Let me start this post by saying that I usually avoid the $1 store whenever I can. For those of you not familiar with the Dollar Stores, they are stores where everything in the store costs $1 or 2 for $1 or some such combination, but nothing in the store is over a dollar.
Having said that, I stay away from such stores. My theory is that if I allow myself to go into a store where everything is a dollar, I’ll end up spending money on things I don’t need and most of them will be broken before I get home.
Dragged by My Daughter
My daughter dragged me into the store the other day. It was her best friends birthday and tradition has it that in addition to going to the mall to get the “to die for” gifts, it is an unspoken rule that each girl must go to the dollar store and spend about $10 buying a bunch of little chachka-type gifts. Gifts that mean absolutely nothing to anyone else, but these two girls speak a language of their own and they manage to find the cutest little unnecessary items to give each other.
While my daughter was ooohing and ahhing and giggling over her finds, I decided to browse the aisles. I realized that I needed kitchen sponges and hand soap so I figured; while I’m here I might as well pick them up.
The Dollar Store Surprise
Imagine my surprise when I saw the exact same Dial hand soap that I just paid $2.99 for in the grocery store for $1 at the Dollar store. Yes, they had the 7.5 oz Winter Pomegranate Antibacterial soap for $1. Sheesh, at that price I had to buy a few (my family wanted a break from my homemade hand soap).
Next I went to get kitchen sponges. They had a pack of 10 sponges for $1. Of course I had to buy that too. Here’s the kicker. The Dollar Store sponges seem to require less soap when washing dishes. I found that one little squirt of soap created so much lather in the sponge that I didn’t need to add another squirt.
Not only did it retain t
he soap, I found that when I finished washing dishes, I had to wash the sponge thoroughly to get all of the soap out. Imagine that! The cheap sponges were not only a cost savings (where can you find 10 sponges for $1), but they use soap more efficiently.
Shopper Beware
All I can say is beware when entering a Dollar Store. If you know what you’re looking for and have a good eye for qualified bargains then by all means feel free to enter. However, if you tend to get carried away just because the items are a dollar, be careful
All I can say is enter at your own risk.
Tags: beware of the dollar store, cleaning items at the dollar store, dollar store shoppers, saving money at the dollar store
I try to always take a list to the Dollar Store and get only what I need or I end up with a cart full of things I “might need”!
There are a little under 10 dollar stores within a mile of my apartment (oh the joys of living in the city). I used to have a similar problem going to those stores and just loading up the cart with all kinds of random crap. I’ve gotten much better now and only go for specific purchases that I know will be super cheap (toothbrushes, toilet paper, zip lock bags, soap, cleaning products, etc).
When I was in high school, my friends and I had a similar tradition where we went to the dollar star and bought all kinds of random gifts that coincided with inside jokes, etc. Those are some of the gifts and memories that I cherish the most from that time.