I always stock up on tp and paper towels when there is a really good sale and for TP nothing beats the scott 1000 rolls.
Tp never goes bad and you can always use it, also it is a good barter item in a pinch of the cheeks.
Paper towels can be used to supplement a first aid kit as well as you can put them over the other bandages to mop up blood in severe injuries, plus if you are carefull you can reuse them. Plus a well folded paper towel can be used in leu of a sanitary napkin as well, I have done this before and it better to use than TP which can work but is horrible in that it disintegrates.
Another good item is soap, either liquid or bar hand soap, or laundry soap. Stores really well and if you get enough of it you can also use it for bartering later.
Female Hygene products such as pads are another one you can use for other purposes like first aid plus are great barter items as well.
Any paper item is great to prep as they are fairly versitile and can be stored and rotated better than canned food.
Forogot to add when I stock up on laundry soap I buy the store brand in the plastic buckets, as it can be stored on the bottom of the store room and is immune to flooding. Plus after you use it, you have a free bucket, another barter item.
“...nothing beats the scott 1000 rolls.”
We stock up on TP and paper towels too, but in my opinion Scott’s 1000 TP is not economical. It takes more per use. It is not good TP. Only thing that is sometimes going for it is that it is ‘cheap’...in more ways than one. As long as the good stuff is available, we buy on sale and enjoy. If at some point after the shtf and we run out, it is corncob or catalog time...or maybe it is time to use plantain leaves (the broadleaf weed that grows in your yard), they are healing as well, if soreasses sets in... :)
Paper towels do have many uses, though I think they are a poor choice for drying things, mopping up etc as long as we can launder cloth towels. I find the select-a-size useful as a hankerchief. Sanitary, more effective than facial tissues, and may be used more than once.
As I mentioned in my earlier post, we make our own soap, as grandma did, using fat/grease and lye. There are many good recipes available on the internet. We turn all our fat/grease from cooking into soap. We use coconut oil for many things, including deep frying, and maybe once a month or so we start over with fresh oil and turn the old stuff into soap, along with other accumulated fats. Once you get the hang of it, it is easy. We use bars in the shower (I use it for body and hair) and we grate it for the laundry. We have used it in the dishwasher successfully, though we usually use ‘Cascade’ or equivalent.
Yes, paper items are easily stored, but why be concerned about rotating them? No deteriation likely.