What Hidden Gems Can You Find in Dollar Tree?

I don’t know about you, but I love a deal. When I say “love”, I mean I am enamored with saving money, but not skimping out on quality.

I have never been considered “rich”, money-wise. Growing up, I was blessed with what I needed, but had to work hard for what I wanted. My mama used coupons and valued being able to spend as least amount of money as possible on groceries so that she and my daddy could save for things like birthdays and Christmas.

Thankfully my parents taught me the importance of money and budgeting. Sadly, a lot of people I know are in major debt simply because they do not know how to budget. But you can surely start making little changes today that will help you be more money-conscious!

So when my hometown finally got a Dollar Tree after many years of not having one (the other was closed down due to theft), I was thrilled!!! Dollar Tree is my go-to for most everything.

Below I’ve compiled a list of 10 products I can’t live without!

10. Calendars
Dollar Tree has definitely stepped up their game with the calendars this year! They have an array of themes; rustic, flowers, Disney characters, etc. They also have mini planners that perfect to stash in your purse. If you’re like me, you HAVE to write down EVERYTHING! Both the calendar and planner have ample space for keeping up with appointments as well as notes. These babies can run you anywhere from $2.00 to an upwards of 30 buckeroos for other brands. (Plus they make great Christmas gifts for the new year!)

9. Greeting Cards
Greeting cards for all holidays can be found at Dollar Tree. For Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and Christmas (ya know, when you have to get all the grandparents and great-grandparents cards!) I shop Dollar Tree. Their cards are 2/$1 so I can definitely maximize my dollar since I have to buy at least 4-6 cards each holiday. Other stores have “cheap” cards, but they are very plain. Surprisingly the wording in Dollar Tree’s cards are not corny!

8. Batteries
Jeremy will hate me for this, but I do not buy my batteries anywhere else! Dollar Tree has most sizes of batteries, in multi-packs as well. Brody has loads of toys that need loads of batteries…so why am I going to buy batteries from other places for $5-10?! Negative. I have the same batteries in some things I’ve had since we first moved into our house almost 6 years ago.
…And if you have to replace them…they’re just a DOLLAR!

7. Spices
If you’ve been to your local grocery store lately, you will see the prices of spices (ah, rhyming there! ;)) are outrageous! My Maw-Maw recently ran out of pepper so we looked at the prices and we both about fell out! Pepper was almost $5 for a container. You can season all your dishes on the cheap with these prices!

6. Bandaids
With a toddler in the house, we go through quite a bit of Bandaids. Whether he is using them as stickers on the wall, tattoos on his body, or he actually injures himself (or Daddy!), we need a lot of bandaids. Dollar Tree has super cute designs and characters for your little ones. Store-brand and other character adhesive bandages can run you $2.00 or more.

5. Quick Erasers
Hands down, just as good, if not better, than the Mr. Clean ones (which cost $3.00 for 2). I use these especially in our tub to scrub the nasty oil ring left by Jeremy. Having an auto mechanic as a boyfriend can be tough…fight back with these magic erasers! I also use this with Number 1 on my list, but of course you have to finish the article to see how those two work together! 🙂

4. Phone Chargers
I came across these the other week and bought one on a whim. We are always losing chargers and I hate wasting $5-10 on a charger that I may not be able to find next week. I bought a car charger and it puts out a good power charge. I stay on the road it seems, and I feel this is a dependable charger, especially since I bought it from Dollar Tree!

3. Toys
Who has children who think they’re supposed to get a toy every time they go in a store? *Raises hand* Brody has gotten to be quite the persuasionist when we go to Walmart or Target. Mama definitely doesn’t like hearing him scream and holler (like the tantrum that occurred this week) when he doesn’t get what he wants. So, every few times that we go to Dollar Tree and he acts exceptionally well, or if he has a good week at school, I don’t feel guilty spending $1 on a toy.
I also buy kids’ birthday gifts at Dollar Tree. (And if you’re a parent reading this and have a problem with it, you can kiss it!) They have the cutest puzzles, sticker books, and things the child is not going to care about (or judge me about!) and may even like more than the expensive gifts they received. I set a budget amount and let Brody help me pick out cute gifts! The savings doing this alone is priceless!

2. Toilet Paper
Y’all are probably about to laugh your tail off, but I *LOVE* Dollar Tree’s toilet paper. I’m here to tell you, don’t knock it til you try it! I also bought this on a whim because I hate another big box store in our town so much that I would rather use crappy (no pun intended!) toilet paper than go in that store! Much to my surprise, I fell in love. The quality is pretty good; not too thin and not too thick for my sensitive plumbing. I’m tellin’ ya…I feel like I hit the jackpot here, because I was paying $4.00 or more for a 4-pack of similar quality toilet paper. Why spend a ton on something that you’re going to discard?! I think not!

1. LA’s Awesome Spray
Drumroll please! I was told about this impressive bottle of gold by Jeremy’s Maw-Maw. She used it as a degreaser (its main property) to clean Jeremy’s greasy clothes before he moved out on his own. If you ask any of the members on Facebook cleaning pages, you will be overwhelmed how much you can really use this spray for! Awesome is truly the holy grail of cleaning supplies. I use it just about everywhere…clothes stains, carpet stains, to clean the oven and microwave after spills, around our toilet, to clean counters…it even takes out grape juice stains like a charm! I love the end result when I spray Awesome to set for a few minutes then use the Magic Erasers to scrub the bathtub.
You are technically supposed to dilute the spray. I have two different bottles, one diluted and one that is not. I use the diluted one for counters or anywhere that food could be near. I use it undiluted for the heavy stuff; stains, bathroom, etc. And at the low price of just $1, you can’t go wrong buying it from Dollar Tree (especially since its much more expensive elsewhere!)

 

I hope you try out these things the next time you stop by Dollar Tree! Those who are scared of the quality of items at Dollar Tree, fear not! Most items, if not all, that I have purchased have been really great quality, especially as a Mama on a budget!

And if it breaks, you only lost a dollar!

 

Which of these items on the list will you try out?

What “hidden gems” have you found at Dollar Tree? Comment below so I can try them out!