddenly impossible to find? Store shelves sat empty, and people began desperately asking on Facebook where they might be able to purchase a few rolls. Stores began rationing their limited stock, and families tried to use their supplies sparingly.

Thankfully, we’re out of that dark time. But one mother has recently realized that her home seems to be going through toilet paper at a frustratingly fast rate. Below, you’ll find the full story that she shared on MumsNet explaining why she’s decided to limit how much TP her family members can have.

This mom has noticed that toilet paper in her home disappears at an abnormally fast rate

Image credits: Anna Shvets

So she’s decided to get to the bottom of who’s using too much

Image credits: Kindel Media

Image credits: Notjustmesurely

There are many factors that affect how long a roll of toilet paper will last someone

Image credits: Mick Haupt (not the actual photo)

Toilet paper is one of those necessities that almost all of us use, but we don’t often think too much about it. We make sure we have enough on hand to not run out, and we might opt for a softer brand if we have sensitive skin. But toilet paper doesn’t occupy a lot of our mental space, until it’s nowhere to be found. During the toilet paper shortage of 2020, it seemed to be all anyone could talk about. Why is this happening? Who bought it all? Should I have bought more? When will the stores restock? 

Now that this mother is experiencing a shortage within her own household, she’s determined to get to the bottom of it. When it comes to how long a roll of toilet paper should last a person, there are obviously many factors involved. 

How many times are they going to the bathroom per day? How many hours are they even at home (if they spend the majority of their day at work or school)? How hydrated are they, and how much fiber do they eat? How thick is the toilet paper they’re using? There’s much to consider when trying to calculate how long a roll should last you.

On average, a person will use one roll every 4 days

Image credits: Isaac Quesada (not the actual photo)

According to the toilet paper company Cottonelle, the average person will go to the bathroom between 4-10 times a day. Women tend to use about 6.41 sheets of toilet paper per trip to the bathroom, while men typically use 8.1 sheets when they reach for the toilet paper. By Cottonelle’s math, the average person will use up a 150-sheet roll in about 4 days.

When it comes to families, Cottonelle estimates that a family of four will go through about one roll a day, or 7 rolls a week. However, young children tend to go more frequently and might have challenges going more often, so it’s wise to always have extra rolls on hand. 

During the shortage, people were so concerned about knowing how long their toilet paper stash would last that two UK residents actually created a site to calculate precisely how long people could go without buying more TP. “We are hoping that people will use the site and see they don’t need to go out and empty the shelves,” the creators of the site, Ben Sassoon and Sam Harris, told The Verge.

But there are ways we can cut back on our toilet paper usage

Image credits: Anton (not the actual photo)

According to Statista, the average household in the US spent $114.41 on toilet paper in 2022. So if you’re looking for ways to stretch your toilet paper rolls, Adele at Mind Your Behind has a few tips. First, she explains that folding style will impact how much TP a person goes through. Are you a folder or a scruncher? Adele says most of us fall into one of these two camps, but when it comes to usage, folders seem to be the superior group.

Folders use 50% less toilet paper at a time, Adele notes, so the mother in this story might want to ensure that her kids and husband are all on the same page about folding. People also often use toilet paper to clean their glasses, clean the toilet seat, wipe their nose, or remove makeup. If you want it to last as long as possible, keep it for purely potty purposes. And of course, if you want to use the minimum amount of toilet paper possible, consider investing in a bidet with a dryer.

We would love to hear your thoughts on this story in the comments below, pandas. Do you think it’s reasonable for this mother to ration toilet paper within her household? Feel free to share, and then if you’re interested in checking out another Bored Panda article discussing toilet paper usage, look no further than right here!

Later, the mom shared her children’s ages

Some readers believed she was being unreasonable

However, others understood why the mom resorted to rationing toilet paper

Some also shared tips and personal experiences that might be helpful

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