20 Things I Always Buy at the Dollar Store

I have to admit even if I had all of the money in the world, I’d still shop at the dollar store simply because I like their products. Some of the items for sale at one dollar and 99 cent stores can be hit or miss when it comes to quality. Not everything is a bargain and sometimes that small name brand container of whatever is actually more expensive when you check the unit price.

Tip: To find the unit price of an item divide the price by the number of ounces, pounds, items in the package. For example, a $1.00 item divided by 12 ounces in the package equals a unit price of $.83 per ounce.

But bargain and quality warnings aside there are a lot of things I always by from Dollar Tree to save money. I’m focusing on Dollar Tree because that’s what we have around here and it is the only dollar store that I know of that lets you order online and pick it up in the store to get FREE SHIPPING here!  (Disclosure: I am including affiliate links in this post for your convenience.)

 

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Oxygen bleach –  I use oxygen bleach in every load of laundry, treat stains, and to clean a ton of stuff in my house. Dollar Tree has the cheapest unit price of store brand oxygen bleaches when I compared them in my grocery and department stores.

Dried beans (you can check out the bean and grains selection here) Kidney beans are the best bargain while black and pinto beans have the same unit price as Aldi (if you have one.) We eat beans so often (especially in cold weather soups and stews) I will buy them by the case and have them delivered to my local store just to keep up with the demand.

Spray bottles – I make a lot of our cleaning supplies. I’m also excellent at accidently knocking spray bottles off counters and breaking the sprayer. Apparently I’m part cat.

Cheap garden solar lights to hack for DIY projects

You can learn how to make my solar milk jug ghosts on my DIY blog Condo Blues here!

Foil takeout containers – when I am delivering food to friends.

 

Sugar Soapworks Oatmeal Soap (learn more about it here) It’s made with natural ingredients, comes in a zero waste box, is fantastic for dry skin, and is in a big bar that lasts forever.

 

LED light bulbs (check them out here) – dollar store electronics have a bad reputation for a reason. The only exception are their LED light bulbs! I’m changing to LEDs as my CFL light bulbs burn out and Dollar Tree LED light bulbs are indistinguishable from the more expensive LED light bulbs I have in some of the fixtures in my house.

Wrapping paper and gift bags

Reusable plates, bowls, and glasses  - I bought these specifically for hosting my husband’s large side of the family and to replace disposable paper plates for parties. You can find my cute dollar store ceramic dinnerware here.

River Rock and glass jar fillers

Bandanas – I bought a box to use as cloth napkins for parties.  You can also use bandannas as place mats.

Shelf stable soy and cow’s milk – It’s nice to have on hand for for travel

Bobby pins, hair ties, barrettes, and hair rollers – I use these to style and store my historical entertainer wigs

I made the Elizabethan hair pads from dollar store sock bun donuts and a bazillion bobby pins. 

Toilet bleach tabs – I use them to clean my washing machine every month instead of spendy Affresh washing machine bleach cleaner tablets which are basically made from the same thing.

100% Coconut oil for soap making

Jute twine – Useful in the garden, workshop, and for crafting

Read how to crochet my plastic free jute pot scrubber on my DIY blog Condo Blues here!

Hangers

Parchment paper – Dollar Tree parchment paper comes in the width of my baking sheets while the stuff at the grocery store is way too wide!

Wood kitchen matches

Stuff to hack – at a dollar a pop I’m more likely to cut/take apart something from the dollar store (like the ghost lights and my hair stuff) than buying the same thing for more money at Target.

 

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