Why Dollar Tree is good for preppers

[Gunnywag]

3 packs of dial soap
brand name tooth paste
brand name tooth brushes

Years supply for $20-$30 bucks!

[4bull]

All the dollar store , the dint and dings,T J max, and big lots , all got shopped today by my wife.
tomorrows 1 3/4 hour drive to shop ,  Sam's , harbor freight , pro bass discount store,a bigger discount chain ,and Al dies.
A couple of weeks ago i got a box of dog treats 12 Lbs for 1.00  .
My GIRLS LOVE THE PEPERONI SLICES  at the dollar store , and it last forever.
Batteries , band aids, lighters, can openers,baking soda, dog food, .
My youngest told some lady 1 is none 2 is one, dad said get 5 ,LOL.

[fzrspirit]

The items I buy when I go there (at least the ones that have not been mentioned)

5 pack of emergency candles (each candle lasts 5+ hours)
Tea lights (16 in a bag--I think)
3 pack of lighters

[Gunnywag]

Long BBQ lighters - AntiPersp - Small ZipLock baggie - + + +

[Cedar]

Due to this thread I actually went out of my way to go to a Dollar Store the other day. There is some good prepper items in there. And for BOBs.

I actually went fora pair of reading glasses after I borrowed a friends at her house and decided maybe I needed a pair (held off on 2-5 of them as I am not still convinced I needed them, but maybe sleep) and got SP a little solar powered dancing flower to teach her about solar power in a fun way.

Cedar

[rikkrack]

We use dollar store to stock out "go away box". Or "grab box" if we need to leave, can grab a few of these boxes and are on the road in <10 min with BOBs. Recently used on a camping trip just to see how they work. Need to rework some items. But overall good.

Essentially a cleaned cat litter box or 5 gal bucket with lid stocked full of supplies that would last a family for 72 hours or so. For all those people who say "I'm coming to stay with you if something happens". A) no your not. B) I like you, so you won't meet business end of our security system, but here is a box that will keep you alive for a few days. Take care and you should have planned better. Go forth grasshopper, the ants are stocked and planned.

Stock canned meats
Pancake mixes
spices
rice
beans
lighters
life straw (not available at dollar store)
drink mixes
some first aid items (alcohol, few rolls of TP, safety pins, band aids, peroxide, toothbrush and paste)
can openers
few bottles of water
etc.

[contractor]

There is nothing wrong with using super glue to seal a wound, its taught for emergency trauma training for solders overseas and for other hostile area quasi solders. We even used it  for live tissue training and it worked fine. Your right, its better than bleeding out, if you want something good for a med kit buy some quick clot/gauze mixture, it works great, its a little pricey but you only need one bag per kit and if you need it nothing works as good as it does. Just make sure you get the new stuff not the stuff which generates heat.

[texmex]

My favorite places to find things are probably already mentioned, but pawn shops, garage sales, flea markets, the almighty Craigslist and eBay.

[Crazy Fox]

My favorite places to find things are probably already mentioned, but pawn shops, garage sales, flea markets, the almighty Craigslist and eBay.

Yeah, I've been seeing a lot of space heaters and rain barrels on craigslist lately.

[AxeMan]

It's funny this thread is here as the other day I found some supplies at a Dollar Tree (for a $1 of course) that were 3 to 5 X more pricey at other stores within walking distance from it.

Of course you need to be choosy as not everything's a good deal, but there are some killer deals there.

[Stwood]

New DS is going up in town next to Walmart. I'll have to stop in and look/see 

[borderbill]

I buy a bunch of their broth (Beef, chicken, veg) in 32 oz. boxes-non refrig.  Makes great soup; cook pasta or vegs with it.  Also use it for dogs and cats food.  Canned pie filling is a real buy.  Pet treats are good buys.  Check out their marbles-they say they're for decorating (seen 'em in flower vases)- I hear they make great slingshot ammo.  To repeat as others have said--DOLLAR TREE.  Oh, check out their first aid; paper goods; seasonal candy.  Price is a US buck for any item so it's easy to figger (but you gotta add tax).

[Stwood]

Lately I've been buying the dollar packs of chocolate striped cookies.  Great cookies so I stock up.
We keep a lot of the shelf stable milk also. Use it for cooking.
And pickles
Relish
Baked beans

[Carver]

I prefer Dollar Tree over Dollar General where prices are not a $1 each as they are at the Tree, in fact they can be overpriced. The Dollar General, or DH brand is cheaper than name brand. Mouthwash, hydrogen peroxide, etc. And it is true, you can go in there and get enough to fill up your emergency/first-aid/b.o.b. in one trip. I'll go there instead of Walmart where I always feel like I need to take a shower after being in their store. Another nice difference between the Tree and the General is that the Tree carries refrigerated and frozen food; General just refrigerated.
I've never tried the "potted" meat yet, I'm not sure what that is.

[Stwood]

Devil brand potted meat?
It's an old variety. My mother used to buy it.
There's another popular brand out there.......I'm in brain down mode at the moment...
We haven't stocked potted meat so far. We have enough other selections I think.
Commercially canned and home canned. We're leaning more towards home canned lately. But still adding to our boughten canned ham, chicken, sausages, spam......

[Carver]

Armour Star has potted meat. I might have to experiment and give it a try. It looks like braunschweiger, or liverwurst.
I stand corrected, the General does have a freezer, filled with pizza at least.

wisegeek.com compares it to pate or Spam:
Potted meat or meat potting began as a way to preserve meat prior to the advent of refrigeration. When people slaughtered their own animals, the amount of meat produced was usually much more than could be eaten before the meat began to rot. People evolved a number of methods for saving this extra meat for later, such as dry curing and smoking. Potting meat was another means of storing food, and that old tradition lives on today in several commercial brands.

Early potted meat usually involved the meat of one animal only, most commonly pork. Meat might be ground, or not, and then cooked. The fat was saved and poured onto and around the meat, usually in large jars, and the fat would help keep the meat from decomposition. Some cooks added spices to the meat, or made sausage patties from it, so the preserved meat had more flavor. As much meat as possible was pressed into the jars so that they formed a compressed, relatively soft end product, similar to pâté.

[Stwood]

Armour. Seems there is another out there.
Thanks for the details.

[Carver]

I recently watched (skimmed) several Tube's on Dollar store prepping. They were pathetic. Summary: go to the tote department and fill it with canned goods, aspirin, charcoal and paper plates. Trying not to be a prepping snob, but that was almost irresponsible. I have seen lists, and I have one, of what to grab in the event you need to make a mad dash to one. But then anyone familiar with prepping could go in there and wing it. I was in one today and easily found the essential items I was looking for.

[Redman]

Armour. Seems there is another out there.
Thanks for the details.

Looks like too many brands to post pics. A few names other than Armour.
Underwood, Bryan, Goya, Great Value, Maple Leaf, Reno.
When I search pics of potted meat brands I notice an Armour Barbecue flavor potted meat.

Carver, I have a Larousse Gastronomic. Somewhere in it is an old method/technique of producing a product similar to potted meat. I wish I could remember the name of it but will attempt to find it. As I recall it involved something like cooking and sieving the meat and packing in fat.

[Carver]

My favorite places to find things are probably already mentioned, but pawn shops, garage sales, flea markets, the almighty Craigslist and eBay.

/
All of those venues around here have dried up, with the exception of the pawn shop, but I think they are strictly online. It will be interesting to see what will flood these markets when things ease up. Toilet paper?

[LvsChant]

/
All of those venues around here have dried up, with the exception of the pawn shop, but I think they are strictly online. It will be interesting to see what will flood these markets when things ease up. Toilet paper?

I read an interesting article about the TP shortage this week. Apparently, the problem isn't so much people hoarding more than they need, but a shift in the type of toilet paper needed by the same populace...

Prior to the shutdown, most adults and kids were away from home several hours a day, no doubt utilizing toilet paper at schools, offices, etc. TP sold to commercial buyers is quite a bit different than the fluffy Charmin packs many households use... tends to be more of the utilitarian, very thin and very large rolls, or else individually wrapped for hotels, etc.

Apparently, it just isn't that easy to bump up the production of household toilet paper and slow down the commercial supplies...

[mountainmoma]

I read an interesting article about the TP shortage this week. Apparently, the problem isn't so much people hoarding more than they need, but a shift in the type of toilet paper needed by the same populace...

Prior to the shutdown, most adults and kids were away from home several hours a day, no doubt utilizing toilet paper at schools, offices, etc. TP sold to commercial buyers is quite a bit different than the fluffy Charmin packs many households use... tends to be more of the utilitarian, very thin and very large rolls, or else individually wrapped for hotels, etc.

Apparently, it just isn't that easy to bump up the production of household toilet paper and slow down the commercial supplies...

This is what I have been telling everyone out here for the last month !  I told them alot of people are realy not at home much, their household is at work or school or daycare all day, so now they realy DO need more toilet paper at home, first.  Second, do they even know how much they need when all home ?  They have to estimate how much more they need to get.  Then you tell them to get enough to not go shopping for a while, for a few weeks, they normally shop once a week, so now they double that, then they add on one more package just in case... unless they have seen the empty shelves and panic photos on media, in which case, they toss on 2 extra. 

So, yes, much more than the usual orders to stock those stores. 

[Carver]

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/04/03/toilet-paper-shortage-explained-supply-chains/

In short, the toilet paper industry is split into two, largely separate markets: commercial and consumer. The pandemic has shifted the lion’s share of demand to the latter. People actually do need to buy significantly more toilet paper during the pandemic — not because they’re making more trips to the bathroom, but because they’re making more of them at home. With some 75% of the U.S. population under stay-at-home orders, Americans are no longer using the restrooms at their workplace, in schools, at restaurants, at hotels, or in airports.