Uh, oh: You might not be able to buy this at the store again

Remember that time last year when people were panic buying toilet paper?

Yeah, so do I...

I hate to tell you this, but it's happening all over again.

I recently read that Costco is placing limits on purchases of toilet paper, paper towels, and cleaning supplies.

As the Delta variant continues to protract the pandemic, consumers are hitting the panic button once more.

Covid disruptions, shortages of materials, supply chain troubles, and difficulty finding drivers and shipping containers are all contributing to the problem. Manufacturers are having trouble keeping up with resurgent demand as cases and deaths remain elevated.

But there's a problem with Costco and other retailers placing a cap on how much consumers can buy.

It sends the message that they're in short supply, which, ironically, prompts shoppers to panic purchase even more. This is known in psychology as the innuendo effect.

I'm sure many of you thought we would not find ourselves in this situation again, especially after the rollout of vaccines seemed so promising.

Thankfully, it doesn't appear as though things will be nearly as chaotic as they were in 2020. We have to remember that, when this happened the first time, there were no vaccines to speak of, so people were naturally planning for doomsday scenarios.

I recommend people stock up on toilet paper, paper towels, and cleaning supplies -- just in case. Pandemic or not, it's not like the stuff would go to waste.

It is my hope that a year from now, we will have achieved herd immunity and moved on from this unprecedented chapter of our lives.

On a final note, I actually have a sign in my bathroom that says, "You never know what you have until it's gone -- like toilet paper, for instance." It couldn't be more appropriate for the times we're living in!

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