Leftover Toilet Paper

Tim walked across the room with a questioning look on his face and an arm full of partial rolls of toilet paper. He remarked as he went from one room to the other… “I guess we’ll have to use these part rolls”. I laughed at the sales manager trying to figure out why we had all these unfinished rolls in the first place.

Every few days, the cleaning service swaps out a small roll for a full one when they clean the bathrooms and then houses the leftover in a closet. We had run out of toilet paper and leftover rolls were all he found. He was determined to use the miniature ones, which were better than no fanny paper at all.

I had worked evenings, part-time as a cleaner in the not-too-distant past. So I explained to him that part of my job in any office cleaning routine, was to sanitize the bathroom, which included replacing toilet tissue, paper towels and re-filling hand soap. If any of us on any job, failed to exchange the partial roll for a full one, the main office oftentimes, received a complaint from our client and we would be reprimanded. Heaven forbid someone would run out mid-roll and have to install a new one all by themselves! As a result, if the roll were less than half full, we’d replace it with a new one.

Customers expected lots of toilet paper at all times it seemed, and rarely completed the entire roll.  We considered it wasteful to throw them away, which amounted to a large collection in a storage closet. Cleaners are careful not to take anything off the job and certainly don’t need to be accused of stealing itsy bitsy rolls of toilet paper. Consequently, orphaned rolls taking up too much space eventually found their way into the trash instead of actually being used.

And on my full time job…Co-workers leave dishes in the sink, toilet paper holders empty, spilled coffee and sugar on the countertop and paper towels on the floor and have every expectation the “cleaning people” will take care of it – and they do. We are no different than any other inconsiderate bunch. I’ve become even more indignant about it however, since my  “let the cleaning people do it” experience. 

Most adults wouldn’t be that thoughtless at home but are at the workplace. In my opinion, every office should have a sign hanging in their kitchen and bathroom. “You are all grown up now and your mother doesn’t live here so please clean up after yourselves”.

Are we really all that lazy? You bet we are!