Prepping 101: Toilet Paper, Maxi-Pads, Diapers, Birth Control and Other Survival Disasters

Authors Paul Helinski Prepping 101
From what I have seen in the editorial world, most prepping and survival stuff out there is written to sell ads on a popular subject, not to help you actually survive.  One of the authors I follow recently suggested this Bidet but washing system from Home Depot. Where is the water pressure going to come from?

From what I have seen in the editorial world, most prepping and survival stuff out there is written to sell ads on a popular subject, not to help you actually survive. One of the authors I follow recently suggested this Bidet but washing system from Home Depot. Where is the water pressure going to come from?

I had the saddest thing happen the other day at Walmart. When you buy 50 of something, whether it be toilet paper or cans of SPAM, the cashier usually comments in some way. This cashier was probably a 19 year old girl, and of course she asked why I was buying such a huge amount. I am seldom one to mix words, so I answered that a big collapse is coming and some of us are trying to prepare ourselves for what we know is coming. She answered “well whatever it is, I’m probably going to come out at the bottom of it.” I asked her if she knew that the Greek banks had been closed for several weeks. She did not, and she was wide eyed about the prospect of only being able to take out $60 from the ATMs, a policy which was instituted in Greece as well (it is 60 Euros). It makes you not wonder how all of those people in Greece got caught in the mess, when the writing had been on the wall so long. “It can’t happen here. They will figure out something to keep my life chugging along like normal.” This girl could of course do something. Cans of SPAM are about $2.75. But she won’t because she has been taught that she is powerless.

That whole thing got me thinking about what this girl’s life would look like when the collapse happens, because even if somehow the government showed up with food (which they won’t eventually), they sure won’t be supplying toilet paper and maxi-pads, and that goes for us preppers as well. I did an article some time ago with a lot of little things you might not think about, but there are some things you just can’t store enough of, because of the space and money required. You can grow food. Most likely a replacement economy will create supply chains for food, but once the collapse happens, who wants to swap whatever you have available for toilet paper or other disposables? We have to find replacements.

What you will rarely find is the suggestion of Peri Bottles to replace toilet paper. Hospitals send women home with these after natural births because wiping is painful. They are available for less than a buck a piece in six packs on Ebay.

What you will rarely find is the suggestion of Peri Bottles to replace toilet paper. Hospitals send women home with these after natural births because wiping is painful. They are available for less than a buck a piece in six packs on Ebay.

One of my big peeves in the prepping world are the articles written by people who aren’t actually preparing for anything. Nearly every print magazine and 90% of the blogs out there are just people writing about a popular topic to sell advertising. This column on GunsAmerica is about actual survival, and actual survival is not what a lot of people think. I read a column recently about toilet paper where the writer suggests a “Bidet” product from Home Depot. Bidets are popular in Europe, and they work great…if you have good water pressure. I don’t know what this idiot is using to pump his water, but from everything I have figured out, city water is going to go down fairly quickly, and most home well pumps have motors in the 10 amp range, at 220 volts (2200 watts), which is at the very very top of the range you will find on an inverter. Even the inverters that claim 15,000 peak watts don’t take into account that you need a ton of batteries in parallel to draw even 1000 watts. So even if you could rig your well pump to work with solar, the drain is very high, if you can even pull it off with the budget of a paycheck to paycheck prepper.

The low tech version of the Bidet is called the Perineal Bottle. You can find them on Ebay for less than a buck each in bulk packages of 6. These bottles are commonly used by women after a natural birth delivery, because wiping is painful, but if you have never been through that, you wouldn’t know that they even exist.

As a toilet paper replacement you can use cloth, and yea, it’s icky, but if most of the work is done with the Peri bottle, it isn’t as icky. If you want cheap cloths, Costco and other big box stores usually have either white or read utility cloths cheap in bulk, but if want something a little thicker, you can either make or buy what people call a “Family Cloth.”

You could make your own "Family Cloths" out of material to clean up with, with or without Peri bottles, as well.  You could also use washcloths or shop cloths. But these quilted cotten diapers are available in quantity from China for under 40 cents each.

You could make your own “Family Cloths” out of material to clean up with, with or without Peri bottles, as well. You could also use washcloths or shop cloths. But these quilted cotten diapers are available in quantity from China for under 40 cents each.

That foolish article with the Bidet also linked to a blog written by a woman who had switched to hand sewn cloths for her family. You could do that, but I think that buying quilted cloth diapers from China is a lot smarter. I found them in Ebay in packs of 10 for less than 40 cents per diaper, delivered. You won’t find a US made name brand cloth diaper for several times that, and I already have some. They are great quality.

I also bought the outer diaper cover/holder because I have a newborn right now and diapers will be in my future for some time. In China, the people don’t have the disposable income that we do for things like disposable diapers. Cloth diapers aren’t a fringe moonbat product like here in the US, so the products are extremely mature and work great. The diaper covers are generally about 4 bucks each, and come in both boy and girl colors. You can buy them with or without the inserts. For me the big selling point is that they are adjustable for all the years of diaper use with a snap system. From a Prepping 101 perspective, these things are an absolute must have.

If you have a child of diaper age in your party, those cloth diapers can be purchased with or without these diaper covers that are adjustable from infant to toddler. Bought separately they are about $4 each, shipped from China where they are used by most people.

If you have a child of diaper age in your party, those cloth diapers can be purchased with or without these diaper covers that are adjustable from infant to toddler. Bought separately they are about $4 each, shipped from China where they are used by most people.

The same thing goes for what in the US are called Diva Cups, and the rest of the world seems to call them Moon Cups. Most prepping columns are written buy guys, either single guys or old guys, neither of whom think much about menstruation. But if you have a woman in your group, or a lot of women, these things are going to be absolutely essential. I initially tried to store feminine pads, like I initially tried to store toilet paper, but at some point I realized that you just can’t store enough. A moon cup is a silicone rubber insert that takes the place of pads or tampons, and if you read the Wikipedia, they are reusable for ten years or more. In the US they are expensive. If you go into Whole Foods (that store used to be called Bread and Circus – look up where that comes from), Diva cups are upwards of $30 each. But again, like the diapers, in China these things are not a fringe product, so you can buy them directly from China for $1.00 to $5.00 each, delivered. No, that is not a misprint. I think that the Chinese government is subsidizing shipping or something, because the prices of these things coming from China are ridiculous, and they are all great quality.

Menstruation is an issue for anyone with women under 50 in your survival party. Like toilet paper, you can stock up so many feminine pads or tampons, but eventually you are going to run out. These are called Diva Cups or Moon Cups, and you can get them from China for as little as a couple bucks each. They will last for ten years or more, and the reports are that they work well.

Menstruation is an issue for anyone with women under 50 in your survival party. Like toilet paper, you can stock up so many feminine pads or tampons, but eventually you are going to run out. These are called Diva Cups or Moon Cups, and you can get them from China for as little as a couple bucks each. They will last for ten years or more, and the reports are that they work well.

Now we come to birth control, and this can be a controversial topic and political football, so I’m not getting into that side of it. The painful reality about survival is that it is not a good idea to get pregnant, and as much as you think that it won’t be an issue due to the “survival mentality,” there are people living on garbage dumps in Indonesia with no teeth who get pregnant and have babies. No matter how bad things get, pregnancy is always going to be an issue. You can buy birth control pills without a prescription from India under their Schedule H laws, but they are expensive. The obvious answer from a Prepping 101 perspective is a regular old Diaphragm, used with spermicide cream, which you can stock up on because it is not a prescription item.

Another option, which to me seems much more durable than a thin latex Diaphragm, is the Cervical Cap, but it seems that the old brand of it is no longer made. Again, in the US, this is not really a promoted product, so it is understandable that it would die. But in Europe, and even Canada, the FemCap brand seems to be very popular, used with a natural spermicide called ContraGel. The FemCap is FDA approved, and approved by most of the big the medical associations around the world, and I found it on Ebay for about $100. There are only 3 sizes, unlike Diaphragms, and the reviews I have read suggest that women prefer the FemCap to the Diaphragm. Read up on it for yourself if this is an issue for you.

The same is true of these Cervical Caps in regards to birth control.  They are thicker and more durable than regular Diaphragms, and you don't need a prescription for them or the natural spermicidal gel that are used with them.  Something to think about anyway, which applies to all of this stuff.

The same is true of these Cervical Caps in regards to birth control. They are thicker and more durable than regular Diaphragms, and you don’t need a prescription for them or the natural spermicidal gel that are used with them. Something to think about anyway, which applies to all of this stuff.

Survival in a post collapse world is not going to be easy or fun. But remember that less than 100 years ago there were no imports from other countries, and less than 200 years ago there was no electricity, city water, or toilet paper. If you put your head back into those times, and think about what daily life would bring, making plans for it isn’t that hard if you do the research. It is hard to commit resources to something that may never happen, but ask the people in Greece if they thought this was going to happen to them, and its not over by any stretch. The can doesn’t have much road to kick down, and that goes for the US financial system as well. For my regular readers, I do still feel that the core of the collapse, the wars, the terrorism fear porn and all of the race riot nonsense is to cover up the global disaster of GeoEngineering. I explained in my latest article on Jade Helm. But I don’t expect the powers that be to give up easily, and part of their plan appears to be a coming worldwide financial collapse so that they can institute a world government and currency. It all gets pretty clear when you understand the core of it, and who knows how it’s going to work out. But you can either be like that powerless and defenseless girl at Walmart, or you can simply do the best you can do to recognize what is going on and prepare for it. None of us are guaranteed survival, no matter how much we think about this and plan for it. But isn’t it an obligation to at least try?

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  • Binarysystem November 8, 2016, 2:35 pm

    I think I will use cloth and rinse it out. I’ve used an outhouse in Pa. 1974 and I had to use rags as a kid for a year. My dad figure refused to buy toilet paper for better than a year for us 6 kids . Reflecting on that I’d say he was an idiot. I believe an economic collapse is coming but it will come on the heels of Nibiru hercolubus wormwood destroyer etc. if you live under the 750ft elevation no amount of prepping is going to help. If you think you will be aided in evacuation well, think of this where in the €%#=*€? are they going to evacuate 75 million ppl to ? And on very short notice. Nope no E&E they will let it happen because along with the other planetary wide disasters that will be occurring the resources will not be there. Think of what will happen to our planet as another planet 5xs larger than Jupiter passes close. It will shake the earth like a rag doll. It’s here now in our system and will begin its approach to pass earth very very soon. First small numerous earthquakes then a large one and a tidal wave will be created when the Atlantic Rift is lifted as it passes by. According to emails from wiki leaks. It is expected to take out the east coast. Uh anyone else seeing the UN vehicles being staged all over the country? Check it out access Hubble images before they shut it down conveniently just after hercolubus was detected. Check out Antartica tracking telescope it was installed in a rush right after Hubble discovery. Also look at the numerous pics of double Suns etc from Southern Hemisphere. It’s here it’s happening and “they” have known for a very long time. Read the books by Z. Sitchin and Michael Tellinger

  • interventor November 7, 2016, 10:57 pm

    As to no imports 100 years ago, sorry no! The US imported much from overseas. Most locks for flintlocks were imported from England. Then, included in otherwise colonial, then USA, made weapons. Flints were imported from France.

  • loupgarous November 7, 2016, 4:15 pm

    I had a little survival training in college (LSU, and our textbook was the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Conservation’s excellent “Survival in the Marsh”), and have trained as a Civil Defense shelter manager, so I’m aware of the “big-picture” issues and some of the small ones, having hunted and fished much of my young life and lived throught Hurricane Betsy (which killed our power and water for three weeks) as a kid.

    But I’ll never shut someone else down who’s got a different perspective. Listen closely and you learn a thing or two.

    hiplnsdrftr brought some valuable perspective of how disaster response works in SHTF situations – usually not. We had unusually good disaster response in south Louisiana after Betsy, local grocery stores gave their regular customers the ice cream they knew they were going to lose anyway, and served as distribution centers for ice brought in by parish Civil Defense.

    And our parish Civil Defense was the good old-fashioned functional Cold War type designed to manage the aftermath of nuclear attack, so they got into the hurricane response mission enthusiastically. While studying to be a shelter manager, I read Federal Office of Civil Defense case histories of hurricane response in coastal Louisiana which emphasized how valuable a really destructive hurricane like Betsy, Camille or Katrina would be to evaluate the effectiveness of plans to manage survival after a nuclear war.

    Bringing this up because it’s only in recent years we’ve had the mentality of “it’s not our job to prepare for disasters – it’s the federal government’s!” No. Civil Defense (not “Emergency Management,” that name has a curse on it after Katrina and other disasters like the recent flooding in central Louisiana where FEMA has basically limited its efforts to helping the people on the welfare dime, and denies help to anyone else) ought to be local. Really local, as in “down to household level”.

    Barack Obama made a remark about everyone needing to prepare for emergencies – after his party took a standing leak on Civil Defense and prepping every time a Republican administration said it was good idea. Of course, this was such a good idea to Obama because he knew FEMA was going to be turning half the people who needed help down for assistance, and he had a Democratic governor of Louisiana too determined to use his tongue as the Presidential Peri bottle to complain about it.

    So I’m all for everyone kicking in practical ideas. Peri bottles look pretty good long’s your water holds out. Wonder if garden pumps wouldn’t (with their much higher pressure) do more with less water? Sounds goofy, but I think all ideas ought to go out there.

    Thanks for the great article!

  • hiplnsdrftr November 7, 2016, 12:58 pm

    Big fan of this site but never felt the urge to reply until now, a few comments in no special order-

    Walking Dead is minimally informative/realistic, for a “better” fictional view of an apocalypse read/watch The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Also try the non-fiction books First They Killed My Father (Cambodia genocide) and We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families (Rwanda genocide).

    After working in Indonesia and wiping Indonesian style for 6 weeks I got very used to it. I once ran out of toilet paper at home and went Indonesian for a year… no paper or towels needed, just some water. Its not as gross as you think.

    I spent several weeks in the Japan tsunami area. I saw things so fucked up your brain can’t actually process it. You look at it, but it doesn’t fit into the expected categories and your mind does this thing, almost like short circuits. Later it hits you. Anyways my point is, every single thing you could own was destroyed. If there were any preppers there, if they weren’t killed, most of what they stock piled was water logged or washed out to sea. After being earth quaked and flooded they were then frozen by a blizzard. Wiping your ass with your hand will be the least of your worries.

    Also, after the tsunami, all of the oil and fuel tanks leaked out, so all of the ground is a giant fuel slick mixed with rotting flesh, moldy debris and razor sharp wreckage. There was no gas to salvage. So no driving around in an RV. No growing crops in the spring. Some kind of breathing filter probably a good idea. And good boots.

    For better or worse I live in NYC, experienced 9/11, the blackout and hurricane Sandy. Prepare yourself for no electricity, cops too busy to worry about petty stuff and the stores will be emptied within an hour. In NYC we can’t have guns, so need to be familiar with improvising weapons. Even if you have a firearm where you live you’ll run out of bullets soon enough. After the blackout I walked home (after I climbed out of the subway in total darkness). The cops were too busy so another guy and me directed traffic for six hours at a major intersection. It was a clusterfuck. Most people didn’t even know the route how to walk home!

    In Third World (Mongolia and Africa from my experience) a lot of babies/toddlers run around pantless so they don’t need diapers. Also in Africa you see mom’s wipe baby shit on their own legs. After a while you get used to a pervasive shit smell and don’t even notice it.

    Your Mad Max truck will be useless once there’s no fuel. Buy a mountain bike and plan on fighting to keep it as you ride along. Most of you wear cheap shitty shoes. Invest in some really good/comfortable boots. If your feet get injured you’re dead. Try the Danner or Red Wing website.

    Once again, the majority of people don’t have guns and those that do will run out of bullets eventually. But you will encounter many people with knives and machetes/baseball bats. I was attacked by two guys with knives in the Philippines (survived obviously) and I saw a machete fight in Tanzania. Invest in a machete or a Ka-bar bk3.

    Back on topic… I’ve had BM emergencies all over the world. Leaves and grass will suffice. But if I was planning on being with a female I loved I would stock up on stuff for her.

  • RonP November 7, 2016, 11:41 am

    There are a lot of good ideas here but I am amazed that people love to squabble so much. If you think you know everything and everyone else knows nothing, you might well have overestimated yourself. When things go down, the power to facilitate cooperation with others and work in a community with others will be paramount. None of us know everything about everything but all of us (or most of us) know a lot about something. God designed us to work together. Some of us need to get over ourselves!

    • Mark November 7, 2016, 8:29 pm

      In theory I agree with you. But in reality under stress people tend to regress to more egocentric behaviors. The question: what is the depth of spiritual development of the populace that would deliver them from an ego centric response into community cooperation as you noted a.k.a. maturity? How do you gauge that development? I am not so hopeful as I see today an increase in hostility some of which is fostered by the government. There will be small communities that cooperate but there will also be the unruly gangs that will attack those who are trying to cooperate. Such is another reason for the second amendment. I would prefer the cooperation myself. But one has to have a maturity of developed social skills to accomplish this.
      .

  • Elizabeth Cotten November 7, 2016, 10:04 am

    Just a thought on using peribottles: the availability and amount of clean water needed to use this. I know I wouldn’t want to clean my hoo-haw with not potable water. The last thing I’d want to deal with in a SHTF situation is an infection in that area due to unclean water. Using a family cloth can be washed and then boiled to sanitize.

  • John November 7, 2016, 9:15 am

    If you travel to Southeast Asia you will find these bidet setups everywhere. My wife is from there and wanted one, so I set one up in our main bathroom, I came off the valve by the wall, it works great, plenty of pressure.

    • John November 7, 2016, 9:18 am

      Oh yeah, I forgot, I have a shallow well, and a 12v pump from Harbor Freight and a small solar setup, so I can keep things going…for a while

      • Tom November 7, 2016, 10:46 am

        Nice article. I stock pads and tampons for wound trauma; the pads act as clotting agents and the tampons are great for GSW and nosebleeds. Consider stocking toilet paper into three foot high plastic drums to act as a commode as well.

        One thing most people/preppers forget is antibiotics/medications. Keep a supply of antibiotics and anti-diarrhea medications, at a minimum. Bactrim, doxycycline, lonotil [anti-diarrhea med] and penicillin are a good start and can be traded for other needs.

        • Bad Penguin November 7, 2016, 1:03 pm

          Another item to stock up on is Vinager. Its a fantastic antiseptic and works great on things like athletes foot. It is also great for killing odors.

        • bmaverick November 8, 2016, 12:34 pm

          When stocking up on pads and tampons, make 100% certain it’s from organic materials. The common store bought or cheap brands have been found to contain very high amounts of glyphosate that is not regulated in the industry. Glyphosate is now connected to various cancers.

          I really like the idea mentioned in the article to …. MAKE YOUR OWN, knowing what materials were used.

          Other than a few prepper Youtube channels, this review is actually done well. There is not much on women health in SHTF scenarios being covered. And with women outnumbering men, I would say this review needs to be linked and reposted on the other forums for the larger audiences.

  • ClifH December 21, 2015, 1:46 pm

    Those diapers, family wipes and pads are great for wound trauma packs. Tampons are also great for bullet entry wounds though exit wounds may require the packs. Victims and women will both thank you for the blood soakers.
    Now if you want to use the “Way Back Machine”, don’t forget corncobs for wipes. Ouch!!

  • Mick Dodge July 28, 2015, 5:40 am

    Seriously folks during a real SHTF episode you can take a page out of the third world every day lifestyle and use your lesser hand to butt wipe and Gods green grass and leaves to wipe off your hand afterwords, A little end stink wont kill you.
    As for those lady needs, old T shirts, bed sheets , flannel shirts, so on and so forth.
    Remember this is real SHTF survival not a weekend pretend exercise in survival luxury style.

    • Administrator July 28, 2015, 8:09 am

      Yea Mick!! You go on that ok! Just do nothing now because it’s easier and Mick is way smart.

      • Mick Dodge July 28, 2015, 8:42 am

        LOL !!
        If ya SMELL what the Mick was cookin last night…

        • Administrator July 28, 2015, 1:21 pm

          Ya Mick = not welcome in my bunker lol.

    • ronald November 7, 2016, 6:34 am

      Yes – it’s not the game these (money-making) preppers make it seem like it’s going to be.
      If you want some kind of idea what it would really be like, watch “The Walking Dead!!”

  • Bigmag47 July 27, 2015, 4:56 pm

    Mr. B, apparently you`ve never heard of “natural disasters” These too will require “prepper” items if you wish to live relatively comfortable while waiting on the “norm” to return. Or do you believe these don`t exist either. Just because it hasn`t happened yet, doesn`t mean it won`t. Hence the word “prepper” as in PREPARE!
    I feel sorry for you that you can`t read the obviously bright writing on the wall telling of America`s collapse. If you know ANYTHING about global economy, you`ll know this country no matter how BIG it is, can and WILL collapse. It`s just a matter of time. The world is already doing away with the U.S. Dollar as the worlds currency. As soon as that takes place completely, it`s over. Do you know who, or what the “Fed” really is? If you did, your views on the impending collapse would not be so skeptical, I guarantee it! All I can say to you is “Good luck”, because you`re going to need lots of it, along with T.P.

  • Mr. B July 27, 2015, 1:44 pm

    I always get a good chuckle out of all these “prepper” posts, envisioning some wide-eyed redneck surrounded by his entire paycheck’s worth of water bottles, cheap canned food, toilet paper rolls, and, of course, LOTS of guns and ammunition (because everybody knows all rednecks turn Rambo when the “government finally collapses”.
    Of course the real joke is on you when you realize all these “imminent collapse” rumors are spread by people trying to sell you stuff.

    • Aaron July 27, 2015, 4:45 pm

      You may be correct in some circumstances, but this article is really level headed in its approach. Plus, I didn’t see any reference to a potential for personal profit by the author.

      If you want fear mongering, go read NATO reports, do the math on the bls /Fed/sec/ecb revisions of economic data, research the links between derivatives and underlying collateral and the criminality in the global bank that runs this planet. The fear is a natural response to immediate stimuli. Like flinching when a rock is thrown at your head.

      How you deal with the information is up to you, but the only time to panic us before everyone else does. He who panics first, panics best. By the time you’re done, everyone else is just getting started. Then, you’re cool, calm and collected.

      If you want to know why you should have panicked years ago, read zerohedge. Global currency parity for the introduction of a new global currency will not be fun.

    • steve July 27, 2015, 11:07 pm

      yea. and isn’t this the same writer that guaranteed us that the country was going to collapse this summer? maybe it was another admin, but either way, the summer is halfway over, and i see no signs of the apocalypse. but with these folks, it is always just around the corner, and every failed “prophecy” they make for some reason just reinforces their zeal.

      • Administrator July 27, 2015, 11:20 pm

        Another fool who reads half of things does no research and thinks he is safe. The article, which is linked from this one, said that it might come apart by the end of the summer if the polar ice caps melt do to geoenineering. And that if we make it to winter this will repeat next summer. Unfortunately none of us will be laughing last so there isnt much satisfaction in your foolishness.

    • BJ July 28, 2015, 3:43 pm

      Sounds like you think all preppers are f-ing nuts. BOy Scouts(before the butt bandits took over) were always prepared. Tell the preppers in the Katrina area they’re nuts. Remember the gas lines in 1973? Preppers weren’t affected. Hurricanes, etc-not so much affected. 3 days without power here once-had no effect on me and mine. Seems like a lot of the posters spend their energy taking whots at each other and bragging about how much they know. Take what you like, leave the rest. Just don’t be a burden on your neighbors when the SHTF

  • Dennis Hare July 27, 2015, 1:24 pm

    Good article, but I have to correct you on one of your statements. You said that “remember that less than 100 years ago there were no imports from other countries”. We have imported products since the first colonists came over, everything from firearms to tea cups to linens, etc. Even after America’s industries got going, we still imported lots of stuff. Remember the Boston Tea Party was supposedly about taxes on imported tea. In fact, until the income tax was permanently enacted, most of the Federal government’s income was from import tariffs. Otherwise, great article.

    • Mason Hamilton July 27, 2015, 3:12 pm

      You are correct. It’s surprising that we focus on the Tea Party/Tea Taxation when there were many more severe laws regarding import requirements. For example some that required nearly all hand tools to be imported from England. Colonist weren’t legally allowed to make their own shovels, hammers, firearms, etc.. Obviously enforcement was only effectively accomplished in Brit strongholds like Boston.

  • militia man July 27, 2015, 12:52 pm

    Love your articles and look forward to them arriving in my in box. Remember join your local militia people prepping in groups has a distinct advantage Vs. SOLO .

  • Craig Ramsey July 27, 2015, 12:44 pm

    I think people have been dealing with these issues for thousands of years, most of it without TP, Pads, diapers, IUDs.
    Unfortunately a good portion of the world still does. I think its best to step back in time 50 to 100 yrs and say that’s how I’m going to deal with it. You could wipe with Spam but I think the Sears catalog or phone book might be better. Since these volumes may be in short supply, I have purchased several copies of Dante’s Inferno, A Tale of Two Cities and The Great Gatsby as substitutes. Others may wish to make a political or religious statement with Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, Theory of Relativity, Quotations from Mao, Mein Kampf or the Qur’an and the Bible which I heard were the 2 most printed books in the world. The American Indian and most of the content of Africa didn’t have access to these volumes and did just fine.

    And Hey Administrator! Doesn’t the Administrator Handbook say you can’t be a smart ass? Get with the program.
    You can’t be calling guests “Genius” unless you want to discourage comments. Let US correct and belittle worthless comments, its what we do best.

    • Administrator July 27, 2015, 1:50 pm

      Why Craig? There are people here who really have contributed with worthwhile knowledge they earned. Why give someone an unmitigated voice who is just a lazy sack with a half a bottle of gatoraide in the fridge?

  • Mason Hamilton July 27, 2015, 10:26 am

    I’ve been critical of a number of Paul’s articles in the past because of a lack technical depth – IMO. However, his article this week focuses on the details rarely delved into by most prep writers – as Paul also points out. His suggestions for alternative disposable personal care needs here are resourceful/well researched, clever and practically realistic and useful in many disaster/collapse scenarios. Great article Paul.

    • Administrator July 27, 2015, 11:01 am

      This article was actually written specifically for people who want their behinds actually wiped, so there you go. All of these articles focus on details rarely delved into by most preppers, but there are far too many details for anyone to actually chase down until they make the initial decisions about how they want to skin that particular cat. Go take a look at others who have covered a topic like solar, or radios, and what you’ll find is that few if any actually purchased anything. I should do an article on how long that half a bottle of gatoraide that constitutes all the wannabees prepping supplies will last lol. But thanks for your qualified compliment. Hang onto that gatoraide. It might come in handy.

  • Aaron July 27, 2015, 9:49 am

    The reason I’m going to buy the more expensive diva cups for the woman in my life is that they’re designed to last ten years.

    I can’t visualize the ‘success’rate of Chinese built tech being used by the women I love. Drywall, plumbing fixtures, killer dog food…

    I just want to crowd source the purchase. I want to convince the women in my life (my wife, her mom, my sister, wife’s sister’s, friends) to buy them for themselves. I just don’t want to sound alarmist.

    Trying to figure out a good sales pitch. Maybe I should just buy them and have a Tupperware party to recoup my costs.

    • Administrator July 27, 2015, 10:13 am

      Where do you think the whole foods ones come from genius? They are exactly the same mold if you look at pictures side by side.

      • Aaron July 27, 2015, 11:54 am

        We’re all in this together.

        Yes, you caught me. I didn’t do any research before posting. I just have a bias and it showed. Excuse me for not trusting communists the way you do.

        I’ll go do my research and refrain from bothering you on your posts.

        Specifically, I’m going to look into how the products are made. Sounds like you looked at pictures and made a conclusion.

        • Administrator July 27, 2015, 12:42 pm

          Communists? Oh, you still believe that we actually vote for something and that our markets are free. This is Amerika, until it isn’t anymore. There are few things you buy that aren’t made in China. How could you not know that? It’s fine if you want to slink into a corner because someone actually answered you. But if anyone can find a more substantive discussion about actually surviving post collapse, by all means please share it with us. We have had some great comments on this column that has led to me finding some great products, and helping me to understand some very complex issues regarding things like radiation, ham radios, and more recently even family tents. Internet commenters think that because they can write a comment, it means that they deserve to write it and that they should write it. Usually that is not the case, especially if your perspective is still being influenced by Sean Hannity patriot thinking. The point is to wake up, and maybe survive what is coming.

          • Aaron July 27, 2015, 12:55 pm

            You are in customer service as much as in research and journalism.

            I’m your customer. Or rather, your advertisers are. I’m the product you’re selling them. Best not to break that cycle, right?

            I know there are no markets.

            You’re being fairly offensive. Granted, I juiced the conversation by accusing you of trusting communists. I’m trying to stick to the point, though.

            I’m buying diva cups because they’re made in America. I’ll buy the Chinese for trading with folks who didn’t prepare.

      • Aaron July 27, 2015, 11:57 am

        http://www.amazon.com/Diva-Cup-Pre-Childbirth/dp/B000FAG6X0#featureBulletsAndDetailBullets_secondary_view_div_1438012507060

        Even if it’s labeled one thing by Chinese manufacturers, it could be anything. Fukushima produce us being sold in China, today. It’s all fake all the time. But, we’re all gonna end up in the ground one day, right?

        Diva is made in the USA. Pure silicone.

      • TorgerTheTerrible July 27, 2015, 8:09 pm

        TOILET PAPER / CLEANSING WIPES !!! ….. or …… you’ll be sorry !!!!

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