Dollar Store Prepping

[themartianchick]

On another forum, I mentioned an item that I bought awhile back at the dollar store. It was an adaptor that fits into a car's cigarette lighter. It can be used to charge 2 devices that use a USB plug. For our household it is amazing because three of the 4 cell phones have USB capabilities. Most cell phones don't come with car chargers anymore and you have to pay separately for them. The nice thing about this is that two of the phones are the same, so we only have to travel with one charger to service both phones.

 

 

 

Anyway, I was in Dollar Tree yesterday and found an entire free-standing display of window alarms. I only bought 4, but I thought that they'd be good in an emergency if you needed a warning that someone was trying to gain access to your house. I even think that they could be adapted for use on a door.

 

I tend to buy the usual emergency stuff at the dollar store like batteries, light bulbs, etc...but I now try to look in the sections of the store that I generally don't pay attention to: the auto section, the houseware section, etc...I have even been srprised by some of the things in the food section. So, what kind of bargain prepping items have you found?

[VickiG]

A month or so ago, I found a bunch of nice scented candles( the ones in canning jars), already marked down 70%...then in the clearance shelf for half off lowest price. I got them for about $.75 apiece. Two sets of tea lights were $.10 each. I can't decide whether to keep those jar candles or use them for gifts..

 

Oops! Forgot to mention that was Dollar General!

Edited November 5, 2012 by VickiG

[The WE2's]

Dollar Tree!!! Where everybody's rich! LOL I'm not sure what me and MM would do without the one in our town. I've bought our toothbrushes (6 in a round package), Crest toothpaste, batteries, rain bonnets, puzzle books, pens, gift cards (2 for $1), aluminum pans, plastic glasses, reading glasses, shower gels, shampoo, conditioner, muscle rubs, you name it, we've probably bought it there (unless WM is having a sale & it's less than $1). Even when we did costumes for birthdays, and other holidays...we went there first. And sometimes they have some really good books for reading. Yes, it's worth the browse!

[TheCG]

I raided their gardening stuff when it was 70% off at Family Dollar (not a true dollar store, but close enough).

[dogmom4]

I found Gleem toothpaste at our local Dollar Tree. I like it because it has no sugar. I got my year supply.

[mommato3boys]

Hey I love the Dollar tree. I find all sorts of spices and rubs there also that is where I get my fancy mustard.

[Amishway Homesteaders]

.............................and a heads up!

Here comes Christmas when a lot of stores start to carry 'stocking stuffers' that are what we want/need for our BOB bags! Or just to have on hand.

[lumabean]

I definitely need to keep my eyes open more when I head out to the Dollar Tree. Usually I get gift wrapping items and kids puzzles, coloring books, etc for my nephew, but I haven't seen the other stuff mentioned -- going to look more intently next time when in other areas of the store.

[The WE2's]

Amish...one of the things we do (we buy full size at Dollar Tree store) is fill little plastic bottles etc. (again...we find them sometimes at Dollar Tree) that we buy from various places, and use them for our quick grab things. We get so much more that way, where WM etc., sells their small travel sizes for as much as we pay for a full size....they count on travelers! We also put one of those wall mounted dispensers in the shower of our RV, and keep necessary shower gels etc. in it. So far haven't had any problems with freezing.

[ROSARYCHAPLET]

Dogmom4 how much is a year supply?… in general that is?

[themartianchick]

Just came in from Dollar Tree earlier today. I found some 32 oz bottles of Veryfine Juices. In an emergency, that size is nice to have because you can use them up before they need refrigeration. I bought a small bottle of Pedialyte to keep on hand in case it is needed for the grandkids and some more generic liquid Tylenol for children. I also found an unusual item: black walnuts in small 3/4 cup packages. The nuts were crushed finely, but I think they will be nice for some recipes. I've never seen them sold like this around here.

[mommato3boys]

Was in the Dollar Tree (you know where everything is a $1) and they had chicken broth in the cardboard cartons for $1 it is 32oz and has an expiration date of Jan 20 2014. I am going to go back and get more. Best part no MSG. Right now the cans are on sale for 57cents but they are only 14oz cans so I come out cheap at the dollar tree.

 

They also had a good stock of 3oz cans of chicken, turkey and ham. I had never seen canned turkey before but there was a whole row of it. Oh and their cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soups are 15oz cans instead of the regular 10oz cans.

 

In the gadget section I noticed they had some really nice manual can openers, colanders, oh and veggie peelers with a scrub brush, I picked up one of those. These were all Betty Crocker products.

[Ambergris]

Yeast extract is in most broths now. It's another term for MSG. Or something your body instantly turns into MSG.

[The WE2's]

We buy ALOT of stuff from our Dollar Tree. My philosphy is this...some of it may not be the healthiest, but we're talking survival for a few months until our garden can give us more nutritional foods. I buy all our bathroom things there, liquid hand soaps, brushes, combs, etc. I don't buy my hand soaps there because I can buy bigger packages at WM for the same "portion" money amount. I always look at the cost per oz etc. Also don't buy my trash bags or storage bags there...they're cheaper at our Aldi's store. We even bought Abby's "portable" dog food and water bowls there for $1 each. They're vinyl lined and we keep them in her "bug out bag" when we're traveling, along with a tin of her dog food. People would be surprised (I think) to find out how much more they actually pay at WM for alot of their supplies.

[themartianchick]

Was in the Dollar Tree (you know where everything is a $1) and they had chicken broth in the cardboard cartons for $1 it is 32oz and has an expiration date of Jan 20 2014. I am going to go back and get more. Best part no MSG. Right now the cans are on sale for 57cents but they are only 14oz cans so I come out cheap at the dollar tree.

 

They also had a good stock of 3oz cans of chicken, turkey and ham. I had never seen canned turkey before but there was a whole row of it. Oh and their cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soups are 15oz cans instead of the regular 10oz cans.

 

In the gadget section I noticed they had some really nice manual can openers, colanders, oh and veggie peelers with a scrub brush, I picked up one of those. These were all Betty Crocker products.

 

 

I missed the canned turkey! I will have to check for it on my next trip. I also like to stock up on scrub brushes. They can be used for so many things. I also saw canned Muir Farms Organic tomatoes.

[themartianchick]

We buy ALOT of stuff from our Dollar Tree. My philosphy is this...some of it may not be the healthiest, but we're talking survival for a few months until our garden can give us more nutritional foods. I buy all our bathroom things there, liquid hand soaps, brushes, combs, etc. I don't buy my hand soaps there because I can buy bigger packages at WM for the same "portion" money amount. I always look at the cost per oz etc. Also don't buy my trash bags or storage bags there...they're cheaper at our Aldi's store. We even bought Abby's "portable" dog food and water bowls there for $1 each. They're vinyl lined and we keep them in her "bug out bag" when we're traveling, along with a tin of her dog food. People would be surprised (I think) to find out how much more they actually pay at WM for alot of their supplies.

 

Awhile back, we bought a bunch of those aluminum mixing bowls there. We always used those for our dog's food and water.

[Andrea]

Dogmom4 how much is a year supply?… in general that is?

 

Rosary - toothpaste usage really depends on individual families. When my dd was little, she would squirt half a tube out at a time! What I did, was I figured out how much we used in a month and then multiplied it by 12. As a matter of fact, I haven't bought toothpaste in at least 6 months, I should go see if I need any. Also, if I see it on a really good sale, I'll buy several tubes. I know it's dated but I can't see it going bad.

 

Dogmom - THANKS for the heads up on the Gleem. I had no idea! I'm going to buy a tube and see if it gets family approval.

[truckersgal]

Also check their candle section at dollar tree. they have an air fresh candle that burns 27 hours,also emergency. taper style candle 5 to a pack,total burn hours 27......

[truckersgal]

My dollar tree is now carrying the 3 ct. pkgs of hersheys chocolate milk (juice box style),as well as yoohoo. Also their brand of parmalait shelf stable whole milk.

[Midnightmom]

Dollar Tree--

• a ball of COTTON string (useful for making candle wicks)
• peanuts 25% more bonus package (Old World Style brand)
• bottle of kitchen cleaner & disinfectant (PineGlo brand)
• magnifying/reading glasses (I need to buy several and put them where I'll need them w/o having to hunt for them: sewing kit, first aid kit, etc.)

[The WE2's]

Went there today :-) Needed to stock some knives, can openers, bottle openers etc., for Miss B ... AND because we learned by default that we DID NOT have a can opener that we could find at the Roost! Can you believe that? So, remembering the rule ... one is none, two is one and three is two ... we hopefully won't make that mistake again :-(

[mommato3boys]

I was in there recently too and they had the big clip clothes pins and I bought all 3 packs that was left. I love those they hold up so much better than regular clothes pins.

[Mt_Rider]

Thasssa BIG clothespin!

 

MtRider

[Jeepers]

It looks like the kind of clamp I have in my garage for holding wood pieces together for sawing or drilling?

[truckersgal]

Looks like a battery cable.lol