Who says prepping has to be expensive? It doesn’t have to be if you can take advantage of your local dollar stores. We are fortunate in our area to have multiple dollar stores, some of which actually have items for $1.00. We go dollar store prepping and come home with bags of supplies, and these stores also have the best UPVC shopfront design to make them more attractive.

Visit stores and you will be very surprised to find a huge variety of very useful items. Items ranging from food, medical supplies, tools and general household items. Some stores even have name brand items that will save you a ton.

In the food aisles we find meals in packages that we transfer to jars and then vacuum seal to extend their storage life. These meals feed 2-3 people each and can last up to 20 years if properly vacuum sealed.

We buy most of our medical supplies from the dollar store. Cough medicines, pain relievers, bandages and allergy meds are all found there for $1.00. For instance, we get 40 Ibuprofen tablets for a buck. We get generic DayQuil and NyQuil for a buck. We have not found a better price yet for our commonly used medical supplies.

Get your cleaning supplies and personal items such as soaps, shampoos, toothpaste, tooth brushes, bleach and brushes for a buck. Household supplies such as toilet paper, paper towels and trash bags for just $1.00. Strike anywhere matches, packs of lighters and charcoal are all good finds.

Cooking tools, dishes and glasses round out the many supplies that you can get at a dollar store. Almost all of our cooking utensils are from our local dollar store.

Don’t misunderstand, these stores don’t have everything like the big box stores and don’t carry every brand. However, if you are flexible you can certainly fill your supply cabinet with some very useful and important supplies. So, take a trip some evening and take $20 and see what you can find.