Prepping at the Dollar Store

[madfranks]

I decided to give myself $100 and see what kind of preps I could find at my local dollar store. Note, this is an actual, honest to goodness dollar store, everything inside is $1. Here's some of the better items I found, each one only a buck:

- 6 pack of emergency candles
- 6 box pack of waterproof wood matches
- 3 pack of hand sanitizer
- 2 pack of electrical tape
- 4 pack of mouse traps (if garbage starts being a problem, so will mice/rats, plus if you're desperate you can eat the mice you catch)
- Sewing kits with various needles & threads, scissors and thimble
- Three pack of lighters
- 10 pack of instant coffee - people will still like coffee/tea after SHTF, and instant coffee might be nice for the convenience of it.
- Salt and pepper shakers (they only had five of these left, I grabbed 'em all)
- 10 pack of little tobasco sauces - for seasoning bland prep food (beans, rice, etc)
- 3 pack of bar soap
- Bottle of multi-vitamins
- Bottle of aspirin
- Bottle of vitamin C
- Toothbrush & toothpaste set
- Bottle of alcohol/peroxide
- Two pack of playing cards - good for passing the time after SHTF


Anyway, I bought multiples of each item, spent just over $100 and ended up with 5 bags stuffed with extra preps. If any of you have dollar stores nearby, you might be surprised how many good prep items are there, and you know once disaster hits these stores will be emptied out fast.

[osoab]

It's been a bit since I have hit the dolla store. All of ours are in the hood.

Try to stagger your visits when the welfare cards are loaded up.

[MNeagle]

Also look for shoe laces, space blankets, bungee cords, lighted magnifying glasses, booklights, etc. I also get extra measuring cups to keep in the sugar & flour canisters.

I would be leery of the vitamins & such, look for country of origin & don't consume anything Chinese...

oh, and grab an extra can opener or two!

[madfranks]

Also look for shoe laces, space blankets, bungee cords, lighted magnifying glasses, booklights, etc. I also get extra measuring cups to keep in the sugar & flour canisters.

I would be leery of the vitamins & such, look for country of origin & don't consume anything Chinese...

oh, and grab an extra can opener or two!

The vitamins were all made in the USA, which surprised me. Oh, and extra can openers go without saying!

[Dogman]

The vitamins were all made in the USA, which surprised me. Oh, and extra can openers go without saying!


Locate some P=38 GI can openers and put one on every key chain/ring, you own. I have known some guys that keep one on a chain around their necks all the time. Can opener, screwdriver and mini pry bar all in one.

I have one on my keyring that has lived there since the mid 1970's! ;D

[Gaillo]

2 years ago, I went into a dollar store and they had a rack of 8-1/2" X 11" plastic Freznel lenses on the shelf for $1.00 each. Needless to say, I cleaned out their entire stock (about 20) and grinned all the way home! ;D

They're going to heat my water after TS hits TF.

[LuckyStrike]

I'm amazed at the deals in dollar stores, having read Sam Waltons autobiography he talked about 20 years ago that the dollar stores fit a good niche and found profits. Dollar General is an IPO I very much regret not hearing about and a stock on my radar for sure if we have another 2008 style baby out with bathwater moment.

[lapis]

The vitamins were all made in the USA, which surprised me. Oh, and extra can openers go without saying!

They made be made in the U.S., but does that necessarily mean the ingredients are from the U.S.?

I often go to the dollar store because sometimes they have organic stuff.

In the winter I like to buy the Catholic seven-day candles (which due to package shrink now only last four days max). I keep one lit inside the big bathtub in the master bathroom. It helps keep the bathroom warm which is nice since we generally don't heat the house at night.

I also like the canned sardines in water, not the crappy oils like cottonseed.

[chad]

i routinely stop at the dollar store and clean a row of something in the medical aisle. i have about 7 huge plastic totes filled with bandages, neosporin, band aids, this or that cream, etc.

[madfranks]

i routinely stop at the dollar store and clean a row of something in the medical aisle. i have about 7 huge plastic totes filled with bandages, neosporin, band aids, this or that cream, etc.

Well I can see I have some catching up to do then, lol.

[banjo]

Don't forget the cheaters. If you're at that point where you need glasses to read, its always good to grab a handful of $1 glasses.

[Twisted Titan]

you can literally go hog wild in a dollar store

though it would be advised to keep these are first use or barter preps because they will be the first to fail


i try to swing by as often as i can

[gunDriller]

i went yesterday to buy some black pepper for the pinhole leak in my radiator.

it's been leaking water all summer long, no big deal, i re-fill it like i put gas in it.

but i just bought my first gallon of anti-freeze, so now i have to "get serious".

i talked to the guy at the auto parts store about their "stop the leak in the radiator" products.

turns out, it clogs the pinhole. clogs everything else too. recommended NOT buying it - nice to meet an honest auto parts guy.

basically, the only thing they sell is - RADIATORS !


i talked to the $ store people. they had everything but black pepper.

it's definitely cyclical. i have the impression they buy decent products, but from "opportunity sales" like store closings.

best deal i've seen - 3 quart jars of canned peaches for $2.99. normally it's $2.99 a jar. having eaten the peaches, i'm still using the jars.

[Twisted Titan]

Locate some P=38 GI can openers and put one on every key chain/ring, you own. I have known some guys that keep one on a chain around their necks all the time. Can opener, screwdriver and mini pry bar all in one.

I have one on my keyring that has lived there since the mid 1970's! ;D


God Bless you DG

I just jumped on amazon and i got some P-38 and P-51's heading my way on your recommendation


Official Milsurp

[collector]

I decided to give myself $100 and see what kind of preps I could find at my local dollar store. Note, this is an actual, honest to goodness dollar store, everything inside is $1. Here's some of the better items I found, each one only a buck:

- 6 pack of emergency candles
- 6 box pack of waterproof wood matches
- 3 pack of hand sanitizer
- 2 pack of electrical tape
- 4 pack of mouse traps (if garbage starts being a problem, so will mice/rats, plus if you're desperate you can eat the mice you catch)
- Sewing kits with various needles & threads, scissors and thimble
- Three pack of lighters
- 10 pack of instant coffee - people will still like coffee/tea after SHTF, and instant coffee might be nice for the convenience of it.
- Salt and pepper shakers (they only had five of these left, I grabbed 'em all)
- 10 pack of little tobasco sauces - for seasoning bland prep food (beans, rice, etc)
- 3 pack of bar soap
- Bottle of multi-vitamins
- Bottle of aspirin
- Bottle of vitamin C
- Toothbrush & toothpaste set
- Bottle of alcohol/peroxide
- Two pack of playing cards - good for passing the time after SHTF


Anyway, I bought multiples of each item, spent just over $100 and ended up with 5 bags stuffed with extra preps. If any of you have dollar stores nearby, you might be surprised how many good prep items are there, and you know once disaster hits these stores will be emptied out fast.

Just saw this thread and have to say THANKS for posting !!

Here's some of my Dollar Tree (true $1 store) findings;
Electrical tape is cheaper at harbor Freight when it's on sale
Lighters I've seen at Walmart - 8 for $2
Alcohol - it's only 50%, I usually stick with 90% from CVS, more pure
Peroxide - good for cuts but loaded with heavy metals. Garden of Eden sells food grade for some bucks but you can make gallons and gallons of it by cutting it with regular water and you're without the heavy stabilizing metals

Along with most of the items that you listed, I also get
* Spray bottles that I coat with rubber dip or flex seal, then fill with colloidal silver - very handy and 100% of sunlight is blocked
* Glass decanters with rubber seal for lid great for storing tea and stuff
* Dog leash curly lawn stakes. Make great tent stakes or to securely hold anything to the ground
* Twin pack 250 matches. I take medicine and vitamin bottles and fill them with matches, cut the safety striker off the box and use hot melt glue to glue strips to the containers. I even put one inside the cap then put cotton balls between the matches and the lid.
* Cotton balls
* Q-tips - look for the 400 pack
* Makeup remover pads - good fire starter and for use as emergency gauze
* bandages, wraps, first aid stuff
* foot powder, antifungual spray
* reading glasses - pairs from 1.00 - 3.00 plus extras of the ones I sometimes use now
* cheap ponchos - disposable outerwear in case the rain is glowing...hey, you never know
* posterboard for making signs, establishing a perimeter - can't beat the price and the sturdy stuff will hold up in the rain

...and not a prep but greeting cards - because 2 for a dollar beats some stupid $4 Hallmark card, the money saved can be spent buying all these preps over the course of a couple of years !!

[madfranks]

Update: don't buy the cheap lighters from the dollar store. I opened a pack of 3 and each one broke after using it one time. In an emergency, these lighters would have all the utility of a single match. Better go with the BIC or higher quality lighters for prepping.

[chad]

you can buy EXTREMELY nice ronson brand lighters at walmart for $2. they are metal, look like zippos, but have a torch style flame. they are awesome. i bought about 30 of them plus a case of lighter fuel.

[osoab]

you can buy EXTREMELY nice ronson brand lighters at walmart for $2. they are metal, look like zippos, but have a torch style flame. they are awesome. i bought about 30 of them plus a case of lighter fuel.

I still like my bics.

edit to add, I don't want to ruin a zippo while opening beer bottles. With the cheap lighters you have to be super careful. :D

[Dogman]

I still like my bics. I have several zippo's that I converted to electronic ignition/butane. They do not give you the pocket burn from lighter fluid if you over fill them..

I have used naphtha, and in a pinch gas,

Who if any rember the skin burn from an over filled zippo?

[gunDriller]

Update: don't buy the cheap lighters from the dollar store. I opened a pack of 3 and each one broke after using it one time. In an emergency, these lighters would have all the utility of a single match. Better go with the BIC or higher quality lighters for prepping.

or, test what you buy.

i bought a fireplace lighter at the $ store yesterday, the kind with the long tip.

but i already had bought 2 from them, so i had an idea of what to expect.


i like the expression on the face of the employees when you ask questions,

"do you sell cameras ?" (for $1)

"do you sell calculators ?" - actually, they do.


they have some great deals.

i often do a double take at other stores, i see people paying $10 or more for something they can get for $1 at the $ store.


one thing that was wierd yesterday, the cashier at the $ store asked the 2 people ahead of me if they wanted to donate $1 to some "Children's Miracle Fund".

the cashier got 2 takers in a row ! ... and $ store customers usually shop there because they're on a budget.

[Silver Rocket Bitches!]

Also, Dollar Tree sells band aids with silver in them.

[madfranks]

Also, Dollar Tree sells band aids with silver in them.

Maybe yours does, but I've never seen them at mine. I think most dollar tree locations just take whatever surplus stuff they can get the cheapest, which is most of the time local leftovers.

[Glass]

our $2 shops, we pay twice as much for everything have a strange mix of stuff. A mix of asian street stall stuff, very cheap home wares and food stuffs that are nearly out of code and some stuff that clearly comes from salvage/closing down stock auctions.

2 things I think have more utility than their intended purpose are freezer bags and chopsticks

Freezer bags are tough bags for the weight. A pack of 20 or 40 bags weighs next to nothing and packs super flat. I see that they could be used to carry water if needed. Some have handles. They can be used to keep things dry like food or anything else. You could use them for carrying left over food, if you were on the move and had left overs from the last camp. You could also use them for waste.

chopsticks because it's a couple thin sticks. You can buy a box of 12 for a couple bucks. Plastic or wood. The platic are pretty tough. You can eat with them, stir with them and poke some one in the eye with them. Japanese ones have the sharp point. Chinese tend to be blunt end and less tappered. Sometimes takeaways give you a set with the meal. Don't use them. Put them aside for later.

Also you can practice your yingyang inner woo and catch flies with your eyes closed. just like Ponce does to keep himself edgy