It can be daunting to see whole lists of things to do, things to make, things to learn, and things to buy when you’re first beginning to prepare your home and family. I’ll share some of my favorite finds at Dollar Tree to help you get started!
Dollar stores are places to be aware of what you’re buying. Sure, it’s priced at a dollar, but an item might not be worth a dollar. Or it may be a such poor quality that you’re wasting your dollar when you need to use the item.
But, if you are of a keen eye, not particularly picky about ‘style’, and prepared with your lists, you can stretch your budget and stock up!
Keep in mind that extra food and water aren’t the only things that can be done to be prepared. Things that can help me organize my ‘stuff’, things that can be hacked for general everyday purposes, and things like shelter, I consider to be under the umbrella of preparedness. A lot of these things can be bought at dollar stores!
25+ Prepping and Emergency Items to Buy at Dollar Tree
1. First Aid Supplies for Emergency Situations
Bandages, splints, wrappings, ice packs, knee braces, pain patches, medicines, ointments, and so much more. I have found that the first aid supplies are great buys, and I can stock our first aid kits quickly and inexpensively from Dollar Tree.
P.S. They even carry pregnancy kits which work great!
2. Home Organization from the Dollar Tree Store
While I try to keep my actual food storage in items like glass, stainless steel, BPA-free plastics, and non-lead-containing found objects, using the inexpensive Dollar Tree storage containers is a great way to organize areas in my home that I don’t care quite as much about. My closets and laundry room have benefited from Dollar Tree organization bins in a big way. It helps me keep track of what I have, rotate effectively, and keep clutter under control.
Read more: An AMAZING Way to Store Spaghetti
3. Paper Products
Generally, we do not use paper products regularly, other than toilet paper and a single roll of paper towels that last about a month.
However, I do stock paper products in my pantry for emergencies such as power outages or water outages from a natural disaster (or even the city turning off water to repair mains and we are without water for a day or two). Paper products are great to have for hospitality (taking care of meals for families, having impromptu gatherings in our home), and stocking the car with a few things for emergency getaways.
This is one area where you do have to be savvy about pricing and quantities. However, as a one-stop shop, a dollar store can get you a great supply started with very little investment.
4. Budget-Friendly Reading Glasses from the Dollar Tree Store
I need prescription glasses and wear bifocals. While my far vision needs a boost (and I have to have them to drive legally), my real need is for intermediate vision (my computer) and reading. I make sure to have an extra pair of reading glasses tucked in my emergency kits, my day bag, my desk, my bedside, and my kitchen.
This system allows me to have a pair of glasses wherever I might need them. It also means I have a lot of backup glasses if I lose a pair or break them. I can get better quality glasses at places like Target, but I’d end up spending a fortune on glasses with the way I lose or break them. I prefer to stock up on these which serve me well for emergency supplies. They also have chains and cases to use with your glasses if you need them.
They also have sunglasses, but after talking to my ophthalmologist about my risk of macular degeneration, I prefer to invest a little more in sunglasses that will help protect my eyes, not just save me from some glare.
5. Budget-Friendly Shower Curtains
You have to be a little careful about the selection as some are not better than paper. But if you hit upon a supply that is made with thicker material, grab them! They can be used as table covers, makeshift shelters, etc.
6. Dollar Tree Glowsticks for Emergency Kits
Glowsticks at Dollar Tree may be more decorative than useful, but when you have kids, glowsticks serve so many purposes! You can pack them in their emergency kits or use them for lights-out activities during power outages. They can be comfort objects when it’s dark or you’re camping, and for general lighting when you buy bigger sticks or swords. We stockpile better glowsticks for our emergency bags.
We stockpile better glowsticks for our emergency bags and lights-out kit, but also do these dollar-store varieties for a playful addition, especially for kids.
Also, we generally stay away from thin bracelets and tiny tubes. We go for bigger sticks and swords.
7. Budget-Friendly Plastic Tote Bags
You might get these from many places, but for a dollar, I love these plastic totes for the freezer organization. I have a chest freezer and organizing categories by tote is a huge help. The handles help me lift things out easily, to get to the next layer, and the totes help keep things contained in the chest.
But they can also be used in the same fashion in a pantry. Instead of using plastic storage tubs, you can use the totes to store linens, and large quantities of toilet paper, and make them easily movable.
8. Cheap 80-Hour Emergency Candles
These dollar emergency candles are great finds. They aren’t advertised as such in the store, but when you check the website, they are listed as such. I’ve never tested the full burning capacity of them, mind you, but they are good to have for a lights-out kit. Make sure to light up the night in those emergency situations.
The good news is that if your Dollar Tree does not normally stock these, or if you’d rather have them in a storage box, you can order a 12-count box of their emergency candles.
They are marketed as candles that are great for spiritual endeavors, but we know that they work great for preparedness, too! The only thing you’ll want is longer matches or lighters for when the wax is low.
9. Ice/Hot Packs for Food
These reusable ice/hot food packs are great for food preservation. When I have to clean out my chest freezer, the packs work to help keep things cold (especially those things that tend to thaw out quickly like frozen fruit). Then used hot, it helps keep dishes warm if we’re traveling.
They are also terrific if your freezer/fridge has died and you are without refrigeration for a day or two. Along with ice, these cold packs can help keep your foods frozen in coolers until you can get a new unit. They’re great for power outages as well.
The flexible packs can be used for pain relief if you’re in a pinch – they’re just a little bulky.
If you can find the smaller packs and lunch bags, they are GREAT for pain relief.
10. Spray Bottles
I like to make the most of my cleaners so I like to have some in every zone of our home. That way we aren’t going back and forth across the house to get a cleaner. Dollar store bottles work perfectly for this! You can get steel ones, big plastic ones, and small plastic ones.
11. Cheap Cleaning Supplies from the Store
Microfiber dusters, brooms, buckets, clothespins, and more cleaning supplies are available at Dollar Tree. Sometimes, it isn’t worth even a dollar, but other times, the items are great and are well worth stocking up on!
12. Microfiber Towels for Prepping
We use these microfiber towels for so many things – for dusting, cleaning, and quick spill cleanups. You can find large ones in the automotive sections, mesh-backed ones in the kitchen section, and multi-packs around the store. These are great to use instead of paper towels, and we keep a big supply for all sorts of uses.
13. Budget-Friendly Office Supplies from Tree Dollar
Organizers, pens, pencils, mailers, and more can be found at most dollar stores. While this may look like an organizational issue and not preparedness, things like pencil boxes can have a new life as a first aid kit. A bubble mailer can house seeds for the next season, and binders and dividers can be made into Family Emergency Binders.
Clipboards work great to keep wiped-off inventory pages on the wall. File pockets can be good for keeping important papers together for your go-bag.
14. Inexpensive “Damp Rid”
I keep one of these in my storage closet to help keep general dampness out.
15. Cheap Puppy Pads from the Tree Dollar Store
Now, hear me out on this, okay? If you have an that you use for camping, or maybe have in case of evacuation or disaster, using these disposable puppy pads at the bottom of your bag can absorb the waste. This will help keep it from smelling so bad so quickly and allows for easier cleanup.
16. Bungee Cords for Emergency Kits
We use bungee cords to keep emergency kits in place in the car and to tie down things.
17. Budget-Friendly Bags of Epsom Salts
Epsom salts have so many uses, we like to keep quite a few bags on hand, and the price can’t be beaten.
18. Plastic Shoe Bins from the Dollar Tree Store
The price point isn’t a bargain as you can get them for about the same price at Walmart, but their use is great! We use them to organize preparedness items in our linen closet and categorize smaller things in larger totes in the garage.
19. Tree Dollar Socks for Emergency Kits
Yes, socks. Here’s why. I keep an extra pair of socks in our emergency box and bags for times when we need a change because our feet got wet outdoors. I’d rather not use up an everyday pair (I have teenage boys, so we go through socks a lot). I use the less expensive ones to stock in the emergency bins just in case. I just make sure to pick the best pairs I can find.
20. Budget-Friendly Over the Door Storage Hooks
You can use Command hooks that are expensive, or you can take a look at the selection at Dollar Tree and find ones that work well. Alternative storage is king when you are trying to keep a house from being buried in preparedness supplies. Consider these to be a better hook than what comes in the shower caddies or shoe organizers to hang on the back of a door.
21. Flashlights for Emergency Situations
These fun flashlights are great for kids to have in emergency packs, by their bedside, or to have extras in bathrooms and other rooms. Don’t rely on the dollar store batteries to keep them lit, though. We keep these as extras around the house and to tuck in places in case of a power outage and to use in our packs.
Additional Reading: My Favorite Personal Flashlight
22. Zip Ties for Preparedness Projects
Great for closing things that don’t stay closed, creating projects that need to be held together, and keeping electronic cords organized. They’re handy little tools to have.
23. Party Supply Tablecloths
Like shower curtains, these tablecloths are great for covering things from the rain. While you certainly can use trash bags, tablecloths are just easier to store and use for larger projects. They can be paper-thin, so I don’t use them for making shelter, but they’re good to toss over a dirty area to eat on, or throw over a pile of things to keep safe from a sudden storm.
They can also be good for lining a surface before storing items on it. I don’t store cardboard boxes on the floor of our garage, but I will use a plastic tablecloth or shower curtain to put a barrier down first. Or we’ve used them to store oil on shelves and line the shelf with the plastic tablecloth first, to stop staining.
24. Large Vacuum Storage Bags for Preparedness
I’ve not always had the best of luck with them, but when it’s good, it’s great! Storing extra towels and linens or out-of-season clothes in flat packs on a shelf and saving a ton of storage room? Awesome! They also have zippered storage items for keeping clothes clean – which would be great for winter items when not in use.
25. Dental Care Products
We use some fancy toothbrushes in our home, but I do snag extra toothbrushes in those 3 and 4 packs. Not only are they good for backups, but they are also good for cleaning, and for donating for personal care product collections for our mission teams at church and Operation Christmas Child, etc.
We buy the picks because they’re easier than floss to clean our teeth with, but we do stock up on floss, as well. And name-brand toothpaste is a great buy if you’re not a couponer.
Read more: Dental Emergency Kit
26. Hand Sanitizer/Wipes for Your Emergency Kit
We don’t use hand sanitizer daily. We DO use it when someone in our household has come down with a stomach virus because puking is just not okay.
So I make sure to double clean for that. We will use the wipes as well, especially if we are traveling in public spaces during cold/flu season or if a roto/norovirus is on the rampage in our area. I keep them stocked in our emergency bags and car, too.
27. Generic Medications for Your Emergency Kit
I admit to purchasing generic medications from Dollar Tree. So, I do try to make sure I know the source though. I am careful to be sure I’m purchasing something worth the value (5 Tylenol-like pills for a dollar isn’t a good deal), and I stock up on what we might need in an emergency. Then I rotate them through our regular medicines to keep them current.
28. Nuts/Sunflower Seeds
While I do not generally purchase food from dollar stores, I will purchase nuts and seeds for protein snacks for the kids, and toss them into smoothies. Nuts CAN be stored for food storage.
While nuts CAN be stored for food storage, we usually rotate through it fairly quickly.
What I Avoid to Buy from the Dollar Tree Store
It’s not to say that if I were on a tighter budget I wouldn’t buy some of these items to see us through. I would. But if I can help it, I go elsewhere for these.
- Batteries
- Lighters
- Food: For the most part, I don’t buy off-brand packaged foods. We have purchased some name-brand meats there — the tuna in a pouch, and some nuts. But we tend to stay away. I haven’t researched their frozen foods section, but I know frozen fruit is a great deal when you get it on sale. I just haven’t looked. Just make sure you know where it is sourced from.
- Shelf Liner: While I want to love a roll for a dollar, the rolls generally only have enough product to line 1-2 small drawers.
- Kid toys: Unless they are for joke purposes, most of it is junk and not worth having.
- Toiletries: I prefer to shop for deals at my grocery store if I don’t make it myself.
- Dust masks: For general-purpose housework, maybe. For keeping in my emergency kits, no. Go ahead and invest in these.
- Foil, zip-top bags, trash bags, etc. — I tend to get better deals on better quality items at the grocery store.
- Tools and duct tape
- Electronics: While I will stock up on earbuds for travel (because we ALWAYS break or lose them), there’s pretty much nothing else there that I would buy.
- Cleaners: For the most part, no.
All dollar stores carry revolving stock, so check back often to yours to see if you can find items that are useful to you!
What are your favorite preparedness items you get at the dollar store?
Final Thoughts
Although we want to purchase budget-friendly tools, as much as possible, we must invest in materials that will help us in emergencies. Spend more when your life is at stake. But do not worry! We assure you that these items will help you get through. Its quality exceeds the actual price that you paid. It will be worth it.
Emily as an MFA in creative writing and a strong passion for cooking! She started trying out her mother’s recipes from a very young age, turning the time she spent in the kitchen into a career. She will soon publish her very first cookbook, and in her free time, Emily contributes to our blog with resources for all our readers, whether beginners or advanced chefs.
Last update on 2023-06-02 at 13:19 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
There bread,english muffins stay fresher than the stores,pepper poppers, pizza sauce,wheat thins,jarred mushrooms canned chicken cheaper than grocery stores.. Craft supplies lots more we buy. They have inproved over the years
I like the People’s Choice Energy pills. I use them to get more out of my day. It is an herbal blend with things like green tea and Ginsing.
They would be helpful in a Crisis Situations since there will be SO much that needs to be done.
The Crocs long nose butane refillable butane lighters are some of the best!
Available at checkout at DollarTree
It’s now a $1.25+ store not a dollar store.
That’s really helpful information indeed, John! Thanks for the catch!