Episode Details

Dollar Tree Survival: What’s Worth Buying (And What’s Trash) | Episode 582

Every prepper loves to argue gear. Expensive gear. Fancy gear. Tactical gear.
But when weather hits and shelves start thinning out, a lot of the most useful stuff people grab doesn’t come from boutique survival stores — it comes from places like Dollar Tree.

This episode is a straight, no-nonsense breakdown of what’s actually worth buying there, what works in real life, and what you should absolutely never waste your money on.

Electrolytes, Drink Mixes, and Cheap Hydration Wins

Let’s start with one of the best buys: drink mixes and electrolytes.

I make my own electrolytes — quarter teaspoon of table salt, quarter teaspoon of light salt for potassium — but straight salty water kind of sucks. Flavor helps, and Dollar Tree has cheap packets that do the job.

Store brand electrolyte packets are usually around five bucks elsewhere. Dollar Tree? About a buck and a quarter. Good flavors, no nonsense. They don’t need to be fancy. They just need to get fluids into you.

I’ve been drinking more water and electrolytes at work lately instead of Coke, partly because I’m taking iron pills and caffeine messes with absorption. It saves money, cuts caffeine, and keeps hydration solid. That alone makes these packets worth stocking.

Allergy Meds, Band-Aids, and Medical Basics

Dollar Tree allergy pills actually work. We’ve used them. If an allergy pill doesn’t work, you know immediately — and these did.

That’s not something I’d say for every supplement in the world, but for allergy meds? Totally acceptable. That said, if you can plan ahead, Amazon year-supply bottles are still the better deal.

Band-Aids are another situational win. You don’t always need premium adhesion. Sometimes you just need to cover a small cut so it’s not open to bacteria. Especially with kids, cheap band-aids are fine for minor stuff.

They also carry:

• Isopropyl alcohol

• Hydrogen peroxide

• Cotton balls

• Vaseline (small tubs, but usefu