Have you ever ordered something online, and not really paid attention to the quantity?

I accidentally did this with paper towels and toilet paper.  While I wanted only three rolls of paper towels and probably 24 rolls of toilet paper, the order I placed ended up being six units of three rolls of paper towels and three units of 24 rolls of toilet paper.  Let me do the quick math for you:  that’s 18 rolls of paper towels and 72 rolls of toilet paper.

And here’s the best part.  Before I remembered to change the subscription, it was automatically sent again. 

Although truly I couldn’t bring myself to count them all up, I estimate that we had somewhere around 32 rolls of paper towels and 140 rolls of toilet paper at one point in this house.  And yes, as you are imagining, it was stuck in all closets we could.

When COVID-19 hit, and people were worried about toilet paper and paper towels, my husband asked me one day if we needed any.  He noted—with some concern—that he noticed that the grocery store had none.  I assured him that we were just fine. (Can you tell who typically replaces the paper towels and the toilet paper when they run out in our house?) 

Still, he bought some of each when he was in the stores, conditioned as we all are right now to sometimes buy these things “just to be sure”.  (I have yet to understand why we all had to buy so much toilet paper when we were sent into quarantine.)

I received several messages in the past few months:  the automatic re-stock on paper towels and toilet paper could not be completed.  I actually sighed in relief.  I have also offered some toilet paper to a friend in need, although in the end, they were able to buy some just before they ran out.  I felt quite positive about our over-stocking situation that day, too.  But mostly, I have just been very annoyed every time I opened a closet and dodged the toilet paper as it tipped out onto the floor.  Seriously, how many people make this mistake and don’t realize how much toilet paper and paper towels they were really ordering anyway? 

Anyway, you might be wondering how this could all lead to anything possibly related to a silver lining?  Well, oddly enough, TODAY, I have just placed the LAST paper towel into its space in the kitchen.  Likewise, today I purchased additional toilet paper, because we had no more in the closets. 

This is probably my oddest silver lining yet, but I’m going with achieving control on the ol’ paper products supply for our family.  It’s an absurdly happy feeling.