Yvonne Sandiford runs a relocation
business and lives in the centre of Madrid:
For me the
most important thing
with toilet paper is comfort – and
the size of the pack. I go into the supermarket and look on the
shelves for the one that looks softest - thick and soft-looking.
It’s not always easy to identify though; I poke it to find
out or surreptitiously pull a corner off the packet.
I used to buy the one with the dog – what’s that? Scotties?
Scotts? At the moment though I use Carrefour’s own brand
which I find is the best one in Spain and it’s cheaper than
Scotts, Scotties. Also, it is the right size.
I haven’t got much storage space so I don’t want to
buy those huge packs of 36 or 48. I’ve got nowhere to put
them. I like to buy about 12 because a pack that size fits in my
cupboard. One thing that really annoys me is that so many companies
these days sell three packs for two (particularly the 36 people)
but I can’t take advantage of that because
I can’t store them. I’d rather have a lower price than
this kind of offer. Just imagine your whole house would be full
of toilet rolls!
They all seem to have patterns though. I would buy white if I could
but it’s not always easy to find – and my choice is
limited by the cost and the size of the pack.
For kitchen roll I like something that doesn’t disintegrate.
Plain, not flowers or anything. I’ve just renovated my flat
and it is all plain, white, so the same for things like kitchen
paper. Also size is important – I will buy a pack of 4 if
I have to but I prefer 2. Storage again.
Tissues, I’ve no preference of brand. I tend to buy cheaper
ones. I use a lot of them because I have an allergy but I don’t
buy the Kleenex ones with the stuff in them which is supposed to
make them soft. They are too expensive. I buy for the colour of
the box – plainish if possible.
This one is nice, blue, plain and quite attractive and it hasn’t
even got a name on it that shows. I buy packs of 12 pocket tissues
especially when I am travelling but I often use toilet tissue for
my nose. Napkins – I get them from Ikea because they are
big, cheap and have nice bright colours that go with my china.
I use them most days and never buy ones with patterns.
So comfort, price, storage, not really any brand loyalties, what
looks nice in my new apartment where space is a big issue. And
I don’t seek out Carrefour, it is just convenient.
Francesca Becca is a journalist
and mother of two young
sons:
Toilet rolls must be soft, white, no colours, no designs and definitely not perfumed.
It’s such an intimate product; it can’t be good for the health to
have colours and perfume. It would irritate. And I buy the longest rolls I can
find. With four people in the family I want the rolls that last the longest;
I’d be forever changing them otherwise. I don’t look at the price
or the brand, just the size.
I use a lot of kitchen towel for cleaning the working surfaces and
the cooktop. I buy any colour but they are usually white. The most
important is that they are absorbent. We use a lot of paper napkins
at home too, even when we have guests - which is not really the
done thing in Italy. It’s not considered very elegant to use
paper napkins with a linen tablecloth; everything should be perfect
for a dinner party. But we do. If they are white, they are hygienic
and, again, I wouldn’t use colours for wiping the mouth.
We don’t use many paper tissues. My younger son has asthma
and I have an allergy to dust so we both use cotton handkerchiefs.
There is a lot of paper dust that comes out of tissues when you
wipe your nose; people probably don’t realise. I buy the small
packets for the rest of the family because they are convenient but
only packets, never boxes. Boxed tissues are always too thin and
anyone in my family would take three or four sheets at a time. And
again, I would only buy white and not perfumed because of the irritation.
The children like them but I never buy them for health reasons.
Oh, I did buy Walt Disney pocket tissues once when Claudio was small
to encourage him to blow his nose himself. When he started school
he had to learn to do things like that for himself and that was
the best way to encourage him.
I don’t have any favourite brand for anything but Tempo is
probably what I buy most.
It’s the most expensive but it’s
also the best known and what
you find here.
TW
