15 Dollar Tree Finds to Make Back to School Easier
Updated: July 4, 2019
If you’ve been to Dollar Tree lately, you’ve likely noticed that the summer items are clearing out and a plethora of $1 Back to School items are hitting the shelves! Yippeeeee! 😁 With that being said, check out these FIFTEEN Dollar Tree finds that will make back to school time a breeze for your family. Enjoy!
1. Make a Portable Homework Station with Caddies
Be on the lookout for colorful art caddies in the back to school section priced at just $1. There are also larger shower caddies, but they have holes. These are great for making portable homework stations at home! Just fill with pencils, pens, glue, scissors, rulers, markers, and other homework essentials. Then you can easily transport the caddy from the office to the kitchen table or even take it in the car.
2. Organize Paperwork & Folders in Dish Drying Rack
If you’re looking for a way to keep all of those school folders & papers organized, grab a dish drying rack for just $1! Then stand the folders up in the slots and you’ll easily be able to see and grab the folders you need. In the flatware holder, place scissors & pens that you’ll need to sign school forms.
3. Create a Lunch Packing Station with Baskets
To make packing school lunches easier and something that the kids can even help with, grab a laundry basket (or any of their awesome bins!) and create various lunch packing stations in your pantry filled with all of the essentials you’ll need – peanut butter, jelly, bread, snacks, drinks, Ziploc bags, etc. It will make those hectic mornings a little less hectic when you can find the things you need.
4. Use Frozen Kitchen Sponges as Lunch Ice Packs
If you don’t want to worry about your kids losing their lunch ice packs, consider buying a few 2-pack sponges at Dollar Tree. To keep your kids’ lunches cold, soak the sponges in water, place one in a Ziploc bag and put it in the freezer. As the sponges melt, they will reabsorb the water so you can just toss them back in the freezer after school! And you won’t go crying if when they get lost or thrown out.
5. Make Bento Style Lunch Boxes for Just $1
Dollar Tree sells cute Bento-style containers that are perfect for school lunches! These boxes allow you to be creative with their lunch instead of packing the same PB&J every day. You can also look for 10-pack mini containers that are useful for condiments and placing inside another larger container.
6. Decorate Your Kids’ Lockers on the Cheap
Dollar Tree has a LOT of items that would be great for decorating school lockers – mirrors, dry-erase boards, glam fur (can be used for locker carpet), washi tape for decorating, picture frames, colorful pencil cups, fun magnets, double-sided signs and MORE that would be fun to place in the locker!
7. Buy Fun Student Planners for Just $1
If you’ve ever shopped for a student planner, you likely know how expensive they can be. Plus, if you’ve ever had a child lose their $30 student planner 🙋 during the first month of school, you may be hesitant to spend that much on another one again. SO, I was pretty happy to find a variety of colorful and practical Student Planners in all sorts of shapes and styles for just $1 each! Score!
8. Store Box Tops in Magnetic Tins
If you’re looking for an easy way to collect your Box Tops, consider grabbing these Magnetic Tins 2-packs with removable lids. Just place on your fridge and add to it every time you clip a Box Top!
Remember, clipping Box Tops is an easy way to earn money for your child’s school and help your kids succeed – and all those Box Tops add up fast! Visit the Box Tops 4 Education website for more details on how the program works.
9. Make Mini Survival Kits for Kids’ Backpacks
Consider making a personalized, mini survival kit using a soap container or sunglasses case and placing it in your child’s backpack. Fill it with band-aids, facial tissue, wet wipes, a LifeSaver mint/cough drop (if allowed), feminine products (if applicable), hair ties, and emergency contact information.
You could also place an encouraging note inside! If you’re not wanting to create your own kit, Dollar Tree also sells a First Aid Kit that contains an assortment of 18 bandages and 2 antiseptic towelettes.
10. Create a Hanging Clothes Organizer for $6
Mom, I don’t know what to wear! If you’re looking for a way to keep your kids’ clothes organized and planned out each week, consider grabbing 5 colorful bins and a bag of zip ties at Dollar Tree – $6 total. Use a couple of zip ties in between each tote to hold them together and then tie them to your closet rod using zip ties or any sort of ribbon. Your kids will have their clothes ready for each day of the week!
11. OR Use Bins to Organize Daily Outfits
You can also set these bins on the floor of your kids’ closet and write the day of the week on them with a dry erase marker (if you’re wanting to use for something else in the future) or a permanent marker. Your kids will quickly be able to grab their clothes out of the bins without any fuss!
Remember, Dollar Tree sells a TON of awesome, colorful storage bins, so you could even choose a different color for every day of the week to make things a little more fun! 🙂
12. Use a Veggie Tray for Practicing Math
If you’re looking for a practical way to teach basic math, grab a vegetable tray and a bag of stones, as well as flash cards. Place all of the beads or counters in the middle of the tray and the cards in the outer compartments. Then have your child put the correct amount of beads in the correct spot(s).
If you’re looking for a fun way to teach fractions, check out this “Fractions of a Whole” Game using a veggie tray! And, you can always re-purpose your veggie tray for that Super Bowl or birthday party!
14. Go Ahead and Grab a Dictionary & Thesaurus
Although Google is a great source for just about everything, consider buying a Roget’s Thesaurus and a Webster’s Dictionary for just $1 each. The retail value is $3.95 each, so this is a great buy! These are good to have on hand at home, in the office and/or even in your kiddos’ backpacks! They’re great for the classroom too.
15. Stock Up NOW on Project Boards
Consider grabbing a few Presentation Boards, as you never know when your kids will need them during the year! At just $1 each, I always grab a few and stick them in our school supply closet. By the way, similar display boards sell for over $3 at Target, so you can save BIG on these items at Dollar Tree!
Hip Tip: In the past, presentation boards found at the Dollar Tree have been slightly smaller than the ones found at other retailers such as Target. Although the difference appears to be less than an inch this year, it may be worth taking your own in-store measurements if your child’s project has strict size requirements.
Need poster board? Dollar Tree sells Poster Board 2 for $1, so grab a few for those school projects, too!
❤️ #12
Love the box top idea! Does yours have a slit in the top like a “piggy bank”?? So cute!!!
I do this and it works great!
I use a a mason jar for box tops. I put it on the back counter and I drop in the box tops in there until I give them to my neighbor for their school.
Thx Mary 4 your tips ….I LOVE the frozen sponge idea …my 2 boys always loose the ice pack …And since this is different, they will probably make sure they keep them ..lol.
They have some great stuff in their teacher section. I use their letters (Although it takes a bit longer because I need to cut not punch them out), posters – their selection is fantastic and relevant to the curriculum, borders and magnetic whiteboard erasers.
Their three pack of round woven facial cleansers make great individual whiteboards at 3 for $1.
Great ideas. Love DT!
Great stuff readonsable.what would we do without the Dollar tree.
Great store for everything for $1.specially if you have kids.check out the new Luna lights as seen on tv
Actually went today. I love to clean out the kids bathrooms the week before school starts (usually they do it, but momma goes in for deep cleaning every once and a while) and restock fresh toothbrushes, flossers, mouthwash, combs, brushes, and detangler spray, and kid shampoo from the dollar tree. I love their nail brushes to get my boys summer nails squeaky clean for the first day of school. Anything to get them excited about starting a new year! Hopefully and fingers crossed ….all the teeth flossers won’t end up all over the floor by the first week 🙂
Love DT! Are the snack containers food grade or BPA free?