Toilet Paper Trick: How Do You Compare Pricing on Varying Sized Rolls of Toilet Paper?

Here's an oldie but a goodie that lots of visitors come looking for, so I'm reposting for those of you who are new to Building Shangrila.

Toilet paper is on sale for $0.38/roll, but what does that mean? Have you ever noticed that you can’t really compare toilet paper pricing roll to roll? There are big rolls and mega rolls and double rolls and regular rolls and the roll sizes keep changing.

Instead of trying to compare rolls, I’ve learned to use the toilet paper trick. Basically paying 1 cent per square foot of toilet paper sounds reasonable. Notice I said square foot, not "square." That's about 1 cent per use, give or take. Look at the bottom of the package at the number of square feet and divide by 100 (or move the decimal point left two positions). This gives you a number equivalent  to 1 cent per foot. Now, if the price of the package you are considering (minus any coupons you will use) is equal to or less than this number, you're paying 1 cent or less per use (square foot) of toilet paper. If it's more, you're paying more than 1 cent per square foot for toilet paper.

Putting this into practice, Sentry Foods had Charmin Ultra on sale for $8.99. I had a $1 off one coupon that they would double. That means the price would be $6.99 for 18 big rolls. Is this a good price or not? Using the toilet paper trick, we find that the total square footage is 375.5 square feet per package. Moving the decimal point two places to the left, means to get this toilet paper for 1 cent or less, the price needs to be equal to or below $3.75 per package. this price is almost double that or nearly 2 cents per square foot.

Keep in mind that using price per square foot doesn’t take into consideration the quality of the toilet paper, preference or regional price variations. Determine whether 1 cent per square foot is something you can do or whether you need to set your buy price at 1.5 cents or even 2 cents per square foot. For example, we buy Charmin and my buy price is 2 cents per square foot or less.

I recommend that you consult with the man in your house when determining the brand or brands you prefer. I learned early in my marriage that paying for the toilet paper my husband likes makes for a happy husband. He once said, “If you have to get cheap toilet paper, can’t you at least buy two-ply?” I have since heard from two other women that their husbands are of a similar mind even though it doesn’t seem to matter too much to the ladies. Personally I think the way to a man’s heart is with clean underwear, fresh socks and good toilet paper.

Now go tryout the toilet paper trick. Want to learn more about toilet paper?

Find out why toilet paper belongs to America
Read the story behind disposable toilet tissue