Dollar General
 

This is going to be a goofy post, but I thought I'd share my first time in a Dollar General store.

My wife left Friday to meet my sister and our daughter Arden at my sisters mountain house in NC - girls weekend. My daughter accepted a new position in Charleston, SC and drove from Scottsdale to NC - they all converged Friday.

I get a call from my wife yesterday that my MIL needs, of all things, instant coffee. I was out running errands (dump run, tractor parts, hookers, blow) and decided I'd try a Dollar General store on the way to my MILs joint.

Holy crap what a hassle-free experience in small, clean, incredibly well stocked location! Instead of walking miles in a big super market I parked at the door and was out of there in 3 minutes.

DG is my new go to for quick hitters. I was completely wrong about what I was expecting.

Goofy, I know.

Three minutes is kinda quick for whookers isn't it?

Oh wait, I really doan wanna know.

Lower your expectations and those are good stores.

You can find a lot of really decent merchandise at these stores. Makes you wonder at the markup at other stores. Take pencils for example....

Friend of mine buys his earbuds there for a buck. Always loosing them. So he buys about 4 at a time.

I often wonder if some of that stuff isn’t counterfeit. I think I read a story about fake Crest toothpaste.


I use dollar general to buy things like mouse traps. Hell, I gave only bought mousetraps from there.

I had a gsd mix that loved to jump up on my kitchen counters to look for food. I covered the countertop with set traps and went to bed. The racket of them all going off was epic. Cured her of that truck with one application.

Been going to the ones here for years. Certain things they have are a better value than anywhere else and some things you can't find anywhere else!

Ours has some good deals in the produce section usually. I always get my Atomic Fireballs there, too.

The part of your post though to appreciate is how quickly you can be in and out.....

Dollar General. Where nothing costs a dollar except for things you can buy for 69 cents everywhere else.

^^^
Well, a well built spray bottle at Home de Pot is $3.79 and a dollar at DG.
Same bottle.

Always demand real Crest(tm) toothpaste!
Real Crest brand has real plastic scrubbing microbeads to get stuck in your gum line or get swallowed and end up in your GI tract.
Ingesting those mini plastic pellets are an essential part of your thrice-daily cleaning ritual.
The Chinese knockoffs might not have them.

https://www.today.com/health/microbeads-toothpaste-safe-brush-1D80157769
"A new ingredient that has been cropping up in products ranging from toothpaste to facial cleansers —polyethylene microbeads — has been causing a stir ever since dental hygienists noticed the tiny blue bits embedded the gums of patients who use Crest toothpaste."

Down, seems like those Dollar stores are like 3 per mile.
For years, on motorcycle trips where I don't want to carry a lot;
Get checked in for the night and buy drinks, mixer, snacks, etc.....In and out and only spend a few Bux......

Cheap treats to smuggle into the movies also...

They've populated like bunny rabbits here....particularly out in the semi-rural areas. There's one I've used for a few years now.....never spent more than four bucks or four minutes....my kinda place :)

I have one close by that has become my go-to for-

Cleaning supplies: scrub brushes, sponges, trash bags.
I use the "gallon" (ha ha) jugs of citrus cleaner for my ultrasonic. It works great.

Party supplies, like napkins, snack trays, ziplock bags, cups...

Plastic storage bins (tupperware)

Gift wrap, gift bags, ribbon, office supplies like padded envelopes

Bought a bottle of hot sauce there once that wasn't too bad, but mostly I nix the food items. Scary!

Have you ever noticed a "Family Dollar" is close by.

Family Dollar and DG are like baby Walmart's. But there is much less walking after you get in the door.

Things I been sorry I bought at a Dollar store:

Ice cream (stale), some candy (old) , car wash soap, shaving cream (watered down), peanuts (hard).

BUT, still lots of good stuff...

Much better way of putting it.

When I was in college I did three papers on product placement and management in the then fairly nascent convenience store world. The marketing and thought that goes into every inch of these places is very detailed.

With that background, I should not have been surprised at the overall plan. Very impressive.

My experience also. Bubble gum that felt like a playing card.

Watch out on the bleach. A lot of the dollar stores sell lower strength bleach in similar containers. I had a buddy buy lots of bleach for pool shocking, then he found out he was buying lower strength bleach.

I actually use pool shock for laundry bleach...

"I actually use pool shock for laundry bleach... "
~~~~~~~~~
How much in one load?

About a 1/2 tbsp to a full tbsp.