SHTFPreparedness may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page.
The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has brought a lot to bear. We have a better idea of how our nation will respond to a massive emergency.
Unprepared Americans have proven their priorities. They are out to get all the water and toilet paper on the market! Did you know that you can make your own homemade DIY toilet paper?
Commercial rolls of toilet paper were created in 1883. We haven’t been under the spell of toilet paper for very long. Still, convenience is a most powerful drug, and America is hooked.
There is no denying that toilet paper is a great option that can be used and flushed. The process is seamless. However, for thousands of years, we survived without it.
DIY toilet paper is actually made by breaking paper down into a pulp. In fact, this is a skill you can use for a number of things. We will discuss the recipe in detail below.
Why You Need DIY Toilet Paper
Take note of what happened here in America. Use this moment of disarray as a reminder that what you do is so important.
Your level of preparedness has so many benefits. It offers you the means to be prepared when calamity like this breaks out.
Preparedness also allows you to operate clearheaded in a time when others are losing their minds.
We have watched people lose their minds for at least a week now. While we could laugh at them it wouldn’t do us much good.
Instead, we should reach out and teach them what they should be buying. Preppers already have toilet paper. Likewise, we also have a few ways of living life without toilet paper.
That said, the skill to make something is always worth learning.
Toilet Paper Options
There are a number of ways to wipe your butt when the toilet paper is gone. In fact, I’ve listed a few below. Hey, our great-grandparents did it, so can we.
Despite the fact that this doesn’t excuse us from being prepared with the knowledge to make our own, I went ahead and listed a few down below. Just in case.
Reusable Cloth
You can use a wet cloth in the same way you will use toilet paper. This is easy to use, effective and can be used over and over again.
Of course, these don’t just flush down the toilet and need to be washed.
That turns most people off.
Roman Sponge
Natural sea sponges were used for many hygienic purposes in the past. These were also effective for dealing with menstruation long before modern products were invented.
Also known by the technical term, “sponge on a stick”. The Roman sponge would have been a cut section of the sponge that was affixed to, you guessed it… a stick.
You can quickly understand how this tool would work. You might have something that looks pretty similar to clean your glasses at home (but don’t use that for this purpose!).
Lamb’s Ear
Nature is growing its own toilet paper alternatives right now.
There are a few plants that can be used as toilet paper and do a great job! The very best of them all is Lamb’s Ear. You might have felt this plant yourself.
It’s a low lying plant with long basal leaves that are covered with a pleasant fuzz that gives it a texture like Felt. It’s soft and easy on your body and biodegradable. Learn to identify this great toilet paper alternative in the wild.
Related: Learn how to grow your own antibacterial bandages with Lamb’s Ear.
Homemade DIY Toilet Paper Recipe
Sure, you can make your own toilet paper! When you know how to make something you don’t have to panic about it. You can still buy the more convenient option but you needn’t fret about not having it either.
Now you can learn how to make DIY toilet paper:
How to Make Homemade DIY Toilet Paper
Making DIY toilet paper at home is easy and fun! It's a great project that is simple and can add to your preparedness stockpile.
Ingredients
- 10 sheets of newspaper or a 1/2 pound stack of copy paper
- 5 gallon bucket
- Water
- Large pot
- Leaves and grass
- Metal spoon
- Baby oil
- Two bath towels
- Rolling pin
- Wooden board
- Scissors
Instructions
- Soak the newspaper in the 5 gallon bucket filled with water. The ink will fade significantly but won’t fully disappear.
- Place the paper in the pot with a few handfuls of grass and leaves. These fibers will break down and hold the toilet paper together.
- Bring the mixture to a rolling boil and then cut it down to a simmer for 1 hour. This will further break down the raw materials.
- After simmering for 1 hour, turn up the heat and boil the mix for 30 minutes. The paper, grass and leaf mix will become a pulp.
- Remove from heat and drain as much of the water as you can.
- Allow the remaining pulp and water to cool, remove the pulp and fully drain.
- Place the pulp back into the pot, add 4 tablespoons of baby oil and stir. The pulp will not so easily dry out with the oil added.
- Spread your towel out on the floor of a room where it can remain undisturbed for 30 minutes.
- Place the pulp on the towel and roll out with the rolling pin. You want it nice and thin like toilet paper.
- Add the other towel on top of the rolled-out pulp and place the board on top.
- Place dumbbells, kettlebells or other heavy items on top to compress the pulp.
- After 30 minutes remove the board and the weights.
- Flip the towels over and remove the bottom towel, which is now on top.
- Place the towel with the drying, flattened pulp outside in the sun.
- Once the mix is dried completely, peel it off and use scissors to cut it down to size.
Conclusion
I bet you never thought that making DIY toilet paper at home could be so easy. It’s one of the more simple things you can do as a project and add to your stockpile. As long as you have some spare paper around you can boil it up with other foliage and make pulp.
Here in America, our preparedness priorities are way out of line. As of this writing, we are watching that in real-time as the nation deals with the coronavirus.
It is time for a true emergency preparedness awakening in America. We have easy access to all the knowledge and resources, we just hesitate to prioritize it.
Hopefully, this new virus will help rouse the sleeping giant and move preparedness to its rightful place. While you wait, make some homemade toilet paper!
