Discount Store Savings

[ohana1221]

Hey everyone! Just writing to share my surprise at all the great trip items I got for very cheap at dollar tree! I never go here and had all this stuff in my amazon cart! I saved a lot and the items seem to be of the same quality. I purchased travel kleenex (finding dory themed too!), 2 travel misting fans (I bought 2 in case one breaks), AA batteries for them, hair ties, 2 toothbrushes, and 6 pairs of socks (really soft ones too). I spent less than $9. It's worth noting that these are all items that, to me, don't have to be of the highest quality. After changing my amazon cart to items of comparable quality (in order to make this a fair assessment), my cart total was $31.82. I saved $22 on just a few small necessities. I didn't even get snacks, I also don't have children so I did not need to spend money on them. My savings likely would have increased if I had, there was a variety of brand name snacks and small disney themed toys/coloring books to keep children entertained. The only thing I really needed that I did not decide to purchase there was sunscreen, I prefer to use brand names that I trust, sun burn is not a fun way to start a vacation. They also had normal phone chargers and car chargers, probably would work ok for a trip but not top quality, if we didn't already have some I would've given it a try. Might be good for those who tend to forget to pack their charger when they leave the hotel
Has anyone else found any great savings or purchases at their local discount store? Are there certain places you shop to save money for Disney?

 

[TabbyShabby]

I love our Dollar Tree for glow necklaces and glow bracelets. My husband gets just as excited about those as the kids when the parades start. I also love to pick up candy treats for our trip, ziplock bags to hold the treats (usually find Star Wars or Princess themed), crosswords for the flight, and Disney bandaids are usually there as well and I always pack bandaids.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

Oh goodness, I don't think I've ever made a list but my personal go-tos are:
1. Gift bags and greeting cards
2. Air Fresheners
3. All hair supplies (outside of shampoo and conditioner)
4. Ace bandages
5. Random 1st aid kit supplies
6. LED Keychain Flashlights
7. Dog leashes and collars
8. 2 gallon ziploc-style bags (better than packing cubes for me when I travel)
9. Random snacks and meals for hiking/travelling - exact details change depending on what they have.
10. Disposable food storage containers
11. Aluminum disposable baking containers (Holiday and other potluck lifesavers)
12. Random toys to trade with the Jawas at HS
13. Cheap brooms and mops for outside/camp
14. cheap trash bags (for travelling - I dump my dirty clothes in them, segregating them from clean clothes when I am on a multi-leg trip. As I like to take side-trips for long arduous hikes through the wilderness that may or may not involve long traverses in creeks the day before I become a business traveler, this is a necessity.)
15. toothbrushes and toothpaste (great for travelling)
16. small sets of containers for carryon luggage
17. cheap lip balms
18. sharpies (for hiking - multitude of uses on the trail)
19. scissors
20. packing tape
21. purse sized notebooks
22. disposable earbuds (the sound is awful, but works okay for listening to podcasts and books and if they break or get lost, who cares)
23. books
24. travel packs of cleaning wipes
25. deodorant (Dollar Tree deodorant has the same effective % ingredient as the prescription strength stuff and smells just as nice)
26. post-its, pens etc.
27. shoelaces (almost never used as shoelaces, but great for tying things together)
28. duct tape

 

[kymom99]

Oh goodness, I don't think I've ever made a list but my personal go-tos are:
1. Gift bags and greeting cards
2. Air Fresheners
3. All hair supplies (outside of shampoo and conditioner)
4. Ace bandages
5. Random 1st aid kit supplies
6. LED Keychain Flashlights
7. Dog leashes and collars
8. 2 gallon ziploc-style bags (better than packing cubes for me when I travel)
9. Random snacks and meals for hiking/travelling - exact details change depending on what they have.
10. Disposable food storage containers
11. Aluminum disposable baking containers (Holiday and other potluck lifesavers)
12. Random toys to trade with the Jawas at HS
13. Cheap brooms and mops for outside/camp
14. cheap trash bags (for travelling - I dump my dirty clothes in them, segregating them from clean clothes when I am on a multi-leg trip. As I like to take side-trips for long arduous hikes through the wilderness that may or may not involve long traverses in creeks the day before I become a business traveler, this is a necessity.)
15. toothbrushes and toothpaste (great for travelling)
16. small sets of containers for carryon luggage
17. cheap lip balms
18. sharpies (for hiking - multitude of uses on the trail)
19. scissors
20. packing tape
21. purse sized notebooks
22. disposable earbuds (the sound is awful, but works okay for listening to podcasts and books and if they break or get lost, who cares)
23. books
24. travel packs of cleaning wipes
25. deodorant (Dollar Tree deodorant has the same effective % ingredient as the prescription strength stuff and smells just as nice)
26. post-its, pens etc.
27. shoelaces (almost never used as shoelaces, but great for tying things together)
28. duct tape

I'm glad to hear someone else uses a garbage bag for dirty clothes. We do this whenever we travel to keep dirty clothes off the floor. Then we transfer all clean clothes to one suitcase and fill the others with the dirty. (I tend to overpack!)
I find lots of things at the dollar tree. We also get the theater boxes of candy sometimes for things like st. Nick, etc. Also the plastic serving trays and bowls are great.

 

[ohana1221]

I was shocked at how many discount things they had that were travel necessities for me! A lot of people would probably find it useful for kids. They even had a lot of stuff that is great for little girls at Disney, big bows, tiaras, princess temporary tattoos.

 

[maxiesmom]

I love dollar stores for a few things, but if you do some research there is a long list of things you shouldn't buy from them.

 

[ohana1221]

Oh goodness, I don't think I've ever made a list but my personal go-tos are:
1. Gift bags and greeting cards
2. Air Fresheners
3. All hair supplies (outside of shampoo and conditioner)
4. Ace bandages
5. Random 1st aid kit supplies
6. LED Keychain Flashlights
7. Dog leashes and collars
8. 2 gallon ziploc-style bags (better than packing cubes for me when I travel)
9. Random snacks and meals for hiking/travelling - exact details change depending on what they have.
10. Disposable food storage containers
11. Aluminum disposable baking containers (Holiday and other potluck lifesavers)
12. Random toys to trade with the Jawas at HS
13. Cheap brooms and mops for outside/camp
14. cheap trash bags (for travelling - I dump my dirty clothes in them, segregating them from clean clothes when I am on a multi-leg trip. As I like to take side-trips for long arduous hikes through the wilderness that may or may not involve long traverses in creeks the day before I become a business traveler, this is a necessity.)
15. toothbrushes and toothpaste (great for travelling)
16. small sets of containers for carryon luggage
17. cheap lip balms
18. sharpies (for hiking - multitude of uses on the trail)
19. scissors
20. packing tape
21. purse sized notebooks
22. disposable earbuds (the sound is awful, but works okay for listening to podcasts and books and if they break or get lost, who cares)
23. books
24. travel packs of cleaning wipes
25. deodorant (Dollar Tree deodorant has the same effective % ingredient as the prescription strength stuff and smells just as nice)
26. post-its, pens etc.
27. shoelaces (almost never used as shoelaces, but great for tying things together)
28. duct tape

Trade with Jawas? What?

 

[kymom99]

I just came from the dollar tree. Needed a piece of poster board. They are 50 cents there. I also bought a couple packs of stickers. They had a pack of race car stickers that were those puffy kind. Very nice for a buck. I'm also planning to order a bunch of graduation balloons from them.

 

[kmb584]

Trade with Jawas? What?

Yep. It's one of my daughter's favorite activities! You can find more information on the process here: http://desertchica.com/how-to-trade-with-jawas/, as well as doing a search for the topic on the DIS. It's pretty fun!

 

[snarlingcoyote]

I'm glad to hear someone else uses a garbage bag for dirty clothes. We do this whenever we travel to keep dirty clothes off the floor. Then we transfer all clean clothes to one suitcase and fill the others with the dirty. (I tend to overpack!)
I find lots of things at the dollar tree. We also get the theater boxes of candy sometimes for things like st. Nick, etc. Also the plastic serving trays and bowls are great.

Oh yeah. I don't travel without a pack of cheap garbage bags! Love those.