1. Pregnancy Tests
If you’re trying to have a baby you know how much those pregnancy tests cost! They add up quickly. In fact the cheapest brand (Equate brand) at Walmart costs $2.89 per test. So you’re saving at least $1.89 per test. But do they work? YES! I found out I was pregnant with both of my kids with these little $1.00 pregnancy tests. Seriously. I did!
3. Dollar Store Greeting Cards
You know when you are looking for a card to go with a gift and it costs like $2.99? I hate that. It makes me just want to use a sharpie and write To: Friend/From: Me straight on the wrapped present. I mean let’s be real, the receiver of the gift doesn’t really care about the card anyway and it’s going to be trashed the next day. Stock up on greeting cards at the dollar store! They are 2 for $1.00 so you’re only paying 50 cents as opposed to $1.99 or $2.99 a piece!
What about you? What are your favorite dollar store finds? Anything I missed?
P.S. You might also like 6 More Things You Should Be Buying at the Dollar Store!
I recently found out that you can sharpen your scissors by using them to cut aluminum foil. I’m stocking up on foil sheets from the Dollar Tree. Cutting paper dulls the blades. Now I can sharpen my own scissors whenever needed.
Wow good tip!
I always bought the precut foil sheets from Dollar Tree, but just this weekend found that Walmart has a 50 pack for $1.69 now.
way good deal!
Secret deodorant! Same size saves $2.49. I love the dollar store! I do props and costumes foe a dance studio and the dollar store is my first step. I also use their website for multiple items.
Karen, I still can’t stop snickering about the fact that the first item you listed was pregnancy tests. So the take away is…your recipes are so HOT, they’ll get ya knocked up! 😉
Lol Jennie!
Karen I actually have a question. I love my instant pot. The problem I have is that it has a constant savory/ spicy smell the linger no matter how many time I scrub the stainless liner the lid. It’s very noticeable in the silicone ring and pressure valve cap. It makes me not want to use it for anything sweet etc. how do I get the smell out?
I just bought an extra ring from Amazon. They aren’t expensive, and I keep one for savory smelly things and one for sweet things.
Here’s what I do: https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/how-to-deep-clean-your-instant-pot/
Katrina, you can soak you ring in vinegar, which will help but the best thing (and I think most do this) is to buy extra rings and swap out for sweet, veggies and meats. Also while the silicone ring does catch odors, it does not transfer them back to the food in the pot. Find Karen’s Instant Pot for beginners 101 on Facebook and get lots more info and great ideas.
I put my ring in the dish washer and then hang it in the sun…works every time.
I get eggs, bread, chips, dog snacks if they have the right ones and a lot of cooking stuff. Save money that’s what I say. All a $1.00 each and the expiration dates are the same as the grocery.
I buy tons of stuff there…hard not to….from craft & school supplies, coloring books, calendars…check out the various vases & glassware, i use those for all sorts of things like candles…they have decorative rocks & gems (compare that to the craft stores), car chargers & cords, glasses & sunglasses (I always destroyed my expensive ones), fun holiday decorations, wrapping paper & supplies, the utensil wall is full of bargains, tea towels…the cleaning & kitchen supplies already mentioned…plastic bins & pails…collapsible bins…fuzzy socks & gloves…TRIPLE ANTIBIOTIC OINTMENT (compare that to name brand!), bandaids…sponges (2 or 3 ea pack)…the wet floor wipes are not quite as good as swiffer but for a buck? I’ll spend $30 but leave w equivalent of $50+ of products I use.
I buy my hair coloring at Dollar Tree. One dollar is a LOT cheaper than any other store. I works well. I use blonde, but they only have 3 colors. Blonde, Brunette, and Black.
Toothpaste. It’s the same size tube, same brands, etc.
Decorations for every holiday. With Dollar Tree’s $1 price for every item I can afford to decorate the outside of my house & much of the inside too. This way I end up with decorations inside & out for most of the year.
Have you checked out their website? You can order many items, have them shipped to the store & pick up for free.
Wow I’ll have to check the website!!
Agree with all the great buys but no one mentioned the plastic bowl covers which comes. In 3 sizes and fits over most open containers. They have elastic around them to hold them tight around container and you can just pitch them. Always missing plastic container lids.
I like to buy the stylus pens, car chargers, single use super glue, the Betty Crocker cooking scissors and potato peelers are awesome, catnip and litter bags, flower seeds are 4/$1 along with all the other stuff listed above. Every once in awhile they have these queen stuffed olives, stuffed with either jalapeños or garlic and I love them!
My favorite bath soap is Yardleys Lavender which sells comparably for $1.99 when not on sale. I usually stock up with about a dozen at a time and use 2 per month. Also Dermasil hand lotion and fun size candy bars that I take to work to share in the office. I also like their gnocchi.
In our dental office we patients who need to so paper work and never have their glasses. I always keep 3-4 pair ready. All are different strengths, so there is usually something that works.
Great idea!
Love this idea !!!
Our $Tree has the best pickles, bread & butter, kosher dill, hamburger dill slices, baby sweet pickles. Also love the jars of fire roasted red pepper strips (add to almost any casserole). Green Giant canned goods 79 Cents. All varieties of pasta and very good spaghetti sauce. I also buy the waxed paper and parchment paper, foil pans, pot holders and the pound cake is tasty and always fresh. I can find something good on every aisle. My latest find is ladies knee high socks that are sheer (only seen them in black) but they are high quality trouser socks. I could name so many other items from cleaning products to gift wraps and bags. My favorite paper product are individual boxes that are packaged flat and fold out with a small wire or paper handle. When I have a dinner party or luncheon I sometimes fill these individual boxes with a sweet treat for each guest to take home. Thank you for your tips and sharring what others like at $Tree.
I love all of these ideas!
Where is this dollar store located
They are in most cities. It’s called Dollar Tree.
There are also other great products from Awesome. I use the cleaning vinegar in my washer with less detergent and also for mopping floors. Their laundry detergent and fabric softener is also good. They sell a soap by Shugar that is fabulous. The same soap sells on line for over $6 a bar. My new favorite find is Dermasil lotion. The 10oz bottle sells for over $7 at Walmart and on Amazon. Besides Aldi the Dollar Tree is my next favorite store for bargains.
I like to use the Reynolds Wrappers in my air fryer basket for easy clean up.
nice!
Dermasil! Wow! I haven’t seen that yet. I will look next time I go 🙂
Helium filled balloons for all occasions. My store will refill the helium in your balloons at no cost too! I found this out when I had several parties in a row. Place your order in advance when you need a lot and they will have them ready for pick up. Great store!
Nice! I didn’t know this 🙂
I buy plastic food storage containers, body wash, liquid hand soap, dish scrubber sponges, bowls to use for pet food and water, dental floss, scotch tape, scratch note pads and canned vegetables at Dollar Stores. Also for people who aren’t choosy about what shampoo they use it’s a good place to buy it.
The Dollar Store has ALOT of good items to buy and many of them are name brands.
Oh man I need to buy the shampoo there for my son. That’s a great idea.
What about generic pharmaceuticals? Though many packages only contain a relatively small number of doses, the price per dose is often better than discount pharmacies and online sources.
I buy my reading glasses from the dollar store. Also buy cleaning supplies like ammonia, Awesome spray cleaner and dish soap. Their pretzels are also very good and always fresh too.
I also found whole flaxseed at my Dollar Tree years ago which I ground into powder but never to be found again
laughing, because a friend & i were at the dollar store yesterday & making fun of $1 pregnancy tests! glad to hear they actually work!
craft supplies are great at dollar store, as i have a granddaughter who loves crafting & painting, but who has more enthusiasm than talent. she can try so many different things for very little outlay.
also, here in california, at least, we have the :99c only” store. lots of grocery & speciality grocery items, like asian sauces, oils & spices, PLUS a great produce section. while you have to look everything over really well, there’s everything from habanero peppers to red potatoes to fresh strawberries. i can get blueberries, same brand as at target or the supermarket, for $1 as opposed to $3 or $4. love my dollar stores!!
ha ha! They really do work. At least for me they did 🙂
You can’t beat a dollar!
I’m not sure if I’m embarrassed to say this or not…but makeup! Mascara for a dollar, a palette of 12 eyeshadows for a dollar, and eyebrow pencil. I HATE spending $7 or more on makeup and then hating it or, in the case of mascara, it doesn’t last. My dollar mascara is just as good as anything from the drugstore.
nice! i will check this next time I go 🙂
I also love their nail polish, remover, & big bags of cotton balls!
OMGerd you crack me up. Yep my bathrooms can get a bit gross to be sure. I have 3 bathrooms and 4 boys and their upstairs lavatory is ewwww most of the time. I do the same as you and keep stuff under the sinks in each bathroom as well as a towel hamper *which of course they don’t hit…towel is either on the floor or on the counter but usually not the hamper*. I know I have taught them better and taught them more than once. It might not sink in until they have to get on their hands and knees and scrub the way I do…then I know they will be screaming at each other to keep it clean in there lol.
Toilet brushes for $1 instead of $4 at Walmart, with all the boys I have it’s much better to replace more frequently in all bathrooms with the dollar store ones
yep that is a good plan Diana! I made my kids scrub the pee off the floor the other day and they were both gagging about it.
Great idea Karen and Diana – maybe on the same topic but ‘off’ a bit, but want to share a great idea for family clutter I had years ago that worked like magic with 3 half grown children and a husband, about the same. My plan was if anyone left anything around where it didn’t belong for more than 24 hours, anyone had permission to hide it until they wanted to give it up, within reason. AND no one had to tell who hid it. Hiding 1 shoe of a pair was a ton of fun but the most hilarious story – my husband biked back and forth to work and most everywhere and … parked his car in front of my garage space for 2 days. ( I used my bike as much as possible but my car totally for work and for serious grocery shopping – had a 3 day weekend off of work.) I called 2 girlfriends and made arrangements for hiding his car. It was hidden safely in one of my girl friend’s garage but he didn’t know that. He freaked out when he didn’t see his car and I told him he left it in the wrong place for 2 days. I finally told him it was parked outside of x’s house. He goes there. X says it was parked out front of her house but she doesn’t know what happened to it. Husband comes home irate telling me his plates were expired so it must have been towed and demands I call all the impound lots as I’m quietly laughing inside and he paces and storms around me. I make bogus calls to impound lots and no one has his vehicle. Sorry. Hard to hide my own giggles and he ‘gets’ it though furious … saying ‘ Ok, I see you laughing at all of this so I trust that my car is safe and I’ll find it on my own and promise to never park you in again.’ > It took him another 2 days to figure it out and went to my z’s friend’s garage, looked in the window, saw his car and went to the house, asked for the keys admitting it was the best joke ever and drove home. He walked in this house still laughing with only compliments on my brilliance and fun. No harm done but it never happened again. Point made. Now the kids were a much more tame approach but they learned also. – Just putting some fun out here for ideas. Worked with full respect forthcoming and everybody’s ploys ended up in laughter and lessons.
Lol! That is so funny!
Lol now that was drastic when my kids would leave stuff all around I would throw it in the trash and say you must not have wanted it because it’s on the floor
I use all of those things….But you have to grab a bottle or two of AWESOME! Seriously, it cleans literally anything. Just will streak on glass or windows….just use windex afterwards. I have one in each bathroom, one in the kitchen and 2 out in the shop and garage.
BUT if you have tar or a ton of bugs on the front of your car….spray that on and you can watch the bugs just slide right off your bumper!
It’s not harmful to pets, safe for the environment….I use it for cleaning my window screens, cleaning up pet messes from carpet (first test for color fastness), it is AWESOME on dried blood on clothing or sheets.
okay you’ve totally convinced me! I love the idea about the bumper!!! We have a lot of mosquitoes where I live so the bumper is always a mosquito graveyard.
It’s also a great bug spray…🤷♀️ I get a lot of spiders
I have a-fun & can’t beat their “baby” aspirin at $.99 a bottle—60 coated tablets of low-dose aspirin!!
Sorry that’s supposed to be a-fib, not a-fun!
How about 12 place settings of white Royal Derby porcelain china ( dinner plate, salad plate, cereal bowl,) for $36. Three years later they are still holding up just fine.
👍🏼
Happy Thanksgiving!
I always buy my batteries at the dollar store. They last just as long as the spendy ones.
I disagree on the batteries. They don’t last near as long. I used them in my computer mouse and was constantly having to change them. I went back to my name brand on this one. Maybe if it is for something you rarely use but items you use all the time, skip the dollar store batteries.
I agree 100%.
I shop at dollar tree all the time! Love the glass cleaner storage containers and erasers lots of great items to choose from!
Here in PA Whe can use coupons so even better just look the sizes matches.
This is a great article. I find that canned Coconut Milk (used in Asian recipes) and Lemon Juice (We use it for everything from mixed drinks to canning jam) are both cheaper at our local dollar store.
Our dollar store is called “Dollar Tree” and they have all of the items mentioned here and they also have frozen foods. We find that this is the cheapest place to buy ice cream treats. We found a box of 6 ice cream sandwiches for $1. The orange cleaner is great for making greasy cabinet doors in the kitchen looking like new. And if they have bare places use the dark color “Old English” furniture polish.
Lemons! A bag of about 10 for a dollar. Much less than grocery store prices.
Really? Wow! I’ve never seen lemons at my dollar store before. I’ll have to check next time.
I soooo wish we had lemons at Dollar Tree
I have used dollar tree’s magic eraser, they are very good. The 99c store magic erasers are not as good.
good to know! Thanks!
I Do AGREE WIT EVERYTHING THAT YOU HAVE LISTED !!!!!!!!! Let me put it my way. I’m a widow and I do not have that much money coming in,another place you may want to try is the 99 Cent store. I do most of my shopping in there. There are several things that you can get there that is a fraction of the price of regular stores….Like fresh Vegetables if you watch and look at the products are just as good as the regular store. My other basics come from regular stores and I do try very hard to find them on sale. But this is another place to get some of the other things you need.
Thanks so much Dana!!
Thank you for sharing these, I never would have thought of the Magic Erasers from the dollar store. That will make cleaning my baseboards much cheaper.
One big thing I like to get at the dollar store is wax paper, or parchment paper. They cost $3 or $4 at the supermarket, why pay that when I can get it for $1? But I do avoid the aluminum foil and saran wrap, those from the Dollar Store are very thin and break easily.
I have noticed that too!
It depends on what I am using the foil for. Everything that I use foil for does not need the sturdy type. When I use foil from dollar tree I don’t feel that I need to be frugal with it.
We went last night and bought things to take on our vacation. We are going by train for 18 hours so we got meds, hand soap, snuggle bathroom spray, and a lot of other stuff. Love it.
yes! the travel items are the best.
Over here in the U.K. we have Poundland where everything is a pound or two for a pound, and I have managed to buy so many good quality household items that I am never paying extra for things again!!!!!!
I want to go to Poundland!! Love it 🙂
I am horrible at not stepping on my sunglasses, so I try to buy 2-3 pairs when I see a style I like at the dollar store. I also am really bad at breaking my ‘readers’ glasses so I stock up on those as well when I see a cute style I like!
I need to do that with the sunglasses! I am always losing mine.
I shop at the dollar store all of the time, for silk flowers, books, all kinds of crafting items, snacks, drinks, food, cards, gift bags, plastic wear, cleaning products, glass wear and plastic organizing products.
Shower curtain liners- they're $10 at Bed Bath and they mildew just as quickly as the $1 ones.
The ONLY toilet bowl cleaner that cleans the hard water ring off our toilets is from the Dollar Store! Love it AND save money!
Right?! It's crazy huh 🙂
Th
Good suggestions! I like to buy large boxes of matches, 40–count boxes of stevia, 4-packs of applesauce for lunches, and any seasonal stuff on clearance that would be suitable for Operation Christmas Child shoebox!
Hey Heidi…I just got home from the Dollar Store when I saw your pin. Smart girl! They also carry Betty Crocker kitchen tools. Cute hot pad gloves with matching towels. And some brand name hand lotions, shampoos and conditioners, toothpastes etc:
TOOTHPASTE!!! Brand name and (almost) full size …. FOR $1.00!!! Can't beat it!!!!
Anti-bac hand wipes for my purse, diaper bag and car. Plastic ware for left overs during the holiday's.
coffee filters …
Spic & Span (sp?) cleaner. It is so much better than simple green and smells wonderful! Also glass/dishware, but be sure to look online also as their products differ in those aspects. They are great for DIY projects and gifts that look fancy, but cost only $1! I also love their paint brushes, sand paper, and metal scrapers. I'm never afraid to try their products because at most I've only lost $1 testing it out!
Medications! How can these not be on the list? You can't beat filling up your medicine cabinet for cheap!
Here is a tip: For those of you that carry a pen in your shirt pocket (especially uniforms), and
it leaks……..put paper towels on inside to blot and Hand Sanitizer on top of ink. Let sit a minute
and blot, blot, blot! You may need to reapply, but it works. Generic Dollar Store brand works great:)
Wow! I’ve never heard of this. Thanks for the tip.
Aren't those foil sheets great? I've been buying them for years for using for my baked potatoes but find i will also use them for other things. I like to look for office or school supplies there. Don't have any school age kids but wrtting tablets, self stick envelopes, seasonal decorations, paper plates and cups, etc.
I always purchase wrapping paper & gift bags at Dollar Tree.
Bottle brushes, sponges, any & all party supplies ie plastic table clothes, silverware, streamers, plastic cups… etc, piñata filling supplies,
I totally agree with you on almost everything on the list! The Dollar Tree is my go-to spot for foil pans. They are great to have on hand when you need to take something to a potluck or to a sick friend! I don't know why, but I never looked at their card section…didn't realize they were 2 for $1! Good find! And HECK YES with the pop up foil from Reynolds! My mom stocks up on it from the dollar tree, too! I've got a good supply at home, myself ;-). They are SO handy!
My only disagreement with you is on the cleaning supplies. Girl, we've got to get you an eco-friendly cleaning makeover happening! 🙂 Lots of stuff that is free from toxins can be almost as cheap as the dollar store stuff, anyway! 🙂
I love buying the take out foil containers. I can buy meat on sale over the weekend, & prep dinners in them for the week. I put in the freezer with the card tops labeled with what it is & directions. Then I can just pull out the dinner the night before & anyone can start it.
It's also great to send a ready to bake dinner, or hot dinner to someone in need, (sick, grieving, ect).
The 2 in 1 kids shampoo is a steal there. My kids used to burn through it so fast it saved me a ton of money.
I like the cleaning product called "Awesome". I use it for removing permanent marker marks off desks at school as well as a spot remover on clothing. My husband's dry cleaner said she uses it on all petroleum-based stains, especially pen, at her business.
Awesome and Mean Green! Best buys….if you spray Mean Green on the collar of shirts and sometimes cuffs, it works great for body grease:)
I’ll have to look for it! Thanks!
It’s great stuff, but dilute it. They explain on the label.
My cousin’s husband was using it on the tires and then sprayed some on the license plate. It took the paint off the license plate.
I get my lasagna noodles at the Dollar Tree. I've used them many times and not noticed any quality change from the cheapest noodles at the grocery store. During the summer I also like to to buy Mott's freezer pops. They're 100% juice and no added food coloring.
So many great tips here! I am particularly excited about those magic erasers! I will definitely pick some up the next time I am at the Dollar Store. 🙂 Thank so much!
~Leslie
hey, thanks for the great tips. I'm in the UK so it's Poundland instead of dollar store- but absolutely great advice.Poundland is also great for soap ( sometimes 4 or 5 bars for £1) Toothpaste, painkillers, hair clips and bobbles ( my daughters disappear to nursery never to return)
Birthday and Christmas wrapping paper! It's not really good quality, but we just throw it out when we are done anyway, right?
Great ideas! I could definitely see myself using those Reynold's pop-ups! I have stocked up on cards there before and it saved me so much money over the whole year!
My mom is always telling all of the good stuff she finds at the dollar store, looks like it's time to go!