It’s so easy to get lost in the Dollar Tree. That place is seriously wonderful, but it’s also a black hole for me and my family. It’s got so much great stuff and at literally a dollar each. I usually end up spending more time there than I had originally planned. And the same goes for money, too. Because things are cheaper there, it’s easy to lose track of how much you’re spending. But I’ve become pretty adept at navigating the wonderful wasteland that is Dollar Tree.
Shopping there has seriously improved the quality of life of my family. And I know that sounds like a silly thing to say, but you can’t discount the savings you get from that store. Since the Dollar Tree has such a wide variety of stuff, we’ve learned to rely on the store for a lot of stuff we use around the house. And the money we save while shopping usually goes into more important stuff like home repairs or a small emergency fund for our kids.
So the next time you pass by a Dollar Tree branch (see what I did there?) don’t pass up the opportunity to load up on a few Dollar Tree items. Some of these Dollar Tree products are actually of pretty good quality. They’re not all junk. So here’s my list of best things to buy at Dollar Tree. You can use this as a guide when you go on your next Dollar Tree expedition.
Cotton swabs
I live in a home with two kids who have a talent for getting filthy. It seems like my kids need cleaning-up every half hour. And with kids that high-maintenance, cleaning supplies can get costly. Luckily, I can get cotton swabs for cheap at Dollar Tree. It’s one of my go-to things to buy at Dollar Tree. And speaking of cleaning up…
Bleach
Bleach is one of those things people only buy because they have to. And it sucks having to pay high prices for grocery bleach. Doubly so because my kids are always getting mud, peanut butter, Play-Doh, and various bodily fluids on their clothes and on the towels. Luckily, bleach is really cheap at the Dollar Tree.
Craft supplies
Here’s another thing my kids plow through: art and craft supplies. It almost seems like the kids have some new art project for school every other day. And things like popsicle sticks, watercolors, brushes, paper, and glue may not seem expensive in their own, but the expense definitely adds up. Luckily, you can get all those at Dollar Tree!
Sudoku and crossword puzzles
The stuff we get at the Dollar Tree isn’t only for our kids. My wife and I love getting puzzle books, and Dollar Tree usually has a pretty ample supply of sudoku and crossword puzzles. The good thing about getting these at Dollar Tree is that you don’t feel too bad about spending money when you’ve completed the puzzles.
Various storage boxes and organizers
When you consider that share a home with two kids, my wife (and all their hobbies), and various pets, it isn’t hard to imagine how much clutter I need to manage around the household. Storage and organization are like bleach – everyone needs it, not a lot of people enjoy spending money on it. But the storage options available on Dollar Tree are so cheap, so it’s no biggie having to buy them.
Tote bags
Tote bags are awesome. We use them when we get groceries (saves on plastic), and they’re good for stashing away a weekend’s’ worth of supplies when we go on family road trips. They also make great gift bags. Since tote bags are super cheap at Dollar Tree, using them as gift bags makes financial sense.
Sticky notes
My wife and I both work from home. She has a great online marketing consultation business, while I do blogging and content creation. Between us, we easily use up several blocks of sticky notes each month. And it’s not only for work. I’m constantly sticking notes on the fridge for the kids, or leaving reminders in their lunch boxes.
I like to joke that sticky notes keep our household ticking along. Without sticky notes, it would simply be impossible to organize everything on our household. I can’t imagine life without cheap sticky notes, thanks to Dollar Tree.
Pens, pens, and more pens
So I already mentioned that we use a lot of sticky notes for both our home and professional lives. It should go without saying that we also use a lot of pens. There’s something about our house that just magically eats pens since we’re constantly losing them. I don’t want to think about the number of pens we’ve lost through the years, but the fact that I can easily load up on cheap pens at Dollar Tree makes it easier to bear.
I usually stock up on a year’s worth of writing implements. And I don’t just get pens. I get markers, highlighters, pencils, and refills. The cheap prices at Dollar Tree have made it possible for me to buy a lot of stuff in bulk.
First-aid supplies
There are some things I won’t compromise on, like food and medicines. But first aid supplies at Dollar Tree are still pretty safe and legit. Since I frequently need to patch up one of my kids’ scraped knees, bruised shins (and even myself, who loves working around the house but is an absolute klutz), it’s important to save on first aid supplies.
Every time I swing by Dollar Tree, I usually stock up on gauze, hydrogen peroxide, band-aids, and cold compress packs.
Reading glasses
As unlikely as it sounds, we also lose a lot of reading glasses. I tend to misplace my reading glasses when I’m outside the house. The backseat of our car is also a black hole or reading glasses. It’s gotten so bad I’ve already gotten like several reading glasses as reserves. Luckily, they’re pretty cheap at Dollar Tree, so I don’t mind the expense too much.
Shopping there has seriously improved the quality of life of my family. And I know that sounds like a silly thing to say, but you can’t discount the savings you get from that store. Since the Dollar Tree has such a wide variety of stuff, we’ve learned to rely on the store for a lot of stuff we use around the house. And the money we save while shopping usually goes into more important stuff like home repairs or a small emergency fund for our kids.
So the next time you pass by a Dollar Tree branch (see what I did there?) don’t pass up the opportunity to load up on a few Dollar Tree items. Some of these Dollar Tree products are actually of pretty good quality. They’re not all junk. So here’s my list of best things to buy at Dollar Tree. You can use this as a guide when you go on your next Dollar Tree expedition.
Cotton swabs
I live in a home with two kids who have a talent for getting filthy. It seems like my kids need cleaning-up every half hour. And with kids that high-maintenance, cleaning supplies can get costly. Luckily, I can get cotton swabs for cheap at Dollar Tree. It’s one of my go-to things to buy at Dollar Tree. And speaking of cleaning up…
Bleach
Bleach is one of those things people only buy because they have to. And it sucks having to pay high prices for grocery bleach. Doubly so because my kids are always getting mud, peanut butter, Play-Doh, and various bodily fluids on their clothes and on the towels. Luckily, bleach is really cheap at the Dollar Tree.
Craft supplies
Here’s another thing my kids plow through: art and craft supplies. It almost seems like the kids have some new art project for school every other day. And things like popsicle sticks, watercolors, brushes, paper, and glue may not seem expensive in their own, but the expense definitely adds up. Luckily, you can get all those at Dollar Tree!
Sudoku and crossword puzzles
The stuff we get at the Dollar Tree isn’t only for our kids. My wife and I love getting puzzle books, and Dollar Tree usually has a pretty ample supply of sudoku and crossword puzzles. The good thing about getting these at Dollar Tree is that you don’t feel too bad about spending money when you’ve completed the puzzles.
Various storage boxes and organizers
When you consider that share a home with two kids, my wife (and all their hobbies), and various pets, it isn’t hard to imagine how much clutter I need to manage around the household. Storage and organization are like bleach – everyone needs it, not a lot of people enjoy spending money on it. But the storage options available on Dollar Tree are so cheap, so it’s no biggie having to buy them.
Tote bags
Tote bags are awesome. We use them when we get groceries (saves on plastic), and they’re good for stashing away a weekend’s’ worth of supplies when we go on family road trips. They also make great gift bags. Since tote bags are super cheap at Dollar Tree, using them as gift bags makes financial sense.
Sticky notes
My wife and I both work from home. She has a great online marketing consultation business, while I do blogging and content creation. Between us, we easily use up several blocks of sticky notes each month. And it’s not only for work. I’m constantly sticking notes on the fridge for the kids, or leaving reminders in their lunch boxes.
I like to joke that sticky notes keep our household ticking along. Without sticky notes, it would simply be impossible to organize everything on our household. I can’t imagine life without cheap sticky notes, thanks to Dollar Tree.
Pens, pens, and more pens
So I already mentioned that we use a lot of sticky notes for both our home and professional lives. It should go without saying that we also use a lot of pens. There’s something about our house that just magically eats pens since we’re constantly losing them. I don’t want to think about the number of pens we’ve lost through the years, but the fact that I can easily load up on cheap pens at Dollar Tree makes it easier to bear.
I usually stock up on a year’s worth of writing implements. And I don’t just get pens. I get markers, highlighters, pencils, and refills. The cheap prices at Dollar Tree have made it possible for me to buy a lot of stuff in bulk.
First-aid supplies
There are some things I won’t compromise on, like food and medicines. But first aid supplies at Dollar Tree are still pretty safe and legit. Since I frequently need to patch up one of my kids’ scraped knees, bruised shins (and even myself, who loves working around the house but is an absolute klutz), it’s important to save on first aid supplies.
Every time I swing by Dollar Tree, I usually stock up on gauze, hydrogen peroxide, band-aids, and cold compress packs.
Reading glasses
As unlikely as it sounds, we also lose a lot of reading glasses. I tend to misplace my reading glasses when I’m outside the house. The backseat of our car is also a black hole or reading glasses. It’s gotten so bad I’ve already gotten like several reading glasses as reserves. Luckily, they’re pretty cheap at Dollar Tree, so I don’t mind the expense too much.
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