What to Buy at Dollar Tree
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If you know what to buy at the Dollar Tree you can save your family a lot when shopping on a budget!
Shopping at Dollar Tree
I’ll admit it until recently I rarely set foot in a dollar store. All of the ones I had been to seemed cheap and I hated going to stores where everything wasn’t actually a dollar.
When we moved to Georgia last summer from the UK I happened to go into a Dollar Tree to look for some cheap essentials while we waited for our home goods to arrive from England. I was totally blown away by how great the store was and the deals to be found.
After you learn what to buy at the Dollar Tree, hop over to this article on how to save money on groceries without coupons!
Now I hit it up a couple of times a month to stock up one great buys, and I get asked all the time What to Buy at Dollar Tree, so today I wanted to share my top 33 things to buy at Dollar Tree. (I couldn’t stop at just twenty!)
If you’re looking to keep an eye on your budget, be sure to check out the Budget Printable Pack in my shop and see my 100 cheap date ideas!
What to Buy at Dollar Tree
- Gift Bags
- Tissue Paper
- Gift Wrap
- Greeting Cards
- Seasonal Party Supplies- there is always a section at the front of the store with holiday decor
- Paper Plates & Napkins
- Beach Toys
- Craft supplies (glitter, pompoms, wreath forms)
- Puzzles (so cheap who cares if the pieces go missing after a while!)
- Bubbles
- Playdoh
- Glow Sticks-great for using when you entertain kids in the evenings
- Box Mixes – use these add-ins to make them taste like homemade
- Spaghetti sauce (I add my own meat and spices)
- Canned soup
- Rice mixes
- Trash cans
- Posterboard
- Organizing Bins
- Hair Ties
- Sandwich bags
- Cling wrap & foil
- Stocking Stuffers
- Brooms
- Sponges
- Tissues (great for stocking up your child’s classroom!)
- Candy
- Medicines (ibuprofen, allergy medicine, etc)
- Coloring books
- Spices
- Bread
- Balloons
For more ways we save money you might also like this post about our debt-free journey, my Butcher Box review, saving on pet supplies with Chewy.com, or my NakedWines.com review.
What NOT to Buy at Dollar Tree
One lesson I’ve learned is not to buy off-brand cleaning supplies at Dollar Tree-I did that when we first moved and it was all worthless. I’ve also heard not to buy their batteries because they don’t last very long but I have not tried them myself.
A big thing to look out for when buying at Dollar Tree or other dollar stores is to compare apples to apples. It may look like a great deal on a pack of gum but if it only has half the amount a regular pack from the grocery store would have, you aren’t saving money. Pay attention to price per ounce or per item!
What are your favorite things to buy at the Dollar Tree? Read the comments below for more reader input, there’s great info down there!
I love the contact paper, as well as the crafty stuff!
I love to buy a few things there such as balloons great selection and for only a dollar, snacks candy, makeup, gift bags, hair dye, Betty Crocker kitchen gadgets, tape, cards, stickers for scrapbooking, water toys, seasonal things, baskets, back scrubbier, hair things.
Sometimes they have beautiful infinity scarves.
Would like to know what can take out nail polish out of carpet
Try hairspray
Surprised no one mentioned the great snacks they have. I find myself always going there for snacks over similar options
I’m surprised nobody has mentioned their knockoff magic erasers! Work as well, for a fraction of the price. I learned this trick from a professional cleaner
The carpet cleaner works wonders if you have pet stains (which we USED to have) or in a high traffic area. Test it in a place that’s out of site first to see if you like the results.
Great tip, thanks! ~Melissa
I buy some office supplies, such as folders, paper clips and clear tape. The tape is way cheaper here, I usually buy the six rolls of tape for a dollar. This is speacially useful for Christmas gift wrapping.
They have cute wrapping paper too sometimes! ~Melissa
Renusit Hawaiian breeze.love it.there are other scents too. For car pop ups and for closets.. And tooth paste. Tooth brushes. I also go for crafts and glassware. And I check out the candles as well.some of the scents are so great when you lite them in a room .just like Walmart brands. I think better
I’ll have to try the Hawaiian Breeze, thanks Missy! ~Melissa
I wouldn’t buy any medications at a dollar store unless they say made in Canada/USA and have a DIN or NPN. Otherwise they aren’t authorized by health Canada or the FDA. A DIN is a 7 digit number that is unique to the product and stands for Drug Identification Number. A NPN is for supplements and stands for Natural Products Number.
If they don’t have those numbers, they don’t necessarily have to have the indicated amount of medication in them. They could be pure placebo and you’d never know it.
Just a PSA from a retired pharmacist.
Great tip Sam, I didn’t know about that! ~Melissa
I buy all of our gallon size plastic bags and kitchen bags (they work for us) from Dollar Tree. I Love their plates and glasses. I bought some bowls for Fall last year and love them. They used to have Hanover brand Wedding Bell soup at our Dollar Tree. So delicious. I still look for it whenever I am there. Happy hunting.
LA Totally Awesome Oxygen Action is just like Oxy Clean. Works fantastic. That’s actually the only cleaning product I buy at Dollar Tree. Other than that I go for spray bottles, gift bags, plastic storage containers, glasses, etc.
I’ll have to try that cleaner, thanks Sharon! ~Melissa
Awesome is by far the best cleaner to buy at dollar tree and it is concentrated too
I’ll have to try that, thanks!! ~Melissa
Be careful with Awesome cleaner. I sprayed it on stained clothing and it caused the pint to bubble on my washer.
Thanks for the tip Phyllis! ~Melissa
We stop by the Dollar Tree to get candy for the movies. I hear some theaters are checking bags, but here it still works.
We each get our favorite and it doesn’t break the bank.
Just bought batteries at Home Depot two in a pack almost 7 dollars came home only to find out that I already had bought some at the dollar store with six in a pack for one dollar how is this possible are the dollar store batteries defective is there any difference in them even though they have the same code number on them
Just bought batteries at Home Depot two in a pack almost 7 dollars came home only to find out that I already had bought some at the dollar store with six in a pack for one dollar how is this possible are the dollar store batteries defective is there any difference in them even though they have the same code number on them
Bleach! Bleach is the same wherever you get it. I hate paying $2+ for the same thing at Walmart.
I’ll try it next time I stop there! ~Melissa
I find dollar tree bleach to do absolutely nothing for my clothes. I buy the SE. Grocer brand AT WINN DIXIE for $1.00. When it’s on sale. Regular price $1.29. It’s as great as clorox.
I do alot of arts and crafts. So I shop at the Dollar tree a few times a week. The brooms they sell are junk in my opinion. But you can buy tons of items there. They do have good dryer sheets, batteries are great when you have kids. And the food selections have gotten so much better. The plates and glasses are nice. They have been selling Rachael Ray’s plates, coffee cups and bowls. Between there, Walmart and Michael’s I find everything I need cheap to make my creations. But 90% of the items I use for my projects come from the Dollar tree.
She is wrong about cleaning supplies. I buy AWESOME (Dollar Tree’s own brand) and it is great!
What kind of cleaning supplies did you try Barbara? I found the window cleaner, in particular, to be awful. I’m happy to try what you like and update the post, I am not sure what brand the window cleaner I bought there was but it left a haze on everything I tried to clean!
La’s Awesome brand is a good cleaner. I don’t buy window cleaner anywhere because newspaper and vinegar work better.
Their clothes awesome detergent is great also.
The laundry detergent and add the powder color safe bleach is just as good as name brand expensive detergents
The batteries are great for remotes but I would not get them for the toys
Good tip Kim! Thanks! ~Melissa
I too am a fan of dollar tree’s off brand cleaning supplies! ESPECIALLY their fake Febreez spray!
Dog toys and some craft supplies