Survivalist Forum banner
Status
Not open for further replies.

Dollar Store Prepping

12K views 48 replies 36 participants last post by  ReadyMom 
#1 ·
Being on a tight budget, I get alot of stuff from my local Dollar Tree.

LED flashlights, LOTS of FAK items, pliers, work gloves, aluminum water bottles, garbage bags.. you name it. Anyone else do the same? Any sweet steals found in your local dollar store?

The LED flashlight (has 3 diodes, runs off AAAs) is nice. Aluminum housing, and its low cost make it worthwhile. I got one and one of the diodes went out. Still bright (for 1 dollar) and still going. The led color is almost more "blueish" than anything.

Just wanted to know what other people find
 
#2 ·
One especially good deal at my local Dollar Tree is emergency candles. You get six 5 1/2 hour candles in a box for a buck.

I've got about 15 of those boxes (I add a couple every time I'm there). I figure they may be very good as barter items, aside from their use as candles in my own home.

I also prep matches and lighters.

Here's what they look like:

Dollar Tree Emergency Candles

Here's a funny thing: People are selling these in bulk on Ebay for more than you can buy them at Dollar Tree.
 
#40 ·
Thanks for pointing those out! I typically avoid the local Dollar Store because it's a magnet for riff-raff and punks hanging around the adjacent food court looking for trouble.


PS▬The candles are not made in china! :thumb:


Are the water gallons in a container that is not likely to leak? Sounds like a great idea to have some stacked in the storage room!
Get some 7-gal Aqua-Tainers from Chinamart
 
#5 ·
I love Dollar Stores too. When I was a teenager and had my first Appartment that is where I would get just about everything. My Curtains were made out of Green Vynil Shower Curtains, Potted Meat Food Produnct and Ramen Noodle were always on the Menu. My Dinner Table and Chairs were the White Plastic Patio Set from the Dollar Store too.
 
#7 ·
I have never seen the "emergency" candles but I buy the church candles in the glass jars. Wind protection and then a jar later on! :) The flashlights and tools I would have as spares of spares I guess, but know what you are buying. I would dare say some of that stuff is even cheaper then the stuff at Harbor Freight. I too buy canned foods, FAK, and other stuff (ziploc bags, batteries, waterproof containers etc.) I am always worried to walk up to the register with a cart full of stuff and then here "$48.XX" makes me chuckle a bit.
 
#10 ·
Everyone's got to do what they can to stretch a preps dollar. :thumb:
Our grocery store started a $1 section, we hit it every time we go to see what might be there this trip.
OTH, You have to be careful though of your "deals". Dollar stores seem to be more subject to counterfeits, the package stretching techniques (bigger TP tubes/less sheets) or lower quality product (cheap band aids that don't stick well) so is it really a deal? Got to watch for use by dates as well. ;)

I think they're best suited for backups, trade goods, or things that might not get used as readily, like caches. For primary carry or things you will rely on working, maybe not so much.
 
#12 ·
my Dollar Tree has giant tea lights, about the size of mason jar lid, and they last a really long time, three for a buck. I like the towels that expand by adding water too. Most of the tools are junk and not worth the dollar that you spend, same with most of the electronics.
If you happened to be near or are passing through northern Ohio, there is a chain of stores called Marc's. It is not a dollar store but they have have a lot of things for prepping that are very reasonable. Right now they have 22oz.stainless steel bottles for $2, sometimes they get Mil-Spec Duct Tape for just a few bucks and it is really tough.
 
#13 ·
You have to be careful about the Dollar Tree food. There was another thread about the Honey Bear honey for a dollar. Turns out the product is a mixture of honey and high fructose corn syrup. The product comes from China and there is an import ban on honey from China because of the pesticides used over there.

I buy there diet cola. In my ares it ts made buy Cott. Cott is an old beverage company in our area. At $1.00 per three letters.
 
#15 ·
We have a Dollar General close by. Tooth paste, light bulbs, canned veggies, coffee creamer, and other odds and ends. The best buy they have lately is a large can of Maxwell House coffee at 4.96. That's about 4 dollars cheaper than the grocery.
Someone mentioned honey....personally, I pay more, but buy honey from a local farm with hives, or a brand here called Kelly's. It's from Chicota, TX and isn't mixed with other honey. If you read labels...you'll see many times honey is mixed from sevral different countries. I've seen some that say product of: Portugul, Mexico, and some other countries mixed with US. Don't want it.
 
#16 ·
Yep we buy honey from a local apiary. It's better for local allergies. I wouldn't trust any other than local. We have a dollar tree too but I noticed you get less in packages and you have to watch the canned goods for expiration dates. We buy spices from there but I noticed they are only about half full. I get loads of candles from yard sales for next to nothing. Last year a store went out of business and we got loads of medical supplies for like .50 each. We bought enough to fill a plastic tub full. Yard sales are awesome. We got a bird bath last week with the sticker still on it for 7.00. We went to Agway and the same thing was 87.99. We also got sheets and a quilt still in the package for 1.00 to 3.00. DVD movies for 2.00 each. It's yard sale season so get out there while you can!
 
#22 ·
The Dollar Store is a good place to buy SOME things......but certainly not ALL the things they have for sale are good.

I do not buy any food products there. Read the labels. None of their cheap food is manufactured in America. Who knows what the conditions were like when that stuff went down the assembly line in foreign countries. We already know China is exporting toxic products, including toothpaste. I wouldn't buy aspirin there, either. Much of what the dollar stores sell is manufactured in China or Mexico.

That having been said, these stores can be good places to buy household items, including paper products, dishwashing soap, etc. Also, stationery/office supplies, mailing supplies, greeting cards, wrapping paper, etc.
 
#23 ·
The Dollar Store is a good place to buy SOME things......but certainly not ALL the things they have for sale are good.

I do not buy any food products there. Read the labels. None of their cheap food is manufactured in America. Who knows what the conditions were like when that stuff went down the assembly line in foreign countries. We already know China is exporting toxic products, including toothpaste. I wouldn't buy aspirin there, either. Much of what the dollar stores sell is manufactured in China or Mexico.

Dollar General's "Clover Valley" brand says "Made in the USA" on their canned goods (or at least the canned goods that I buy anyway)
 
#25 ·
I hit the dollar tree for the shelf stable(up to 6 months)Gossners milk. I happened upon this stuff quite by accident and thought how cool is this? I now buy up to 8 containers a month for baking purposes,long term storage(constantly rotated) and as a backup for when I run out of store bought gallons for my cereal, To top it off my son told me this was the milk they drank down at Fort Benning and that he liked it. That "liked it" comment was good enuff for me to keep it on the "buy list"..
As far as the food goods,, I do know that their dried cranberries are produced here in the US..Those I do buy The trail mixes, I thought I had hit the mother lode!! what an inexpensive way to stockpile these goodies till I read where they came from(china) ummmm no thanks..
quart jars of vinegar are available too..
 
#26 ·
I always go to the dollar store. Just take note that some of the canned stew,soup ect has a shorter shelf life. When I buy canned stew at the supermarket there is about 3 years left on the best before date. At the dollar store it's about 2 years. They must get older stock or something.
 
#28 ·
My local dollar tree sells triple antibiotic ointment, 1.0% cortisone, and some other useful medical items. They are made in America, and only cost- you guessed it- 1.00. It's also a great place to buy superglue (cuts). I also purchased some inexpensive utensils in there for a camping kitchen.

Another neat thing was this small alarm with a magnetic switch with an adhesive pad on it. When the switch was removed it made an ear piercing high pitched yelp. I could see multiple uses for these while on the move. You could make a trip-wire type device

There are other neat things in there. Yes, most things are imported, but many things are not. Some are imported from countries that I don't mind doing business with- Europe and Canada for example. I don't knowingly purchase and consume food grown in China, but if you're not careful you get chinese grown food in many places. My wife used to work in food service and said their frozen broccoli the local school used came from China. So if you're eating out- your likely eating Chinese products

I saw that "honey flavored syrup" in there yesterday. It was clearly marked as such. You have to be blind to buy that, thinking it was real honey.
 
#30 ·
When I lived in So. Cali and AZ. they had the .99 cent only so store, they all ways Store brands that either didn't sell or weren't that popular. It was the only place I could find 3M Scotch scoring pads for dishes their great because they don't rust.
I wish the .99 cent only store would open in Oregon.
XR750
 
#31 ·
I'm less than impressed with a lot of Dollar Tree type stores. Prices on some things are good, other things are outdated and overpriced (I suppose like anywhere else). On balance, at our local store the bad deals seem to outnumber the good ones. Food seems to be closer to its expiration date there than in a grocery store. Of course, everything is Chinese.
 
#34 ·
Food seems to be closer to its expiration date
think outa the box(can) simple solution to this issue: Buy the goods with the lesser expiration dates, move them to the forefront of ur prep storage(ie: kitchen cabinet in my case) and use these which would preserve ur other long into the future "best by dates" goodies.

as far as EVRYTHING is "made in china" ohh so NOT true !! the dried cranberries I mentioned in previous post are from the good ole US of A,, the gossners shelf stable milk? Produced/packaged in Logan Utah. Clover Valley(previously mentioned by another poster) Most are a product of US ,tho the site I dug up for more informnation on this DG brand, did say SOME are product of mexico. take time to read the label on CV product to be sure its from here.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top