9 Genius Ways Parents Can Use Dollar Store Items To Make Life Easier

There are so many wonderful ways to save money at the dollar store. From picking up party supplies to finding the perfect decor that syncs up with the seasons, shopping at your local dollar store is one of the easiest ways to save some cash while stocking up on useful items.

As a dollar store fan myself, I love when creative shoppers come up with ultra-cute DIY projects that you’d never guess came from materials picked up for such a steal. I’m also a big fan of creative hacks, especially if they’re designed to make parenting easier.

Thankfully, a good number of smart and creative people have been generous enough to share their best and most ingenious ideas with the world. Below are nine of them.

1. Use Stickers To Help Get Shoes On The Correct Feet

I can’t remember how many times my son put his shoes on the wrong feet when he was younger. But One Creative Housewife has come up with a quick fix to ensure the shoes end up on the correct feet. Just cut a large sticker in half and put one half in the right shoe and the other half in the left shoe.

2. Hang Bath Toys Using A Laundry Bag

Prevent your kid’s bath toys from getting moldy by hanging them in a simple mesh laundry bag that can be picked up at the dollar store. Not only does the bag keep the toys nice and tidy, but it also allows them to properly dry.

3. Store Bibs With Plastic Hooks

By using small, plastic, self-adhesive hooks on the back of your child’s high chair, you’ll always have a bib handy when food starts running down your little one’s chin.

4. Use Press’n Seal Wrap To Prevent Spills

Create a spill-proof sip cup in a snap using Press’n Seal Wrap to cover the top of the cup. Poke a straw through the wrap and you’re done! No more crying over spilled milk!

5. Store Pacifiers In Condiment Cups

How best to store your child’s prized pacifier? Use condiment cups and you’ll never have to worry about your kid’s binky collecting dirt at the bottom of your purse or diaper bag ever again.

6. Organize Crayons With Popsicle Trays

Crayons can be tough to keep organized, especially when the original cardboard box has been torn to shreds. One simple and inexpensive fix is to use a plastic popsicle tray to help keep crayons off the floor and neatly organized.

7. Make A Cooking Set For Your Little Chef

Kids love to help out in the kitchen. For those moments when having them in the kitchen will only slow you down, or for when you worry that preparing a meal will be too dangerous for your little one, point them toward the pretend cooking set you’ve so generously created for them.

Invest in some inexpensive cooking utensils and a large plastic storage bin to store them all and expect your child to be entertained for hours.

8. Use Coffee Filters For Snack Time

You can get a stack of coffee filters at the dollar store and, while you probably need most of them to keep yourself caffeinated, a few could be spared for snack time. Talk about easy clean-up!

9. Use Plastic Toys As Book Ends

What a cute idea! Keep your kids books tidy on the shelf by using fancy book ends made out of plastic animals. This project will require some spare paint, which you usually can’t find at the Dollar Store. But there are other places you can find inexpensive spray paint, like Walmart.

[h/t BuzzFeed]