Dollar stores are good for more than just party favors, cards and cheap toys. Here's my list of ten useful items you can get for a dollar each.

 1. A wide variety of candles, from gift sets to pillars to tea lights, there's something for every purpose.

2. A great selection of sturdy glassware.

3. Stationary for home and school.

4.Loads of scrapbook and other craft supplies.

5. Attractive frames.

6. Kitchen and bath accessories and necessities like shower curtain liners, tea towels, kitchen gadgets and freezer bags.

7. Plastic storage like drawer organizers, shoe boxes and kitchen containers.

8. Health and beauty items like emery boards, nail polish remover and cotton balls. On ocassion, I have even seen Herbal Essence shampoo and Biore mud mask for a dollar, but they are not regularly stocked.

9. Good looking, well-written greeting cards along with gift wrap and bows.

10. Great seasonal supplies, especially summer and Christmas. My dollar store regularly stocks plastic fencing, plant hangers and a variety of planters for the spring and summer season and last Christmas I bought ornaments that rivaled their more expensive counterparts for a dollar each.

 What are your favorite things to buy at the dollar store?

my favorite things are cards/gift bags, seasonal decorations, toys/goody bag stuff, kitchware/plastic containers etc, some food/candy and always check out the craft section!

Gift wrap, tissue and plain gift bags (usually 2 for a $1); ribbon and tape; thank you notes or blank cards (usually pack of 8 for $1); CHOCOLATE and candy, lol; pump or refill liquid hand soap; shower curtain liners; stickers (large sheet or booklet for $1) for rewards chart for my 3yo; picture frames.

I check out the grocery items but sometimes not the best deal. I also browse the beauty aisle and can find some good deals. I have also found washcloths (pack of 4/$1) and bought enough to use for clean up in the kitchen so I can cut back/eliminate paper towels. I bought dark colors for the kitchen and a pack of white for the bathroom. With my 3 yo son and 17 month old son, I was using a lot of paper towels. Washcloths are the perfect size.

I have a Dollar Tree near me which I like a little better than the Dollar General.

I agree that the party supplies and gift supplies are an awesome deal at a dollar store! For us, the Family Dollar (that's the green signed one) has a awesome selection.

Just as a note about dollar stores... I just recently (like within the past 6 months or so) really started shopping at the Dollar Stores on a regular basis. I have a pretty good "mental list" of things that I pick up and stock up on every time I go. BUT during these shopping trips I have learned that many things ARE NOT a good deal. For instance, some products are just in smaller quantities to be able to sell them for a buck or two. For things like toothpaste, shampoo, etc. I try to keep an eye out at my regular stores (like Wal-Mart) and when they are on sale really good, I just stock up then.

Side Note: We have a Big Lots by our home. It's a chain that sales closeout items. If you have one by your house and have never checked it out, please do. You can find some really good deals there but you have to go regularly because each week they can have totally different things. I use to work for a company that made baby products and we sold many of our closeout items to Big Lots (items that are totally fine but may not have sold well).

God bless,

Julie

I love Big Lots. I recently found Act II popcorn, 28 bags for $3.49. Couldnt pass that up for the teens. The funny part was that it was in Spanish and said for importing only. WE are enjoying it. Babs 

Julie,

I agree that some things are NOT a good deal if purchased from a dollar store. Like anywhere else, you can't assume it's a good deal just because it is only a dollar. Some of the pricier toothpastes may be a good deal in a dollar store, but I have always found that the regular toothpaste is a much better deal elsewhere. (The tubes are the same size so, in my opinion, the dollar store should be selling these at 2 for a dollar.) I wish we had a Big Lots in Ontario; I sure would check it out!

Thanks for writing.

My best buys at the local dollar store have been office supplies. Manila envelopes sell in packs of four or five for a dollar, and pens are tremendously cheap. I've found roller ball pens that write a nice smooth line at three for a dollar--less than one-third the price you'd pay at Staples. Also, every spring, they sell "Sow 'N Gro" brand flower and vegetable seeds at six packets for a dollar. (The price marked on the package is 99 cents each). I decided to risk a dollar on six packets of seeds, and lo and behold, all eight of the eight pepper seedlings I started are now poking their little shoots up through the soil in the cups. Very promising! The one thing that bugs me is that lately the store has started stocking some items that cost more than a dollar. That doesn't seem right to me. I think a dollar store should be like the old nickel-and-dime stores; you always pay either a dollar per item or a dollar for multiple items. If some things on the shelves cost $3.99, then it should be a "dollar-and-up store." By the way, our local dollar store is not part of a chain, but my favorite large dollar store is Dollar Tree. Last weekend we made a trip out there to stock up on pasta at 50 cents a pound--less than half what they're now charging for the store brand at our local supermarket.

  We just did a stock-up on pasta there, too!

  What do I like?  Toothbrushes, dryer sheets, lint rollers, jellies and preserves. I just stopped in today and bought 2 hanging plant baskets. I've purchased flower pots there, too.

I thought it was ten useful things?  All of this sounds like luxuries that I could get cheaper.  (rolls eyes and wonders where the cheapskates forum is)   This reminds me of someone saying yahoo over finding 200 dollar jeans for 50 dollars.  The point is you still paid 50 dollars for jeans when you could have found the same quality for cheaper from a no name place or second hand.  

 

On to my list, tear apart at will:

1. Bleach in small sizes so it doesn't get dumped all over my clothes

2.  32 oz bottles of shampoo

3. 32 oz bottles of Conditioner

4. Sewing supplies to fix my clothes

5. children's school supplies, all can be had under a dollar at many places

6. Tooth paste

7. The 5 packs of toothbrushes with the tooth brush covers.

8. socks

9. Undies for the kids

10. Tights for my daughters.

 That is ten useful things I get for under a dollar or one dollar.

 

 

Marlene Alexander:

Dollar stores are good for more than just party favors, cards and cheap toys. Here's my list of ten useful items you can get for a dollar each.

 1. A wide variety of candles, from gift sets to pillars to tea lights, there's something for every purpose.

2. A great selection of sturdy glassware.

3. Stationary for home and school.

4.Loads of scrapbook and other craft supplies.

5. Attractive frames.

6. Kitchen and bath accessories and necessities like shower curtain liners, tea towels, kitchen gadgets and freezer bags.

7. Plastic storage like drawer organizers, shoe boxes and kitchen containers.

8. Health and beauty items like emery boards, nail polish remover and cotton balls. On ocassion, I have even seen Herbal Essence shampoo and Biore mud mask for a dollar, but they are not regularly stocked.

9. Good looking, well-written greeting cards along with gift wrap and bows.

10. Great seasonal supplies, especially summer and Christmas. My dollar store regularly stocks plastic fencing, plant hangers and a variety of planters for the spring and summer season and last Christmas I bought ornaments that rivaled their more expensive counterparts for a dollar each.

 What are your favorite things to buy at the dollar store?

 

box of 100 envelopes for mailing rent check...we only use 1 a month so this will last "a while"

baby oil, for DIY shower sugar/oil scrub and for body moisturizer

petroleum jelly, for moisturizing purposes

white crew sox

Blistex lip balm, the green tube, only $1 a tube, can't find it cheaper elsewhere

assorted pantry items that I can't find cheaper elsewhere 

greeting cards 2/$1.00, if I decide to buy instead of make

motor oil

dish cloths

100% cotton dish towels